One I was thinking of earlier tonight: the old when I was little used healthy as a euphemism for ‘fat’. “He married him a healthy gal, didn’t he?”
I know there was a time when extra weight was considered healthy looking and perhaps attractive, but I think this was more to avoid saying “Damn she’s fat”.
I was a healthy child and referred to as such. I didn’t realize until later that healthy didn’t mean “hale and hearty”.
Conversely, a skinny frail child was “poor looking”. Or just " po’ ". "You shoulda seen Tara’s baby, he’s just po’ ".
ETA: Or “wormy”! Forgot that one. Heh.
Heard a good one today, referring to someone who is scared and obviously tense:
“You couldn’t drive a needle up his ass with a hammer right now.”
One more from Mr. Horseshoe’s side of the family … a saying that expresses that things are looking up, getting better, etc.
“Now we’re shittin’ in high cotton and wiping our asses on the tallest bloom.”
Why yes, he does come from a cotton-growing people. Why do you ask? 
He couldn’t find his own ass with both hands. (dumb/incompetent)
People say things are “all in the floor” instead of “on the floor”.
“You couldn’t drive a needle in his tail with a semi truck.”
There are two videos on this page, and the quote is on the second, but the first explains it a bit better. And they both let you know what people sound like where I am.
http://blogs.ajc.com/chatter/2010/07/27/gators-at-stephen-c-foster-state-park/
And it’s also an amazing sight to see.
I heard one today I haven’t heard in years and it was directed at Lindsey Lohan:
“They need to take that girl out and beat her like she was Jesus”.
I was once betrayed by a friend. My mom (from a tiny little town in TN and from whom I picked my many speech mannerisms) didn’t know about it, but she noticed the now-ex-friend and I hadn’t been in contact for a while.
M: Why ain’t you seein’ to (friend) anymore?
Me: She crossed me over. I wouldn’t piss in her face if her hair was on fire.
M: That puts it paid then. Pity.
One of my mom’s favorites when I was trying to do too many things at once: “You’re goin’ about like your head’s on fire and your ass is catching.”
Uh, how would you pronounce that word except for “jook”?
Desca means the “oo” sound as in “look”. Some people say it like “juke box” with the “u” sounding like it does in “juice”.
One I picked up in Dallas from a friend:
“He needed killin’.”
Usually said in regards to someone who was killed under violent circumstances, especially if they weren’t well liked or regarded. Sometimes it was referred to as “The He Needed Killin’ Defense” if the killer were actually brought to trial. Occasionally joked that the He Needed Killin’ Defense was still on the books in Texas.
My grandmother was from a time and place when “fat” was considered a good thing. After we were old enough to become self-conscious about our weights, we granddaughters (none of whom were fat) took a lot of comfort in hearing Grandma say (in a genuinely admiring way) “Baby, you’re looking nice and fat today.” I miss Grandma!
Stout was also used a lot to mean ‘fat’ but in a complimentary way.
Is it southern, or more universal to describe someone of above-average height and/or girth as “good-sized” or “fair-sized”? Both terms are reasonably tactful ways to describe someone as large. (They’re not always just about a person’s size, either. One might own a good-sized farm, or have a fair-sized chunk of change set aside for retirement. In either usage, though, the phrases seem to be about understatement - a million-dollar nest egg or a 400-lb. man might either be described as “good-sized.”)
Not that it was all that “Southern” but hefty got a lot of play in my Alabama crowd in the 50’s. So much so that Neal Hefti surprised me to be so thin and fit. Wrote some fine music as well.
Maybe we need a thread on “teen ager talk” from days gone by to see how much overlap there may be between generations and sections of the country, not to mention that racial issue and foreign influences.
For a big example, somebody explain to me what ese means!
If you want to hear real, actual Deep South talk, listen to This American Life this week. It’s free at 8pm Eastern.
Ese means “buddy, friend, pal,” and can be used either in a friendly or an aggressive way (just like the English version).
“What’s up, ese, how’s it going?”
“Listen, ese, I told you to stop stealing the lemons off the tree in my backyard.”
Thanks! Other than Spanish for that is there another origin for it?