So, just talk to me like a Southerner (Full Version)

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Covaan_Meshuga -> So, just talk to me like a Southerner (7/24/2008 8:17:28 PM)

Do you live, or have you lived, in the southern United States?

So, just talk to me like a Southerner.

Tell me about the way of speaking, the unique phrases and sayings, then remind us what they mean in Yankee language.

And it would be fun, too, to read about any actions or traits that are unique to the South, too. It has been forty years since I was there.

Thank you!



Covaan_Meshuga -> RE: So, just talk to me like a Southerner (7/24/2008 8:18:32 PM)

To start us off, "She cut her eyes at me." Can you tell me what that means?



daisies4u -> RE: So, just talk to me like a Southerner (7/25/2008 9:33:04 AM)

Well, as a true deep South girl, I appreciate that you said Southern instead of country. There is a BIG difference in speaking Southern and speaking country.

Cutting your eyes at someone can mean and couple of things. One means looking at someone in a provocative way. Another means in a "don't mess with me" way.

It's hard to give you a saying. Mainly because this is just the way we talk. We don't realize that we are doing anything any different that any one else.

The first time my kids realized that we spoke 'different" was when my oldest son was about 9 or so. The was writing a story and he wanted to know how to spell --whole nuther---. As in....it is a whole nuther week before school starts. It took me a while to get over that one. I still remind him of it sometimes.

It probably depends on where you live. But I have a friend that live in Missouri for a while and they didn't know what Hey meant (as in hello). They also didn't know what nabs were (peanut butter crackers).



SmileyTish -> RE: So, just talk to me like a Southerner (7/25/2008 10:18:10 AM)

My mother is from Mississippi, so you can't get much more Southern than that. I grew up with sayings such as:

I'll be a monkey's Uncle...In other words, I can't believe I did something so stupid thinking that it was smart the whole time.

Mad as a wet settin hen...in Other words, I'm really angrey right now and about ready to fly the coop if you don't leave me alone.

There's a few others, but I'm at work right now so I can't think of them right off the bat.[:)]



bluestone -> RE: So, just talk to me like a Southerner (7/25/2008 10:23:08 AM)

If someone dies suddenly, I have heard if said:
"He fell over deader than grandma's mule!"

I can only assume Grandmother's mule preceded the man in death.



bluestone -> RE: So, just talk to me like a Southerner (7/25/2008 10:26:24 AM)

by the way, when I say "Bless your heart" it means just that. It is not insulting, nor have I ever heard it used in an insulting way.

other sayings : "Well, glory be!" (Used when you don't know how else to reply to someone)

Regarding the need for orthodontic intervention: "She could eat peas in a quart jar through a picket fence"



rogermugs -> RE: So, just talk to me like a Southerner (7/25/2008 11:19:37 AM)

ya'll ya'll ya'll ya'll
you know you're a southerner when you start typing it... (also when you invest in a belt buckle)



bluestone -> RE: So, just talk to me like a Southerner (7/25/2008 11:23:02 AM)

There is nothing dearer than a little old lady saying "Let me hug your neck" and doing so. Warms my heart!

"laud, Laud, this world, this world" means "I have no idea what you are talking about, but I need to say something".



JimboFletch -> RE: So, just talk to me like a Southerner (7/25/2008 11:41:19 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: rogermugs

ya'll ya'll ya'll ya'll
you know you're a southerner when you start typing it... (also when you invest in a belt buckle)

Y'all is the Southern contraction for "you all" thus, "Y'ALL"!

I'm guessing "ya'll" is a contraction of "ya will" - decidedly Yankee sounding to me.
[8D]

Going back several generation, my lineage includes folk from South Carolina, Georgia, and Northwest Florida. I've lived in Alabama for 27 years.

Spent 4 years in Norfolk, Virginia. That's a different breed of folk because of all the military stationed nearby.



JimboFletch -> RE: So, just talk to me like a Southerner (7/25/2008 11:44:06 AM)

Honey chile, I'll be by on Sunday to carry y'all to church.

Translation:

Dear, I will come to your house on Sunday and drive your family to church.



Covaan_Meshuga -> RE: So, just talk to me like a Southerner (7/25/2008 11:57:36 AM)

Oh, thank you for all the thoughts so far! I have many southern relatives, one of whom is a brother. That brother is absolutely the most honest man I have ever known and is the sweetest person at the same time. I love his ways, and they seem so typical of so many southerners. There is also a certain quiet wisdom, too, that seems to dominate -- something that is not normally openly demonstrated but saved for later reminiscences of incidents that occurred through the day. -- Know what I mean? [;)]

Since I had lived in Mississippi for 3.5 years as a child, I just want to hear some of those phrases again and hear what they really mean, rather than what I assumed they meant as a child. I have lived in the northern half of the US most of my life, and where I have lived longest, we just don't have such colorful speech.

