Summary4 min read

Podcast Summary: The Slowdown – Episode 1419

Episode Title: Ladies' Arm Wrestling Match at the Blue Moon Diner by Jenny Johnson
Host: Maggie Smith
Date: December 24, 2025

Main Theme & Purpose

In this episode, host Maggie Smith explores the power of folk sayings and idioms—those bits of everyday wisdom that shape our thinking and language, especially within families and regions. She frames the discussion around how such phrases not only connect us to our heritage but also serve as tools for reflection and personal transformation. Maggie introduces Jenny Johnson's poem "Ladies' Arm Wrestling Match at the Blue Moon Diner," which subverts a familiar bit of advice to reveal a portrait of resilience, self-renewal, and reclaiming agency.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Role of Idioms in Identity and Communication

Maggie reminisces about growing up in the Midwest, describing how regional phrases were interwoven with daily life and handed down through generations.
- “Idioms and common sayings communicate so much about where we come from and who we come from.” (01:08)
She lists many favorites, from “You’ll catch more flies with honey than with vinegar” to “Two wrongs don’t make a right,” showing how they both guided and critiqued her youthful tendencies.
- On parental wisdom: “As if she has a little wooden recipe box in her mind filled with 3 by 5 cards with beloved sayings written on them.” (01:32)
Maggie reflects on how even as an adult and a parent, she both echoes and revises these phrases, humorously admitting to moments of double standards.
- “Do as I say, not as I do. I half-jokingly say that to my children now when I’m staying up too late. But I want them to get a good night’s sleep…” (02:18)
She ponders the role of shorthand idioms in adult conversation, trusting listeners to “fill in the rest” due to their universal familiarity.

Transition to the Poem: Subverting Conventional Wisdom

Maggie sets the stage for Jenny Johnson’s poem by highlighting its playful revision of the classic idiom: “If life gives you lemons, throw ‘em away.”
- “Today’s poem begins with a little advice that made me smile because of its sauciness.” (03:07)
She notes that the poem “unfolds into such a rich, detailed portrait—not a portrait of a lady, but of ladies shedding old expectations and claiming new” (03:20), introducing the poem as an act of rebellion and transformation.

Featured Poem:

"Ladies’ Arm Wrestling Match at the Blue Moon Diner" by Jenny Johnson

(Read by Maggie Smith – 03:26)

My grandma always told me,
if life gives you lemons, throw em away
and so we loosen, shuffle off sore tendons
Mondays insults catcalled out Chevy windows
clinking whiskey glasses we wipe away sweat and old flames
All I ever found in the gravel was the paper body
what the garter snake shed
Take off that old suit tonight
Even as your good arm shudders to the mat
like the moon meeting the mouth of the Shenandoah
Take off that old suit in new skin
Come back again and again
Own this acreage, this new ground
Ripping under rolled sleeves.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

“If life gives you lemons, throw 'em away.”
- Maggie on this paraphrased advice: “It made me smile because of its sauciness.” (03:07)
“Actions speak louder than words. I have my own recipe box of sayings, many inherited from older family members.” (02:35)
On reclaiming a sense of self: “Take off that old suit tonight... Come back again and again. Own this acreage, this new ground ripping under rolled sleeves.” (From the poem, 03:42)

Important Timestamps

00:28–01:52: Maggie’s reflection on family idioms and Midwest heritage
02:00–02:48: Transition to her own use of inherited sayings and their impact as a parent
03:00–03:20: Introduction to today’s poem and its subversive idiom
03:26–03:58: Recitation of “Ladies’ Arm Wrestling Match at the Blue Moon Diner” by Jenny Johnson

Tone & Style

Maggie Smith’s tone is conversational, warm, and reflective, marked by gentle humor and personal anecdotes. She weaves nostalgia with a sense of everyday wisdom, speaking directly to listeners as companions in daily reflection.

Episode Takeaways

Idioms anchor us to our backgrounds, but they also evolve—sometimes humorously or rebelliously—as we interpret them anew.
Jenny Johnson’s poem, by skewering and reinventing advice, celebrates shedding the “old suit” of social expectations for powerful self-renewal.
Poetry, Maggie reminds the audience, helps us “consider our own lives and the lives of others... to lean into wonder, and joy, and truth, and to find hope.”

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Transcript2 lines

[00:00]
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[00:28]
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Hello Slowdown listeners. Poetry Magazine has a special offer just for you. Subscribe to one year of Poetry Magazine today and receive their limited edition tote bag for $39. That's the cost of one Loboo. You'll receive 10 beautifully curated print magazines of contemporary poetry, unlimited digital access via the Poetry Magazine app and a tote bag to carry it all. Subscribe today@poetrymagazine.org Slowdown25 to receive this special offer. I'm Maggie Smith and this is the Slowdown. Idioms and common sayings communicate so much about where we come from and who we come from. I come from the Midwest and my family's roots here are deep. I grew up with a lot of what I'd call Midwestern folk sayings, though no doubt some of them traveled from other regions, perhaps up from the south or down from New England. You'll catch more flies with honey than with vinegar is something I'm sure I've heard my mother say. It's as if she has a little wooden recipe box in her mind filled with 3 by 5 cards with beloved sayings written on them. As if she can flip through all the cards and pull the one she needs from for the moment, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all was always a popular one directed at me growing up. Fine, I was a mouthy kid. I suppose some mouthy kids become writers. Another popular one was two wrongs don't make a right. That one came in handy, I'm sure, when one of my sisters did something to me and I did something to get her back. I also remember my mom saying, do as I say, not as I do. I half jokingly say that to my children now when I'm staying up too late. But I want them to get a good night's sleep when I'm eating chips, but I'd rather them snack on carrot sticks. Of course, I know that what I'm doing is more of an example than what I'm saying. Actions speak louder than words. I have my own recipe box of sayings many inherited from older family members. But often I use shorthand. The devil you know where there's a will out of the frying pan, a bird in the hand. These sayings are so common I don't feel the need to quote them in full. I trust the listener to get the gist. I trust them to fill in the rest. Today's poem begins with a little advice that made me smile because of its sauciness. And the poem unfolds into such a rich, detailed portrait. Not a portrait of a lady, but of ladies shedding old expectations and claiming new ladies Arm Wrestling Match at the Blue Moon Diner By Jenny Johnson My grandma always told me, if life gives you lemons, throw em away and so we loosen, shuffle off sore tendons Mondays insults catcalled out Chevy windows clinking whiskey glasses we wipe away sweat and old flames All I ever found in the gravel was the paper body what the garter snake shed Take off that old suit tonight Even as your good arm shudders to the mat like the moon meeting the mouth of the Shenandoah Take off that old suit in new skin Come back again and again Own this acreage, this new ground Ripping under rolled sleeves. The Slowdown is a production of American Public Media in partnership with the Poetry Foundation. To get a poem delivered to you daily, go to slowdownshow.org and sign up for our newsletter and find us on Instagram, LowdownShow and blue sky@slowdownshow.org. Each day on the Slowdown, we take a breath together and look closely at this world, its beauty, its aches, its small shining moments. If this daily pause has meant something to you, I hope you'll consider supporting it. Please make a donation before the year ends and help keep this space for reflection alive. Donate now@slowdownshow.org or click the link in the show notes and thank you.