Thursday, February 26, 2009

Alabamisms #7

Somehow, on Wednesday, my co-workers and I got into a discussion about phrases or words that are unique to the South and that would make a Yankee like me raise an eyebrow in confusion.  We ventured far beyond the cliche y'all and fixin' to a whole world of expressions I never knew existed.  

Here is a sampling...

tump - "Don't lean against that bookshelf!  It's about to tump over!"

shed of it -  "Yeah, that car is getting pretty old.  I need to shed of it."

fair to middlin' - "How are you today?"  "Oh, fair to middlin'... "

ain't no count - "What did you think of that new BBQ place?"  "It ain't no count."  

holler - "Did you see that house for sale in the holler by the road?"

I know I have a few readers out there from this fine state and across the southeast... are there other ones you can think of that my northern friends and I need to learn?  

11 comments:

Katie said...

Russ' family uses "tump" too. I'd never heard it before that. They also use "To beat the band" as in "It's raining to beat the band". New to this yankee!

Erin Parker said...

Here's one for you Deb,

"He's grinnin' like a possum eatin' saw briars"

"It's brrrr or burr (not sure) rabbit cold outside." Tony has only heard this one, not seen it spelled.

I married into a Southern family, I'm sure there are more that I just don't remember!

Tammy said...

You may have mentioned this previously but just in case you didn't, don't forget "fixin' to"

As in, "I'm fixin to go to the store"

Gina Dankel said...

When I lived in GA we always said "dern" instead of darn. My friend's g-mal would say "it'll make you slap your mamma" when something was good.

BayleyDickinson said...

When I lived in North Carolina, I was amazed at the ways in which the words "sweetheart" and "darlin'" were used . . . it was as though they could be used in a negative, positive or neutral sense. For instance, when someone was upset with you, they would try to cover it up by using these terms. Or, if they liked you, they would use the words as a pet name. And they were used in a general sense, like when you are being helped at the store and someone says, "have a good day, darlin'" It always confused me . . .

Anonymous said...

New to me when I lived in Alabama was "chunk it." As in, throwing something away, or putting something in the trash.

One of my southern friends asked me one time, "Do you want me to chunk it?" I just looked at her and laughed...funniest thing i had heard!

Anonymous said...

I great up in Central Illinois and have been living in Nashville for 7 years. One word that was new to me was "hosepipe" meaning a garden hose.

Shelly

Anonymous said...

When John really likes something I have made he says "It'll make puppy pull a freight train". I am also amazed at the use of "yonder" here in VA. It doesn't matter what direction it is in or its distance. They just say "over yonder". Perplexing sometimes.

Anonymous said...

"Directly" as a reference in time. "I'll be back directly!"

"mama and them" "Tell your mama and them I said hey!"

erin said...

My friend Robert always says..

"Like a duck on a june bug."

My favorite is..

"Go get your picture made."

Anonymous said...

How about "it's hotter than a fritter" or "it's hotter than billy be durn" (whatever that is).

Also, my grandparents say things like bush and push with a different accent that sounds like "poosh" (think poosh lawn mower).

Oh and you can't forget things like "that coffee'll grow hair on your chest!"

I mean where do they learn these things??!