# "Southernisms" **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 18, 2001, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southernisms/94089 "2001-11-18T20:45:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_News_Baboon)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southernisms/94089/1 "2001-11-18T20:45:42Z")
on this thread I started, I was asking about foghorn leghorn. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?postid=1835773#post1835773](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?postid=1835773#post1835773) I am also looking for words and sayings that are unique to the south (or words that have a southern feel to them) not specific to foghorn leghorn. (mods, if this is a double post, please lock up) words such as: veranda cotillion libation mint julep Miss (insert woman’s name here) ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southernisms/94089/2 "2001-11-18T20:59:51Z")
In this age, I’m not sure how regional anything remains, as I’m pretty sure I could get some heuvos rancheros in Anchorage, but I think I know what you mean. crawdaddy gumbo All manner of Spanish words that have become part of the language, such as sendero, arroyo, migas, etc. y’all Tejano Zydeco Jalapeno Bayou Pirogue Cajun ---
**Author:** ![HerMajestyLorna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/7cd45c/32.png) [@HerMajestyLorna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HerMajestyLorna)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southernisms/94089/3 "2001-11-18T21:01:35Z")
One thing I hear around here a bit is the phrase “might could.” Ex.: I might could get that work done by noon. ---
**Author:** ![psychogumby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c0e974/32.png) [@psychogumby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychogumby)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southernisms/94089/4 "2001-11-18T21:02:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bad News Baboon \* > **I am also looking for words and sayings that are unique to the south (or words that have a southern feel to them) not specific to foghorn leghorn.** Little Missy yee-haw cotton-pickin’ Don’t tear my heart, my achey breaky heart. The N Word 😃 Finger-Lickin’ Good “Hey Maw, hows cain ya be mah sister and mah aunt too?” “Ask your pa, or your brother, or your uncle - they’s all da same person, ya know!” ---
**Author:** ![roadrunner70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19b73/32.png) [@roadrunner70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roadrunner70)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southernisms/94089/5 "2001-11-18T21:09:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by HerMajestyLorna \* > \*\*One thing I hear around here a bit is the phrase “might could.” > > Ex.: > I might could get that work done by noon. \*\* Or the ever popular “used to could” as in, “I used to could dance.” (with thanks to the head redneck, Jeff Foxworthy) ---
**Author:** ![TN\_hippie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/858c86/32.png) [@TN\_hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TN_hippie)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southernisms/94089/6 "2001-11-18T21:14:36Z")
“I reckon I’m fixin’ to head up yonder” is a sentence that would not draw stares around here. I’m sure I’ve said it myself a few times. others: whoop ass _or_ whup ass…noun or verb chester drawers coke…meaning _any_ soft drink maters ‘n’ taters greens…meaning turnip or collard (maybe mustard) greens mess… enough to serve a small gathering directly…meaning “when I get around to it” aggravation…meaning annoyance I’d allow as how there’s lots more. Let me ponder that for a spell. * * * and think about sex, TN\*hippie ---
**Author:** ![Fionn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Fionn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fionn)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southernisms/94089/7 "2001-11-18T21:15:21Z")
I got the impression “fixing to” was a Southernism. Meaning “about to” as in: “What are you doing?” “I’m fixing to go to the grocery store and then I’ll make dinner.” From Florence King’s _Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady_ I got the idea that saying “hey” instead of “hi” was a practice in Mississippi in the fifties. I don’t know how widespread this is, but I’ve always said hey rather than hi. Some authors, like Mary Willis Walker and the aforementioned Miss King, write of people saying “Co-cola” instead of “Coca-cola” but I’ve never actually heard this in real life. At least in my area of Texas, Coke is used as a generic term. ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_News_Baboon)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southernisms/94089/8 "2001-11-18T21:24:37Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by TN_hippie \* > \*\* > coke…meaning _any_ soft drink > \*\* :eek: finally, someone who understands!!! I live in Texas (which I don’t consider the “south”. I was meaning more like scarlett o’hara type south) and I say THIS all the time!!! me: want a coke? guest: why yes. me: what flavor? I have coke, sprite and dr pepper. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Creaky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e68b1a/32.png) [@Creaky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Creaky)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southernisms/94089/9 "2001-11-18T21:27:04Z")
“How are you hold up these days?” which means, “How are you doing lately?” Or “Don’t act out!” which means, “Behave!” The Civil War is called “The War Between the States”, or, if you’re talking to _really_ old people, “That Recent Unpleasantness”. ---
**Author:** ![TN\_hippie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/858c86/32.png) [@TN\_hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TN_hippie)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southernisms/94089/10 "2001-11-18T21:29:53Z")
Yeah, “fixin’ to” means “about to.” “Coke” is any soft drink…“Co-Cola” is The Real Thing. “Hey” is interchangeable with “hi.” Sadly, though, a lot of these colloquialisms are dying out. The so-called “South” has become homogenized in the last decade or so. Nothing against Yankees and other furners. We understand how y’all would want to be here. But I cherish the accents and idioms and I fear losing all that. It aggravates me something awful. I might could bole up a mess a greens an feel better. I’ll do that directly. * * * and think about sex, TN\*hippie ---
