# On a soul food delivery van: "We all we got" **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 3, 2012, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-a-soul-food-delivery-van-we-all-we-got/614653 "2012-03-03T17:22:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-a-soul-food-delivery-van-we-all-we-got/614653/1 "2012-03-03T17:22:02Z")
Just saw a soul food company’s delivery van on the street yesterday, and “We all we got” was emblazoned on the back and sides. Do you think that was a declaration of: 1. “Our company’s so small, we only have one van” 2. “We’re self-reliant and proud of it” 3. “Family means more to us than anything” 4. Something else? ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-a-soul-food-delivery-van-we-all-we-got/614653/2 "2012-03-03T17:26:07Z")
Our educational system? mmm ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-a-soul-food-delivery-van-we-all-we-got/614653/3 "2012-03-03T17:44:40Z")
I’ll vote for Option 4, but I have no good idea what the real meaning is. It’s catchy, and that’s for sure. Maybe it’s along the lines of “We ain’t run out just yet.” ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-a-soul-food-delivery-van-we-all-we-got/614653/4 "2012-03-03T17:46:37Z")
Well…a quick google brings up so many results for ‘We all we got’ that I’m thinking 3, or some variant, is the closest. 'We’ve got to stick together ‘cause nobody else is going to help us’ kind of thing. ‘Family’ in a broad term. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-a-soul-food-delivery-van-we-all-we-got/614653/5 "2012-03-03T18:17:56Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Our educational system? > mmm Seems a legitimate use of AAVE, to me. The implied verb “are” is clearly understood even by people like me who don’t speak AAVE. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-a-soul-food-delivery-van-we-all-we-got/614653/6 "2012-03-03T18:19:47Z")
I hear it as “we’re all in this together,” with a subtext of “…so let’s help each other out by buying some food from us!” ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-a-soul-food-delivery-van-we-all-we-got/614653/7 "2012-03-03T18:44:26Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > 1. Something else? They bought the van pre-owned from a spelling-challenged septic tank cleaning service. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-a-soul-food-delivery-van-we-all-we-got/614653/8 "2012-03-03T20:41:38Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > I hear it as “we’re all in this together,” with a subtext of “…so let’s help each other out by buying some food from us!” That is clearly what it means to me. ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-a-soul-food-delivery-van-we-all-we-got/614653/9 "2012-03-03T21:10:37Z")
I would guess that it’s meant to encourage black customers to patronize their (most likely) black-owned business as part of supporting their community. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-a-soul-food-delivery-van-we-all-we-got/614653/10 "2012-03-03T21:13:25Z")
> [@rachelellogram](#): > > Seems a legitimate use of AAVE, to me. The implied verb “are” is clearly understood even by people like me who don’t speak AAVE. I am not arguing that it is not clearly understood. “Lite yogurt”, “drive thru”, and “open all nite” are clearly understood as well. mmm ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-a-soul-food-delivery-van-we-all-we-got/614653/11 "2012-03-03T21:15:12Z")
My first thought was it means they are giving all they got, we are all we got(we’re giving it our all). ---
**Author:** ![florez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b9e5f3/32.png) [@florez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/florez)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-a-soul-food-delivery-van-we-all-we-got/614653/12 "2012-03-03T22:27:56Z")
soylent green? ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-a-soul-food-delivery-van-we-all-we-got/614653/13 "2012-03-03T23:14:08Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > mmm Okay, I just now realized that this is your initials/signature. Previously, every time I’ve seen it on the board, I’ve read it as sort of a “hmmmm” noise. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-a-soul-food-delivery-van-we-all-we-got/614653/14 "2012-03-03T23:23:28Z")
At least it doesn’t say, “We all we got everyday.” ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-a-soul-food-delivery-van-we-all-we-got/614653/15 "2012-03-04T00:31:43Z")
> [@Absolute](#): > > Okay, I just now realized that this is your initials/signature. Previously, every time I’ve seen it on the board, I’ve read it as sort of a “hmmmm” noise. Oh. Whoa. Wow. Damn. :smack: :eek: ---
**Author:** ![GameHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@GameHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GameHat)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-a-soul-food-delivery-van-we-all-we-got/614653/16 "2012-03-04T06:02:23Z")
Psssht on all the language haters. This is dialect, not laziness. I’d assume from the OP that it’s both #2 and #3. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-a-soul-food-delivery-van-we-all-we-got/614653/17 "2012-03-04T13:54:07Z")
> [@lavenderviolet](#): > > I would guess that it’s meant to encourage black customers to patronize their (most likely) black-owned business as part of supporting their community. That was my interpretation as well. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-a-soul-food-delivery-van-we-all-we-got/614653/18 "2012-03-04T14:00:57Z")
It’s quite possible that the slogan is a variant of [For Us By Us (FUBU)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FUBU) with the mystery removed. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-a-soul-food-delivery-van-we-all-we-got/614653/19 "2012-03-05T14:26:34Z")
Thanks, folks. Never heard that phrase before.