What does "I swan" mean?

[mangeorge]

@oliversarmy

I grew up in East Texas and I heard this everyday of my life and, to be quite frank, I never wondered what it meant. It was just something grown-ups said. I heard both “I’ll swan” and “I’ll swanee.”

Based on my memory of context, I think it means something akin to “I swear,” or “Is that the truth?” in regards to something that surprised you or you already knew about the surprise, but you didn’t want to let on.

In other words, what it meant was either “No shit,” or “You’re kidding me,” in the sense that you already knew what the person was telling you, but you didn’t want to let on.

Except, sometimes, it really did mean you had no idea about what the other person was telling you.

In all instances, it was intended not to offend the other party.

As I think about it, the old people would also say “Well, I swan,” whenever something unexpected happened, such as a visitor, usually a relative, showed up unexpectedly. As in, when sitting down to lunch after church and hearing a car horn. Then looking out the door and seeing some cousin or some such. “Well, I swan, here’s Melba, set another place at the table.”

But thanks for bringing this up. It reminds me of my grandmothers. They died years ago, but the memories are happy.

That is as I remember it.
You’re welcome, and it brings back nice memories for me too.
Kitty. Her name was Kitty. I remembered as I was typing this. My first love, as mentioned in the OP, that is.

[samclem]

First time I heard it was my Aunt saying it in about 1955, Danville VA. If she had said “I swear…” her mom would have whacked her one. I’ve also heard my Southern relatives say “Well, I swigger.”

[samclem]

Just got off the phone with my 87 yr. old mom. Danville, VA. She said she would have been “switched” if she said anything other than “I declare.” Whether you said “swan” “swigger” or anything as a euphemism, you were in trouble. Religion in the South was serious business.

[Markxxx]

@samclem

@Markxxx

The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show (radio) was sponsored by Swan Soap and at the end of every show, the announcer Bill Goodwin would close out the show by saying, “…Until next week I swan how about you?”

I never knew it was a phrase, I thought it had something to do with the soap

Tell me you used to listen to this in the last 30 years, not on radio at the time. :eek:

I’m old but not quite that old.

As Gracie Allen would say…

Grace Allen is trying to talk Frank Sinatra into doing something for George. She knocks on his door and he answers.

Gracie) Good Afternoon, I’m working my way through college selling magazines

Frank) Wait a minute, you’re Gracie Allen

Gracie) Well you got me there

Frank) Don’t you think that speech you gave me is a bit unbelievable

Gracie) I guess you’re right, shall we start over

Frank)Ah…Ok

Gracie) Hello, I’m working my way through high school

And now back to your regularly scheduled thread

[mangeorge]

@samclem

Just got off the phone with my 87 yr. old mom. Danville, VA. She said she would have been “switched” if she said anything other than “I declare.” Whether you said “swan” “swigger” or anything as a euphemism, you were in trouble. Religion in the South was serious business.

That, and highschool football. And NASCAR.

[mangeorge]

@Markxxx

@samclem

Tell me you used to listen to this in the last 30 years, not on radio at the time. :eek:

I’m old but not quite that old.

As Gracie Allen would say…

Grace Allen is trying to talk Frank Sinatra into doing something for George. She knocks on his door and he answers.

Gracie) Good Afternoon, I’m working my way through college selling magazines

Frank) Wait a minute, you’re Gracie Allen

Gracie) Well you got me there

Frank) Don’t you think that speech you gave me is a bit unbelievable

Gracie) I guess you’re right, shall we start over

Frank)Ah…Ok

Gracie) Hello, I’m working my way through high school

And now back to your regularly scheduled thread

That show was funny!

[Rasa]

@elfkin477

@freckafree

Regional Note: New Englanders sometimes express surprise by saying, “Well, I vum!”

We what?? Maybe a couple hundred years ago, but no one says that now.

Yeah… yourdictionary.com is not my New England dictionary, haha! Never, ever, ever heard this and I have oldschool swamp Yankee family. I may start using it though.

[outlierrn]

@mangeorge

This most priggish illiterate pedant has a small but

I would have swan you were going to say ‘has a small but loud and annoying presense on this board’ right there.

[mangeorge]

@Rasa

@elfkin477

We what?? Maybe a couple hundred years ago, but no one says that now.

Yeah… yourdictionary.com is not my New England dictionary, haha! Never, ever, ever heard this and I have oldschool swamp Yankee family. I may start using it though.

