(In an Irish accent) “You’re my best friend and I don’t care what they say about ya.”

Papa always used to say that. He said it to me the most, I think. The best part is there was not context. As he was leaving our house, he just gave me a kiss and hug goodbye and always said it.

I guess he used it as a greeting, sometimes, but usually as a farewell.

context:

The informant told this little snippet as we were discussing what our family members say frequently one on one. She had a particularly close relationship with her grandfather, “Papa”, who passed away a few months ago.

thoughts:

It’s a great backhanded compliment and very funny, especially with how frequently he seemed to use it. It also is interesting that the informant felt compelled to indicated that he said it most frequently to her, perhaps because she wanted to prove she was his closest “best friend” or grandchild, especially after his passing.