Sayings from the Deep South - Looking for contributions

Weclome y'all, gotta say I love the Micr'sawft Winders, so good it would prolly be true!

Chortle, mac11!! I might could splain to your Yankee friend why "might could" is such a great phrase, but he probably says "you guys" instead of the non-gender-biased "y'all" so I doubt he'd understand!

Where 'bout?

Great list, Tryagain. One small amendment: "Iont know" is more properly pronounced "ownknow" in these here parts.

But right now I gots to start worryin about that shrinkin river. Have mercy, that's gonna bring them Yankees wifin spittin distance of us!

river a dryin up??? lawzy me...glad i live in the state then

Where 'bout?

Hiyall wrote, "One small amendment: "Iont know" is more properly pronounced "ownknow" in these here parts."

Well, hush mhy mouth. Youall do talk purdy.

"But right now I gots to start worryin about that shrinkin river. Have mercy, that's gonna bring them Yankees wifin spittin distance of us!"

Fraid so.

The Lower Mississippi River meanders over its flat valley, forming broad loops called ox-bows. In a flood, the river can jump its banks and cut off one of these loops, getting shorter in the process. In his book Life on the Mississippi (1884), Mark Twain suggests, with tongue in cheek, that some day the river might even vanish! Here is a passage that shows us some of the pitfalls in using rates to predict the future and the past.

In the space of one hundred and seventy six years the Lower Mississippi has shortened itself two hundred and forty-two miles. That is an average of a trifle over a mile and a third per year. Therefore, any calm person, who is not blind or idiotic, can see that in the Old Oölitic Silurian Period, just a million years ago next November, the Lower Mississippi was upwards of one million three hundred thousand miles long, and stuck out over the Gulf of Mexico like a fishing-pole. And by the same token any person can see that seven hundred and forty-two years from now the Lower Mississippi will be only a mile and three-quarters long, and Cairo [Illinois] and New Orleans will have joined their streets together and be plodding comfortably along under a single mayor and a mutual board of aldermen.

All I ahm fixin to doin, is learnin them Yankees to talk proper English. :wink:

Laht: A source of illumination. "This room's too doc (dark). We need more laht in here."

Lar: One who tells untruths. "Not all fishermen are lars. It's just that a lot of lars fish."

Layin' up: Resting or meditating. Or as Southern women usually put it, loafing. "Cecil didn't go to work today 'cause of a chronic case of laziness. He's been layin' up in the house all day, drivin' me crazy."

Let alone: Much less. "He can't even hold a job and support himself, let alone support a family."

Let out: Dismissed. "What time does school let out?"

Lick and a promise: To do something in a hurried or perfunctory fashion. "We don't have time to clean this house so it's spotless. Just give it a lick and a promise."

Mahty raht: Correct. "You mahty raht about that, Awficer. Guess Ah WAS speedin' a mahite."

Make out: Yes, it means that in the South too, but it also means finish your meal. "You chirren (Children) hadn't had nearly enough to eat. Make out your supper."

Mind to: To have the intention of doing something. "Ah got a mind to quit my job and just loaf for a while."

hell this ol boy got a few yall missin plz over look the the cusin workin like a nigger:hard workin highaflutin:high class up yander: up that way sketter:mosquito "dead as a door nail" "dumb as a door nail" "dumber than dog ****" "crazy as a fox" "mader than a ol wet hen" "couldnt hit a bull in the butt with a base fiddle" thats it for now i dont feel like typein any more an noones used arnt or aint yet that i seen

Howdy Vex, good to see a good old boy from the South. I herd tell youall is a bit of a ladies man. :wink:

Naw time for more lernin.

Nawth: Any part of the country outside the South _Midwest, California or whatever.If it's not South, it's Nawth. "People from up Nawth sure do talk funny."

Nekkid: To be unclothed. "Did you see her in that movie? She was nekkid as a jaybird."

Nemmine: Never mind, but used in the sense of difference. "It don't make no nemmine to me."

Of a moanin: Of a morning, meaning in the morning. "My daddy always liked his coffee of a moanin."
Ownliest: The only one. "That's the ownliest one Ah've got left."