You got swamps back there?

[mangeorge]

@outlierrn

@mangeorge

This most priggish illiterate pedant has a small but

I would have swan you were going to say ‘has a small but loud and annoying presense on this board’ right there.

Now why would I say a thing like that?
Go ahead, hurt me.

[Rasa]

@mangeorge

@Rasa

Yeah… yourdictionary.com is not my New England dictionary, haha! Never, ever, ever heard this and I have oldschool swamp Yankee family. I may start using it though.

You got swamps back there?

It’s a figure of speech. Though we do have a few swamps, yeah.

[mangeorge]

@Rasa

@mangeorge

You got swamps back there?

It’s a figure of speech. Though we do have a few swamps, yeah.

Got it. Thanks.

[Lgbpop]

@mangeorge

That’s a good one. The author mentions the “Suwanee” river, which is how I thought it was pronounced. I think it’s an american indian name.
I love the american language. All these wonderful words, and we still lack a single word alternative for “he/she”. :smack:

We long ago learned how to distinguish between an individual man or woman. Only those bereft of eyesight or insight need to be vague about the sex of someone about whom they’re speaking. Sorry you are bereft of eyesight or insight; I am capable of telling a he from a she. Therefore, I have no need to use a plural pronoun to mask my ignorance, let alone to advertise ignorance by using a plural pronoun where a singular one is required.

[Exapno_Mapcase]

@Lgbpop

I am capable of telling a he from a she.

Really! And you can do it on the Internet too! Wow! You’re special, I swan to goodness!

[Spoke]

The “I shall warrant ye” explanation sounds very strained to me. I don’t buy it at all.

I think it is simply a case of people not wanting to say “I swear” for religious reasons. (The applicable verse being Matthew 5:33-38.) There are still people who will not swear an oath in court because of these verses in the Bible, which is why the required oath before giving testimony is often rendered “Do you swear or affirm that the testimony you are about to give is the truth…”

And so…

“Well I swear!” became “Well I swan!” (“Well I Suwanee” being a humorous variant) in the same way that:

“God damn” became “gosh darn”
“fuck” became “fudge”
“shit!” became “shoot!”

…in my opinion, based on growing up around people who held those religious beliefs and tended to use those swear word substitutes.

[moriah]

@Lgbpop

We long ago learned how to distinguish between an individual man or woman. Only those bereft of eyesight or insight need to be vague about the sex of someone about whom they’re speaking. Sorry you are bereft of eyesight or insight; I am capable of telling a he from a she. Therefore, I have no need to use a plural pronoun to mask my ignorance, let alone to advertise ignorance by using a plural pronoun where a singular one is required.

Wow. You resurrect a dead thread to argue against the singular they which even the most strident prescriptivist grammarians are giving up the fight against since there’s just so much damned evidence that it is indeed the common usage for centuries, and therefore, correct usage.

Because, sometimes, you just don’t know the gender of the person you’re speaking of and you want to reference them without using the awkward ‘him or her.’ Now, since you have sight and insight, what was the gender of this supposed person I just referrenced?

[mangeorge]

Lgbpop simply stated its case. I assume he/she took so long because, well, they wanted to get it right.Failed, but that’s okie-dokie.

[Bob_X]

@mangeorge

This most priggish illiterate pedant has a small but important problem with using the plural to refer to a single. So, whenever I think of it, I’ll use "it’. Just as I do for a baby. Or a dog.
So, unless i learn (for sure) Derlith’s gender, I shall class it with babies and dogs.
Nyah!

Dost thou also have a small but important problem with using the plural to refer to a single in the 2nd person, or only in the 3rd?

[Philliam]

@An_Gadai

Have you never “swanned off into the sunset”?

Is that a common term outside this island?

I use ‘swannin’ round’ as a term of mild opprobrium, but it was picked up from my Brit shipmates when I worked off-shore in “the oil patch”. Don’t think it is heard here in the Colonies too often.

[Yllaria]

@Lgbpop

. . . I am capable of telling a he from a she. Therefore, I have no need to use a plural pronoun to mask my ignorance, let alone to advertise ignorance by using a plural pronoun where a singular one is required.

A tip of the hat to Mr. Tobin, who taught high school English in 1973. He called to the departing class, one day, saying, “Somebody left his purse at his desk.” Just as an illustration of the drawbacks of the default pseudogeneric pronoun.