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Tobia
Social climber
GA
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In my neck of the woods in GA if someone wants a bottle of soda or pop they just say "can I have a "Co-Cola"... it is universal for either a RC, Nehi, or Coke... If you were set on a Nehi Orange you just said "Urnge"
I didn't read the thread, as southern as I am I have never heard "dusky dark"
before but the Appalachian culture is (was) a subculture that was isolated until WWI (see Sgt York) and then the TVA flooding the culture out for hydroelectricity.
A good read about these people is Our Southern Highlanders by Horace Kephart
For a peek into the life in the Cumberland Region of Kentucky read Night Comes To The Cumberlands by Harry Caudill
I used to hear "it will make a rabbit hug a hound" a lot when I was kid... I don't hear it that much anymore...
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Gal
Trad climber
a semi lucid consciousness
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Couldn't read through them all but here are a few-
"Drunker than a biled owl"
"Well I'll swan"
Referring to drunkenness-"out of his/her tree"
"Lord childERN"
"Warsh" instead of "wash"
"Sawl" instead of "SAW".
How about "hearth"... it is brick in front of and surrounding a fireplace, not used too often, I'm told.
Once I was informed by mom after a family reunion of sorts, "We've had a breach", which meant there had been a loud verbal argument.
If you see an unsavory person, you might suggest giving that person "a wide berth". Heehee!
My current favorite that I believe will find it's place in infamy is f*#ktard. Very useful in a wide variety of circumstances.
We have a whole family language full of fun sayings that are just embarrassing. We have even named it "Fool Talk" ...But since this thread is referring to established colloquialisms, I won't go into fool talk, recognized by a limited audience.
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Tobia
Social climber
GA
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i just read through the thread, some of the southern terms I hear and use daily or whenever the subject comes up...
What do you call the area in front of the fireplace? I wouldn't know what else to call it but a hearth.
Ask Nita what southerners call a coil on a automobile engine...
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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English speaking Canadians call all soft drinks "pop". Never "soda" or "cola". Sometimes by brand name, of course. "Soda" is club soda, something you use as a mixer with various liquors. We're mystified when someone asks for a soda.
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Tobia
Social climber
GA
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Mastadon loves this one:
"I wouldn't piss on him if he was on fire"
"I had to get up before I went to bed"
used for two situations very broke (as in working two jobs)
or
staying out all night
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Tony Bird
climber
Northridge, CA
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this stuff was a sidebar to my graduate studies in folklore and mythology. people have been known to make careers out of it. yes, it does have a sort of fascination and universal appeal, but it's also hard to tie it in to other things. folklorists often speak of the "homely vigor" of their subject matter--a lot of home-grown wisdom, insight, humor and very respectable literary ability.
the late alan dundes at UC-berkeley was one of the best folklorists, although rather a controversial one. (he once had an article published by penthouse magazine describing the various rituals of football players as a form of homosexual bonding. nowadays that's politely called male bonding.) dundes used to give a popular lecture on proverbs--he'd run down a 10-minute list of folk proverbs, giving the first line while the entire audience completed each and every one:
a stitch in time ...
the proof of the pudding ...
don't cry over ...
there's many a slip ...
you can lead a horse ...
when you look at these things, you're kinda amazed at how much people really have in common. dundes' book on proverbs, the wisdom of many, is a classic.
a few more from the midwest:
if your nose itches, you're going to kiss a fool.
lips that touch liquor will never touch mine.
you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
that last one has always been a favorite of mine, and it shows the genius involved in these things. a sow's ear is big and soft and about the size of a small purse, and if you've ever seen one up close, this expression sets your gears to turning as to whether it could be done or not. you could certainly make a purse out of a sow's ear, but then you're faced with differentiating it to a pretty silk one. i makes you think, and applied to the situation at hand, helps you decide whether it's going to be worth the trouble or not.
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perswig
climber
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'Hot enough to breed sheep'
'Could be worse, you could be down a mine' (Sara's current favorite for 'Quit yer bitchin')
Local: dooryard (obvious), 'yard on that' (pull hard), Downeast (Maine locale, Ed H. mentioned before), 'went tits' up' (like sh*t the bed)
I grew up in eastern PA in slate/coal country, and we used to append our declarative/quasi-interrogative statements with the phrase 'say'; as in, "It was pretty windy last night, say?". Kinda like, '...ain't that right?' I'm thinking it's a Penna. Dutch holdover, but never really looked into it. I'd start doing it again in about 15 minutes if I ever went back, I think.
