Favorite Southern Expressions

[bamademo]

Some require explanation. My Mother and my dearly departed Grandmothers could come up with some doozies.

I haven't seen you in a coon's age. (long time)

I know another dog named Ring. (pot, kettle, black situation)

Step in's. (panties)

If you lay down with dogs, you'll get fleas.

I could just eat you with a spoon, you're so sweet. (ahem!)

The vapors. (which my Grandmothers regularly got)

Anyone else got any favorites?

[demnan]

1. Slicker than deer guts on a door knob

[meegbear]

2. Dag Nabbit

Whee doggie

You shure gut a pertee mouth

[GOPisEvil]

3. So good, it makes you wanna slap your mama.

In reference to food. :-)

Slap me nekkid and hide my clothes! (Exclamation of surprise or amazement.)

[bamademo]

7. LOL

Haven't heard "Slap me nekkid and hide my clothes" before.

[GumboYaYa]

10. My wife hates the "slap yo mama"

phrase. She forbids me to say that and also "fuller than a tick."

[GOPisEvil]

11. My mom doesn't get it either.

But she wasn't raised in the south. I've been here since I was 12 (23 years - yikes).

[ACK]

31. Opposite -- It's alright but ...

it ain't nothing to go home and slap your mama over.

[BigDaddyLove]

68. Do people really say that?

I thought it was made up for a movie.

[screembloodymurder]

101. "That's enough to make a good dog break it's chain."

Good old boys response to a shapely female on her hands and knees.

[xJlM]

4. I'll be dipped in shit!

[Lars39]

5. To a little child: "Oh, you've got a new pretty!" Pretty=Toy

I don't hear it too often anymore.

[Frodo]

6. "We changed our mind..."

"you can HAVE your own d@mned country"



Or maybe that's a northern expression about the South?

[GumboYaYa]

8. "Busier than a three-peckered billy goat" n/t

[Aristus]

9. This one's a little rough:

"Uglier 'n' a dick onna dawg!"

[XNASA]

12. "Don't piss on my boot and tell me it's raining."

"You can wish in one hand and shit in the other and see which one you get first."

"You can't polish a turd."

"It was so hot today, that I saw a dog chasing a cat.........and they were both walkin'"


BTW, I'm a Northern boy who lived in the South for over 6 years. That's why these expressions are so memorable to me and why I know that they are truly Southern expressions.

[arwalden]

13. "I Swanee!" ... An Interjection Meaning "I Declare!"

The word "swanee" is (of course) a misspelling and mispronunciation of "Suwanee" the famous river.

-- Allen

[Leftist78]

85. My Grandma

used to say that all the time. :)

[arwalden]

103. That Expression Was From My Grandmother Too... She Lived In S. Georgia

I don't know ANY other person to say that... not even my mother uses that expression (and you'd think that it would have rubbed-off).

-- Allen

[roguevalley]

96. amazing. my family says "I'll be swanned!" when surprised. This is the

first time I've seen anything like it.

[On the Road]

14. "You're as Useless as Tits on a Bull Hog"

My high school gym teacher used this expression once to the great amusement of the class.

[ArkDem]

76. The expression is

Useless as teats on a boar hog

[peekaloo]

15. I'm gonna snatch you bald headed.

a pissed off expression!

[bamademo]

20. I forgot that one...

I'm gonna wear you out! (about to get a spanking)
I'm fixin' to slap that smirk right off your face. (Boy,as a smartass little liberal girl did I hear that one all the time)

[peekaloo]

27. tee hee....I heard that last one quite a few times, too!

another one:

Couldn't pour piss out of a boot with the directions on the heel!

[Bucky]

16. Does anyone from NY ever say "quicker than a New York minute"?

Despite the ref, I think that's pretty country.

[southerngirlwriter]

17. A few more....

"Let's went!" (let's hurry up and go, we're late!!)

"Fair to middlen" (in answer to "how are you?" -- it means "Not great, not bad")

"wadin' uphill through molasses" (very, very, very slooooooow)

"losin' my religion" (undergoing a profound change in perspective)

more later :-)

[TNDemo]

18. Busier than a rooster in a two story henhouse.

I had never heard that myself but heard Dolly Parton say it.