The "cutting eyes" thing? I didn't realize it had that much meaning.



bluestone -> RE: So, just talk to me like a Southerner (7/25/2008 12:40:48 PM)

when I was a child and my mother was scolding me, if I "cut my eyes" at her, the scolding quickly became a whooping. Not a spanking..a whooping!



Kerrlaw -> RE: So, just talk to me like a Southerner (7/25/2008 11:14:09 PM)

People in my family were "work brittle", as were most of our neighbors

Meaning strong and tough from continual hard labor.



lambslite -> RE: So, just talk to me like a Southerner (7/26/2008 12:14:39 AM)

Thank you for your kind reply Cov.

I did erase my first response because I did not want to cause southerners offense, and derail the thread. It would be fine to erase it, because really, we don't need a record of that. I will erase my other response, too.

Blessings,
Lamb



Covaan_Meshuga -> RE: So, just talk to me like a Southerner (7/26/2008 12:25:10 AM)

It's done! [;)]



Kerrlaw -> RE: So, just talk to me like a Southerner (7/26/2008 11:35:28 PM)

If someone was frugal, he was "tighter than Dick's hatband".



Covaan_Meshuga -> RE: So, just talk to me like a Southerner (7/27/2008 9:33:21 AM)

Since starting this thread, I have tried to remember some of the sayings, but I just can't. I remember a few words that were new to me, like tote for "carry." I also remember businesses with cute/sassy/punny names like a cafe named "Eat 'n' Beat It." Was there one named "Your Just Desserts," or was that one my sister made up after being introduced to southern restaurant names?

I remember a fun thing we found, upon moving to the South: little stores, like the 7/11s, that had carhops. Do they still have those?



Kerrlaw -> RE: So, just talk to me like a Southerner (7/27/2008 10:54:15 PM)

I've never seen a convenience store with a car hop.

Sonic restaurants have car hops, sometimes on roller skates, but I didn't know it was a southern thing. There is an independently owned drive-in restaurant near me that has car hops.



bluestone -> RE: So, just talk to me like a Southerner (7/28/2008 8:33:48 AM)

hot dogs are weenies. none of that frankfurter stuff!

we put Cole slaw on weenies. slaw dogs rule!



elastic -> RE: So, just talk to me like a Southerner (7/28/2008 10:40:00 AM)

things i say all the time:

fixin' to: I'm about to do something

narry-a-one: exmple-When i ate the box of chocolates, there was narry-a-one left for anyone else to eat.

do the warsh: wash the clothes

look over yonder: look over there

y'all: of course i say that all the time, y'all know what it means.

I'ma gonna: "I'm going to...." example, I'ma gonna get to that in a minute.

Buggie: shopping cart.

Rack: (this might just be a me thing, but i use the term rack instead of hanger. for clothes hanger. I call it a rack.)

Pert Near: like a close shave i suppose. "he pert near hit me with that car"

Closter: (this is one my grandmother uses) Come closter, you are too far away.

i'm sure there are hundreds more.



bluestone -> RE: So, just talk to me like a Southerner (7/28/2008 10:45:14 AM)

Brad,
I say the same things..everyone does, don't they[8D]



Covaan_Meshuga -> RE: So, just talk to me like a Southerner (7/28/2008 10:46:38 AM)

Elastic, Blue, and anyone else:
In all seriousness, with those learned pronunciations, was it difficult to learn how to spell when you were a child? Were you surprised by some spellings? I know I was sometimes surprised by common spellings, because I had learned to pronounce words colloquially.



bluestone -> RE: So, just talk to me like a Southerner (7/28/2008 10:56:12 AM)

no. except opossum.I spelled it possum, and got it wrong on a spelling test.
I really had no problems at all.



Kerrlaw -> RE: So, just talk to me like a Southerner (7/28/2008 11:30:55 AM)

I read "hors d'oeuvres" and knew the meaning, even as a child. I heard the term, and understood the meaning. But strangely, I never put the written term and the pronunciation together until I was out of college.

Anyway, where I am from hor d'oeuvres were cheese and crackers, potted meat, and vienna sausage.[sm=chef.gif]

In fact, that was often dinner (which is what we call the noon meal).



elastic -> RE: So, just talk to me like a Southerner (7/28/2008 12:13:39 PM)

you know, i never really had a problem differentiating the spelling of a word from its pronunciation.

this is hard to explain via typing, but as a kid, when i would read something, i knew how the word was supposed to sound.

for instance, in that last sentence, i used the words "supposed to".

i know it's spelled "supposed to", but i would say "supposeta"

if a teacher would say "spell supposta" i would spell "supposed to" because i would know what she was talking about.

i knew in my head that it was two different words, but when spoken, it comes out a one jumbled word. it's just something you don't really think about in day to day life.
spoken and written is different in most countries. just about everyone uses colloquialisms in their spoken speech that they don't use in their written communication



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