I like BB's OP use of chiffarobe, one of my favorite words from To Kill a Mockingbird.
Dale
(PS - anyone else surprised at what a pottymouth Ed H. is?! :))
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perswig
climber
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(Forgot this.)
I use the phrase 'even a blind pig finds a truffle once in a while' all the time. Once, someone reminded me that pigs hunt by smell, not sight.
Can't seem to turn a poetic phrase to include an olfactorally-diminished porcine.
Which leads to -
Oh, Oh, Oh, To Touch And Feel A Gorgeous Virgin Animal Handler
(mnemonic for remembering the cranial nerves)
Dale
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hossjulia
Social climber
Eastside
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I grew up with all kinds of Texan sayings, still use "Howdy" as a collective Hello to a group of people.
"Can't make a silk purse out of sows ear" I used this summer to much confusion.
But what about current, very local sayings?
Slide or ride instead of ski or snowboard.
One plank or two instead of ski or snowboard. As in Mr2planks channel on utube.
"Dude", as much as some people hate it, is alive and well.
I think we all know "shred". I tend to use "spanked" a lot, and it can mean different things, as in I got spanked by the 5.7's in JT, or I spanked that run good! It never ever means what some of you horny guys are thinking though.
Hit, hit it.
Bad ass.
I got this one from Kath and use it, "skeezin".
And then there is the reverse meaning thing common to climbers and snowsports, probably others as well.
After a great powder run, "Man! That just sucked didn't it?"
Or, My personal fav, "That did not suck." With huge grin attached.
After a successful well done climb, "Glad I managed to drag my fat ass up that one."
There's a lot more, come on, think up some ones you use locally that you don't hear much anywhere else.
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Tobia
Social climber
GA
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I like the word chifforobe also; and I remember the reading TKAMB the first time having to look it up in the dictionary. I can't remember hearing that too many times outside of a conversation concerning TKAMB.
From Oxford Dictionary:
chifforobe origin:
(early 20th century: blend of chiffonier and wardrobe)
chiffonier origin:
mid 18th century: from French chiffonnier, chiffonnière, literally 'ragpicker', also denoting a chest of drawers for odds and ends
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Captain...or Skully
Big Wall climber
leading the away team, but not in a red shirt!
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Ya know, a chest'odrawers is 1 word in my folks' household.
I still say that sometimes. I get the oddest looks! :-)
It's all good.
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Tobia
Social climber
GA
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Captain: Chest of Drawers is what I say to this day.
hossjulia: Know the where abouts of Turkey, Texas? That is what is on my birth certificate.
I can think of many peculiar sayings when I step away from the computer but when I come back around they plumb evade me.
I have a book (somewhere) on the origin of phrases... one example 3 square meals a day. I always assumed it meant balanced or equal based on the mathematical laws but it actually began on ships back when sailing vessels ruled the world. Common sailors were fed on a piece of board cut in squarely. If the ships stores were adequate you got 3 square meals each day.
Mike White used a term when trying to get Peter Meeks' attention one day behind the mountaineering school in the meadows. Mike was trying to get his attention and kept saying "Pete" but the guy wouldn't respond... Frustrated, Mike hollered "hey F_ knuckles" and Meeks turned around abruptly and said "yes?" Mike looked at me and we both died laughing. Meeks' never understood what was so funny.
The origin of F___knuckles is not in my book. I guess it was part of M.W.'s keen sense of humor.
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blackbird
Trad climber
the flat water trails...
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 2, 2011 - 03:47pm PT
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Just heard a new one:
"Grinnin' like a jackass chewin' sawbriars."
LOL!
BB
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Spider Savage
Mountain climber
SoCal
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Going back to the first page:
"ubetcha" as Thank You in N. Utah..
In N. Idaho I picked that up instead of "You're Welcome." It usually comes out as, "You Bet."
I've been trying to shake that for years but it's stuck.
There is a certain republican woman who has that crossed up as an air-space filler for just about everything.
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