I lived in TX for a couple years back in the '90s, transplanted from the NYC area. Assuming TX qualifies as part of ‘The South’ for this topic, I was always amused at some of the exclamations I heard – most of which I can no longer remember. Now, I’m sure most of us are familiar with the common “Bless your heart”, but please regale me with others – anything in a turn of phrase from the common to the outlandishly entertaining. For instance, I remember one guy I met praising a restaurant’s food, saying “Damnation! Their food’s so good you’ll want to turn around and slap your grandma!”
Yes, this is partially inspired by the thread Southern Insults, but it’s gained prominence for me as I’m gonna be moving back to TX in a couple months…
“Scat, tomcat, your tail’s in the gravy” - you’d say this to a child underfoot in the kitchen.
An expression the old people used for some luxury thing that nobody needed was “glow wicky stuff”. I don’t know exactly how to spell it. “You can forget about gettin’ that glow wicky stuff”.
When you split something, you do not slice it “in half” nor do you “divide it in halves”. Rather instead you cut it “half in two”. Don’t ask me why, I freely admit one would be unlikely to slice something half in three instead, but that’s the way it’s done in the South.
Perchance there was once a route available to you, or a functionality that previous versions of the software provided? To refer to such things, you say that you “used to could” do such things. Example: “You used to could drive right on down that road and not see any traffic until you got towards Macon, but then they put in the loop and now all the city traffic goes there too.”
When showing affection towards a person of the clasp and embrace variety, one does not merely hug them; as counterintuitive as it may seem at first glance, one “hugs their neck”. No, it’s not considered a method of assault. Don’t be shy. Go hug Aunt Lucy’s neck.
I don’t CARE what your grammar teacher told you. You WILL be invited to position yourself in chair or on couch via the offer to “set a spell”. Put down that Harry Potter book. Park your posterior in the indicated furniture.
It’s entirely possible I’m conflating multiple sayings. This guy was full of 'em, but for the life of me I can’t remember any others…they sure were entertaining though.
Sometimes a person, when giving directions will tell you to “go up down the road” for a certain distance. And, inevitably, part of their directions will reference either Bubba’s house or Aunt Sissy’s house.
If somebody likes you they might “cotton to ya”.
It might be said of a big man that he was “corn bread and country fed”, “big enough to go bear huntin’ with a switch”, or that he “ate all his peas and corn bread”.
If you actually went to school to learn you might say " I didn’t go to school to eat my lunch".
I grew up in TX, and my dad always said “finer than frog hair.” He’s also fond of “darker than the inside of a cow.” Sometimes he’d replace “cow” with “rock.”
Heh… a college buddy of mine who was originally from Iowa was absolutely fit to be tied because after about 10 years in Texas, he caught himself saying “fixin’ to,” which in his mind, was one of those Texanisms that he swore he’d never say.
I’m scared for the future of this thread. Elsewhere in these forums a heated discussion broke out about the relationship of sweet tea to sweetened tea and tea with sugar, which led to debates over the differences between coke, co-cola, and cold drinks and whether y’all is invariably plural or if its plural form is all y’all. I have know idea where it went from there.
There is such of a thing as a “fish house”. (Not to be confused with “fish camp” which is something else). A fish house is a restaurant way out in the sticks which serves fried catfish, and sometimes other things like frog legs. The sweetened ice tea is so thick you could probably pour it on your pancakes for syrup. “Fish house tea”. Also, the fish house might only be open on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights.
One thing that is NOT a Texanism at least is “I’m blankier than a blank blank in a blank.” It’s SO not Texan that I can’t even think what to fill in the blanks with. In James Clavell’s Whirlwind, set in 1979 Iran, there’s a Texan from my part of the state who not only kept saying that shit, he called home once and spoke with his young son, who also peppered his conversation with that crap. Dad stood proudly musing how much the boy was becoming like him afterward as a result. Well, NO ONE, not one single person, did I ever hear say anything like that, EVER. That’s strictly for stand-up comics. Clavell really got that wrong.
I grew up with folks from the hills (including family) and have lived here in the mid-south for fifteen years. In addition to the aforementioned y’all and fixin’ to, there are a few phrases that will unmistakably mark you as having southern family or lived in the south.
Hose pipe. Here in middle Tennessee, we don’t water the lawn with a garden hose, we use a hose pipe.
Might could / might should. If you ask Sissy if the tea is sweet enough, she may answer “It might could use a touch more sugar.”
A wonderfully colorful phrase that I picked up from my late SOs family in the western part of the state is used to describe feeling a bit rough. The day after a night of wild partying, when asked how one feels, one might reply “I feel like I’ve been shot at and missed and shit at and hit.”
I find that the longer I live here, the more of these that creep into my speech.
“Maybe definitely” is one: “We give it one more pull and this stump will maybe definitely come out.”
“Slicker than calf-slobber” is one I have heard very few people use, it’s in reference to being clever or pulling one over on somebody: “Well he’s just slicker than calf-slobber” I actually haven’t heard anyone use it in years and it’s probably died out.
There’s more but I don’t recall them. I’m from Texas but the Army’s had me out of state for so long I might be forgetting them all.
EDIT: almost forgot one of my favorites: “Samuel J. Houston on a motorcycle!!” Used in the same fashion as “Jesus H. Christ…”
An imaginary conversation, with translations in parentheses:
Picture yourself at a rural Southern church on an autumn afternoon, having dinner-on-the-grounds (potluck lunch, usually served after Sunday morning homecoming services, often on outdoor plank tables under the trees surrounding the church. Heavy on the fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, devilled eggs, snap beans, sweet tea, and coconut cake.) While waiting to serve yourself, you overhear this conversation:
Sister Mattie Lou (because at this type of church, everyone who’s not your immediate family is “Brother X” or “Sister Y”): “Did you see that ole gal that Little Johnny brought with him?” (“Ole Gal” = woman who isn’t entirely ladylike. She may be suspected of anything from smoking or drinking a beer straight from the can, to rooting for Michigan football. She probably showed up at church wearing white open-toed sandals this morning, a whole month after Labor Day. “Little” Johnny may be 35 years old, 6.5 feet tall, and 300 pounds. His daddy is “Big” Johnny.)
Sister Ruth: “I don’t know what why Brother Johnny keeps company with (dates) her. Poor thing looks like a mud fence daubed with lizards. (Not a supermodel.) Now, that l’il ole gal (pronounced ‘lilole’ gal, not derogatory like “ole gal,” generally means young or small woman) he dated back in college? What was her name again? You know, the one whose granddaddy operated the cotton gin? Brenda? Bertha? Beulah? You know - her mama used to have that little feist dog? (“Feist dog” is usually some kind of small terrier.) Bobbie Ann! That was her name! Now she was a pretty little thing!”
Sister Mattie Lou: “But then again, Little Johnny looks like seven miles of bad road himself.” (Not handsome.)
Sister Ruth: “Yes, he did take after his daddy’s side of the family. Bless his heart.”
From a summer in Columbia, S.C.: Hodedoh! (Hold the door); Ahmon: (I’m going to); Motee? (More tea?); Case quatuh? (Case quarter, as in give me a $0.25 piece for two dimes and a nickle). That’s all I can think of from 25 years ago.
If something is full to the brim, it’s “lippin’ full”.
If you have a lot of something it’s a “right smart” of it.
If it rained a whole lot you might say “it rained a skunk here”.
“nearabout” is another word. “He ain’t nearabout crazy as they say”.
A child of yours born outside of wedlock is your “outside child”.
If you want to borrow some money 'til payday you ask your friend if he will let you “hold a few dollars 'til Friday”.
