Wordwizard

Here in PA we have "chuck holes", "potholes" in dirt roads.
Could be onomatopoeic or reference to woodchuck holes.

we say "thumb your nose"

I've heard of Bat Mitzvah............maybe a Bear Mitzvah would have done the trick.

If no one responds it's nothing to get exercised about

nicky-knocky-nine-doors

while waiting for knocker ID, I feel an urgency to warn all knockers to avoid ingesting tetraethyl lead, an antiknock agent used in gasoline. Knock on wood, we'll all avoid it.

Who's there?

A few times, it's "come on as". It looks like the term is always couched in advice on what not to do. "But don't come on as threatening." -from the Texas School for the Blind website "Please don't come on as protecting the Church" -from a LDSCN website "Don't come on as Johnny Spiritual." -from dtm....

Saying "whatever happened to..." makes no sense.

Erik, that's even better. Thanks.

Why did the chicken cross the road?
To prove that it could be done.
Why did the groundhog cross the road?
To prove that it couldn't be done.

'The Careful Writer'
by Theodore M Bernstein
"A Modern Guide To English Usage"
Is worth reading if only because it
contains the line :
"What did you bring that book for me to be read to out of up for?"