My Paternal Grandmother often remarked, “Some people have more money than sense.”
A good verbal pun when said as : “more dollars than sense”
Bless his/her/your heart can also be consolatory. Like dude, its meaning is entirely dependent on the speaker’s tone.
Well, Grandmother did move here from Illinois.
That will be Our Little Secret
Well I do declare! You sure are a smart one… considering who raised ya… bless your little heart.
I just thought of a couple more, though they may be more black than Southern: saditty and flicted. The former mean “acting in a pretentious or unwontedly sophisticated fashion.” The latter is short for afflicted and means “crazy, stupid, and/or eccentric in an unpleasant way.”
Well, we stole okra and chitterlings from you, we might as well take them, too.
“I’ll beat you like a red-headed stepchild who stole from the church plate.”
Not really an insult and not sure it was used much outside my southern home though.
Flicted, I think, can be used by white people. Saditty is best summarized as meaning “acting white,” so y’all don’t have much use for it.
He’s done got above his raisin’s.
She’s pretty. (in the same vein as “Bless your heart”)
Is “She has a pretty face” uniquely Southern?
My mother tells me that if a southern woman says “I don’t really know him” what she really means is he’s a rat.
Well, that’sdifferent
This is another one that can mean something good or something bad: “He ain’t nuthin but a dirt road sport”.
My folks would say a man lived every day like it was Saturday night. That meant he got all dressed up like he was going out on the town, and spit and shined over nothing, with nowhere to go. Poor folks who haven’t got much will pull out all the stops they can on date night. . .I’m betting that “saditty” started as Saturday. . .
“Ain’t got the good sense God gave a cucumber” is one of my all-time favorites, although goose actually works nicely. The last word can be changed around to imply all sorts of things. “Rooster” would mean he was stupid about dating, or “pea-hen” would mean she was underdressed as compared to her husband. . .
The final verdict on a cad “No decent woman can afford to be seen with him.”
“He/she is difficult” suggests a diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder.
“very Energetic” implies AD/HD
A “hard” man is not a good thing in the South. He’s mean, inflexible, demanding and self-centered.
“Flighty” irresponsible. Will completely destroy your chances of ever chairing a Junior League event.
“She’s so Junior League” or “She’s not Junior League material” one means she’d iron her blouse before taking a child to the emergency room, the second means she lacks morals.
Is “He’s wound a little too tight” a southern thing? It means he’s likely to fly off the handle and hurt somebody, like a baling wire that’s not gonna hold. . .
“Uglier than the north end of a southbound mule” - maybe not restricted to the South.
“In a state” carries the implication “over nothing.” It’s like throwing a hissy fit, but a little quieter, and usually involves locking oneself in the bathroom.
As a youngster having an adult man who’s not your father call you “son.” Ooh that puts you in your place.
That’s not so much an insult around here. But if my husband calls you “Cap’n”, you can bet you’ve pissed him off.