**Author:** ![TN\_hippie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/858c86/32.png) [@TN\_hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TN_hippie)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southernisms/94089/11 "2001-11-18T21:35:16Z")
Or if they’re really old and still hold a grudge: **The War of the Northern Aggression.** Another variation on “behave”…“Act like somebody!” (accented thusly: “Act like some **bod** y!”) ---
**Author:** ![bobkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c67d28/32.png) [@bobkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobkitty)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southernisms/94089/12 "2001-11-18T21:38:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Creaky \* > \*\*The Civil War is called “The War Between the States”, or, if you’re talking to _really_ old people, “That Recent Unpleasantness”. \*\* Uh-uh. It’s the ‘War of Northern Aggresssion.’ I hear about that A LOT. My mother-in-law says ‘Co-cola’. Y’all is probably the first thing that people pick up when living here for any period of time. I’ll have to listen to Mr. Bobkitty for a while, and report back. I do know he’s got my mom saying ‘I don’t give a rat’s ass’ which neither of us had heard before. -BK ---
**Author:** ![Nocturne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9fc348/32.png) [@Nocturne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nocturne)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southernisms/94089/13 "2001-11-18T21:39:04Z")
“Well, I declare!” I’ve heard LOTS of people (mostly older) say “Co-cola.” ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southernisms/94089/14 "2001-11-18T21:42:32Z")
Howdy! That’s purt near all I can think of now. I’ll give y’all a holler if any more come to mind. ---
**Author:** ![Creaky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e68b1a/32.png) [@Creaky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Creaky)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southernisms/94089/15 "2001-11-18T21:51:36Z")
**bobkitty** and **TN\*hippie** … “War of Northern Aggression” … how true, how true! Heh, heh. Actually I never heard that one. Seriously. My old maiden aunties and grandparents never used that phrase. Even when we lived in Virginia I never heard it used. Is it like a deep Southern thing? ---
**Author:** ![AbbySthrnAccent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@AbbySthrnAccent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AbbySthrnAccent)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southernisms/94089/16 "2001-11-18T22:21:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bad News Baboon \* > I live in Texas (which I don’t consider the “south”. I was meaning more like scarlett o’hara type south) and I say THIS all the time!!! Texas is not in the south? 😕 I checked my map and sure enough there it is, smack in the middle at the bottom (south). If I recall correctly, Scarlett O’Hara lived in the South East. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![JavaMaven1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/cab0a1/32.png) [@JavaMaven1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JavaMaven1)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southernisms/94089/17 "2001-11-18T22:22:16Z")
My personal favorite is: j’eet yet? (Did you eat yet?) Still cracks me up when I see my relatives and they ask me that. ---
**Author:** ![racinchikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@racinchikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racinchikki)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southernisms/94089/18 "2001-11-18T22:40:08Z")
My Georgian academic advisor informed me, rather archly, that Texas does NOT count as the South. Texas is, rather, the beginning of the West. Louisiana is not the South, either. It’s just Louisiana. My roommate says things like “I’m fixin’ to skin outta these britches” (“I’m going to change my pants”) all the time. ---
**Author:** ![RaCha\_ar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@RaCha\_ar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaCha_ar)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southernisms/94089/19 "2001-11-18T22:42:14Z")
I’m in Richmond, Virginia (which I’ve been told isn’t _really_ the South, either). In working in a grocery store I’ve picked up on some things: “Can I borrow an ink pen?” It’s always an “ink pen.” Never just a pen. Has to be an ink pen. I’ve never understood what other kind of pen there might be. “What kind of bags would you like, ma’am?” “Bags.” Meaning paper bags. I’m going to assume this is a Southern thing because I worked in a grocery store in Massachusetts for three years and never got this. “Well how’re you today, Miss Rachael?” That’s my daily greeting from Sherrie, lower-level management at my store. After noticing that she always puts “Miss” in front of the name of any female she comes across, I started to pick up on it with other older ladies too. Don’t know what that’s all about. Most everything else this Yankee has noticed has already been mentioned by someone else. Can a Southerner explain this “ink pen” thing to me, please? ---
**Author:** ![AbbySthrnAccent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@AbbySthrnAccent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AbbySthrnAccent)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southernisms/94089/20 "2001-11-18T22:49:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by racinchikki \* > \*\*My Georgian academic advisor informed me, rather archly, that Texas does NOT count as the South. Texas is, rather, the beginning of the West. > > Louisiana is not the South, either. It’s just Louisiana. > > My roommate says things like “I’m fixin’ to skin outta these britches” (“I’m going to change my pants”) all the time. \*\* They must use non-standard maps in Georgia. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southernisms/94089.md?page=2)