Parts: Buccaneers who sailed under the dreaded skull and crossbones. "See that third baseman? He just signed a big contrack with the Pittsburg Parts."

PEEcans: Northerners call them peCONNS for some obscure reason. "Honey, go out in the yard and pick up a passel of PEEcans. Ah'm gonna make us a pie."

Pert: Perky, full of energy. "You look mighty pert today."

Pick at: To pester and annoy. "Jimmy, Ah told you not to pick at your little sister."

Purtiest: The most pretty. "ain't she the purtiest thing you ever seen?"

Hmmmmm---Tryagain, you must be from the NAWTH part of the South! I ain't never heard no self-respectin' DEEP Southerner say PEEcans (well, lessen they be talking about slop jars)...but I've lived here only a half century or so, so I mighta missed somebody. (BTW, I make a mean PeCONN pie. Y'all come!)

Question: Is "Kingdom Come" a Southernism, or do other folks use it too? I've always been mystified about exactly where Kingdom Come is, but I know both good folks and bad folks end up there, which makes it even more of an enigma: A bank robber slain by the police (PO-leese) was "blown to kingdom come" but so was the innocent, God-fearing teller the robber blew away first. And one can even knock a baseball to Kingdom Come. Must be mighty crowded in there, wherever it is.

It's PEEcan.

PeCONN has that nawthen 'a' sound. Southerners can only pronounce the short 'a' sound.

Kingdom Come--further than slapping you into next week.

Pretty far away.

Hi, Sofia. OK, I'll tell all my Mis'sippi friends to tighten up on their pronunciation!

Great definition of Kingdom Come...yep, it's gotta be a right far piece beyond next week!

river rat:someone that lives near or on the river or someone that spends most of there time on the river im not sure if its used any where else or not

Ah! Mississippi.

Maybe they have a little French influence on their vowels. Or Cajun.

I lived there a bit, and the culture (Cajuns) is... charming. I was in Ocean Springs, across a bridge from Biloxi. (Only misprounced Biloxi ONCE!)

I'll leave you this offering:

"Rack off hairy legs!"

Thankee for the invite Hiyall. "I ain't never heard no self-respectin' DEEP Southerner say PEEcans"

Sofia writes, "It's PEEcan. PeCONN has that nawthen 'a' sound."

Hiyall, "...but I've lived here only a half century or so," You gotta be born South to be South, youall got a lot of livin still to do. :wink:

"Kingdom Come. Must be mighty crowded in there, wherever it is. "

Plezed to give youall a helpin hand, iffin youall hail from Kentucky.

KINGDOM COME STATE PARK
Box M, Cumberland, KY 40823-0420
502 Park Road, Cumberland, KY 40823
(606) 589-2479

Kingdom Come is 65 miles northeast of Middlesboro. From I-75, take US 25E to US 119 to Cumberland.

Kingdom Come State Park, with an elevation of 2,700 feet, is the crowning jewel in the crest of Pine Mountain. Named after the popular Civil War novel, "The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come," by Kentucky author John Fox Jr., the park preserves 1,283 acres of unspoiled wilderness.

Some of the most extraordinary rock formations in the state are featured at this park, including Log Rock, a natural sandstone bridge, and Raven Rock, a giant rock exposure that soars 290 feet into the air at a 45-degree angle!

Come and visit ahwhile.

peeCONN is 'sippi speak...ouah confederates in Gawja do in fact say PEEcan

In fact, in Mississippi and Alabama, at the time of the Creek War (coincides with the War of 1812), there were French settlers from among both the former Royalists, and those who had become disillusioned with Napoleon. They were, however, swamped by the English-speaking settlers who flooded in after Jackson ended the Creek War and defeated the English at New Orleans in 1815.

correct setanta...all evidenced by both places names and family names especially along the coastal areas of both states...very much french in origin

BTW...i note that you are also a history buff...if you have been to any courthouse square in either state you have probably noticed our proud displays of 2nd place trophies that we won during a small secessionist engagement back in the middle 1800's...most folks down here however refer to them as Confederate Memorials...only after i had traveled thru Ohio had i observed a 1st place trophy