South happens to be rite-cheer in Alabama. Most of us consider any other southern states to be poor imitations. And woe to anyone that thinks Florida (pronounced Flarda) is southern! All 'at place is is a bunch of snowbird Yankees come to roost at the beach!
I’m wondering why nobody’s brought up the word: tump. As in “knock over”, like a rockin’ chair or a flyer-holder. (Commonly known as a “vase”.) Example: “Pearl, git off 'at table afore you tump it over!”
We have colorful ways of bastardizing the English language. Our swearing alone leaves trails of fire through many a trailer park and fishin’ pond. And you can only imagine the fun and frivolity at a college football game.
Stadium managers usually have to repaint the building after every Alabama-Auburn game, due to less-than-sportmanship-type language. I think they get discount rates at hardware stores.
I’d post a few, but if I’m going to get banned, I’d prefer it be because I was understood and not because I was cussin’ a blue streak in an alien tongue.
Do you know the name of that guidebook? I want to know how loose a definition they used. I’d classify midwest as Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa (and if I’m feeling especially generous Kentucky, Missouri, and hell…I mean Michigan).
There are parts of Oklahoma that consider themselves “the South” too. Up until very recently, Confederate flags abounded, and you can still get your clock cleaned for calling someone a Yankee in a bar. Everyone says “y’all”, whether they’ve got the Okie twang or not. You can hear “mash the button”, “Ah’m fixin’ t’go” (or “Ahmona go an’ do it shortly”) all the time, people “aggervate” each other, crayfish are “crawdads”, and pen and pin are pronounced the same. My grandfather used to call the trunk of a car a “turtle shell”. I don’t know if this is a Southernism, or just him.
Well, hell, if you’re basing what constitutes the South on the prevalence of Confederate flags, there’s a county in New York State that’s part of the South, too.
SilkyThreat, you are correct. Alabama is about as Deep South as South can be, by anyone’s definition.
BTW, as a UT alumnus, I am required by law to hate you.
Nothing personal, you understand. My step-father’s family was from Alabama, so I’m familiar with it. Alabama’s a fine place…I just prefer the United States.
Okay, enough of that. Yes, we tump thangs over up here, too. And we still mash buttons now and then.
Mostly if we’re from the country.
Oh, and the “Miss” thing. Yup. Still hear it, though not as much. Specific usage: if the lady in question is older and you have some kind of respect for her and would thus feel uncomfortable calling her “Carolyn” but you know her too well to call her “Miss Smith” in casual conversation, you call her “Miss Carolyn.”
Even less common, but still existing: “Mister Jimmy.” This has Old South racial subordinate overtones, and I don’t want to offend anybody, but it’s the truth. It always amazes me to still hear it. If James Smith (known to his buddies as “Jimmy”) is white and older and your boss, and you are black and know him too well to call him “Mr. Smith,” you might call him “Mister Jimmy.” I shit you not.
“Mister Jimmy” bothers me.
“Miss Carolyn” does not.
Abby, by your definition, Los Angeles is part of the South.
When people talk about “the South” as a social entity, it’s pretty much just the former Confederate states they refer to. Texas is properly part of the American South West, which is a socially distinct region. Although most Texans I’ve met consider themselves Texans first, and all other associations (political party, nationality, species) as a distant second, at least.
Along these lines, Ringo’s suggestions of many Spanish terms being “unique” to the South don’t count, because those terms are common in any state that shares a border with Mexico, including such manifestly non-southern states as California.
Louisiana is most certainly part of the South. No getting around it. When you have the Mississippi Delta, you have the quintessential South. In addition, East Texas is as Southern as Alabama.
West Texas is not South, it is Southwest, Southeast Texas is very South, Panhandle Texas is West or Southwest and East Texas South. South Texas is it’s own damn place (and I like it).
Sorry, I don’t recall the name of the book. The shock of seeing Texas described as Midwestern must have kept it from imprinting on my memory. It didn’t get into definitions, but I admit that from a geographic perspective it makes sense.
I’m originally from Boston, but went to college in West Virginia. I was a bit surprised that most of the people I encountered considered themselves from the South. Reminding them why WV is no longer a part of Virginia was always a good way to get the blood boiling.
Keeping within the bounds of the OP, here are a few phrases & words I consider distinctive of the South in general
getting your groceries packed in a “sack” as opposed to a bag.
“Miss” in front of female first names
Fixin’ to …
and the one I never encountered in Boston, the “spit can”, ecccchhh.
And if y’uns is real country, ya call 'em “pokes.”
I’ll never forget the guy who sold me “reefer for 30 bucks a poke.” That’s an ounce, y’all. And it was good weed, too.
Of course this was about 20 years ago.
Another Texican weighs in.
1.) Everything east of Louisiana (pronounced Lousy-ana)and south of Tennessee is part of the Deep South.
2.) Texas, as the only state with the right to fly it’s flag level with the U.S. flag, is a geographic entity unto itself.
3.) As for Southern-isms, hell, I reckon I was eighteen years old afore I knew Damyankee was really two words.
Also, how about …
“knee-high to a grasshopper”
“purty as a speckled pup”
“pert near” (pretty near or close enough)
“fer piece” (a long distance
“church key” (bottle opener, usually for beer)
“Fixin’ to”
putting red-skin peanuts in your soda pop (or coke)
putting cornbread in milk and eating it with a spoon
johnny-cakes
corn fritters
biscuits and gravy
clabber (curdled milk)
etc., etc., etc.
I’ll agree on the East Texas being the South. We, being those residents of the northereasterly section of the state, are most decidedly Southern in outlook and temperment, with perhaps the only real non-Southern influence being from Louisiana, where we learned the art of the Crawfish Boil. We did not, however, learn anything else from our swamp-dwelling neighbors, and our Hispanic influences are not nearly so obvious as they are in the rest of Texas. I’m from the area around Longview, which certainly wants to be Southern.
I don’t consider Texas the “South”. there is a BIG difference between being south and THE SOUTH.
Granted, portions of east Texas are pretty Southern, but the state as a whole is not.
I really do agree that Texas is Texas.
nevertheless, continue on with your sayings. I think they are great!
I really didn’t define “the south”. A quick review of posts in the thread show that several others did though. I observed that when looking at a continental map of the U.S. Texas is south, Georgia south east and since you mentioned Los Angeles, I will say that on maps here in Texas it appears to be south west.
Yall just wait…im going to sleep now, but im gonna burn this thread a new one when i get up…just yall wait.
oh, and while im at it. Ive NEVER heard anyone say “hi” as a greeting in my whole life. NEVER.
---------The Green Swamp of N.C…what a great place to be-------