My grandmother had a few -

Well, if that don't beat a pig a peckin' and a hen a rootin'.
I'll turn you over my checkered apron.
He was out of here like Snyder's pup. (No one knows who Snyder was.)
That's as fine and dandy as sugar candy.

[Ishoutandscream]

19. "Bless her heart, she's such a bitch"

And of course, nothing beats "fixin'."

[YNGW]

21. Mountain Phrase

I'm a Southerner thru and thru, but I had never heard this word until I moved to the mountains of NC.

Most Southerners say "ya'll", but up here, and I'm not even sure I can spell this right, they say "you-in-siss"

"Whar are you-in-siss goin'?"

Honest ya'll!!

[johnnie]

25. You mean

You-ins?..lol. My family was from PA and they all said that. Even while here in Cleveland, my grandparents would say that. I don't know if it's the same, but I think it is.

[YNGW]

35. johnnie

Add the "siss" on the end and you got it. Not just "you-ins", it's a full "you-in-siss".

[johnnie]

44. That's..

...the plural form..lol. But really, I know what you are talking about. It is the mountain form of ya'll.

[YNGW]

In that case......

...... they ALWAYS use the plural form. It's NEVER "you-ins", it's always "you-in-siss". It sure ain't "ya'll", like it ought to be.

[Jeff in Cincinnati]

50. You'nz

That's definitely a word from the Pittsburgh area. When I taught at West Virginia University, I could always tell in my students were from south of Morgantown (Y'all) or from the north (You'nz).

And, no, I have no idea if that's the correct spelling!

I wonder if the NC and PA phrases have some historical link.

[YNGW]

51. Yanks

I thought you Yankess said "Youse guys".

[LizW]

58. Youz guys is urban

You'unz (pronounced as one syllable) is rural and mountain. In the really, really rural and mountain areas, there's also "yorn" or "yurn" (As in "'Zem goats yurn? "'Zey fer sell? Translation: "Are those your goats? Are they for sale?")

Some rural and mountain people in the south also add "h" on the front of the word "it" when it's at the beginning of a sentence. "Hit don't matter."

I went to a tiny rural elementary school in north Alabama and I remember the teachers gently trying to teach the country children to speak standard English. It was truly a second language.

[bamademo]

60. What school?

I went to a tiny elementary school in North Alabama.

[LizW]

64. In northern Blount County

Summit Elementary. It's been closed for about 30 years now, I think. It was a wonderful little school with great teachers. I have fond memories of it.

[bamademo]

66. Madison Jr. High

In Madison County when it was still rural. It has now become urbanized.

[LizW]

70. Ah, yes

I know that area. It has grown like crazy.

We used to take my dad to the airport back when it was out in the middle of nowhere!

[areschild]

93. Actually, it "youins"

Where are youins goin'?

[mac56]

22. "Might could" = to mean "could possibly take place"

"Used'ta could" = to mean "I once could do that"
"Slap" = to mean "totally" or "flat out" = "I just slap forgot that!"

To describe good food:
"That would make a bulldog break its chain."
"That would make your tongue slap your brain."

And my favorite: "It flung a craving on me!" (self explanatory)

Transplanted MN boy here in GA for the past 2+ years.

[mac56]

29. "Do what now?"

I've heard this so many times. When you ask someone a question he or she's not quite prepared for, he or she may reply, "Do what now?" It's quite effective.

[Lars39]

42. It's really effective if you raise your eyebrows while you say it.

:)

[xcentrik]

23. Busier than a one-legged man in an ass-kickin' contest

and

[xcentrik]

24. Dumber'n bag of hammers

[mac56]

26. Smarter'n a treeful of owls

nm

[Kookaburra]

28. Cuter than a sack full of puppies

My great aunt's favorite: "I'll jerk a knot in your tail."

[mac56]

30. Cuter'n homemade shoes!

nm

[Kookaburra]

33. Ugly as homemade soap

[underpants]

32. Luckiest guy to s**t between a pair of shoes

:bounce:

[underpants]

34. So dumb he couldn't poor piss out of a boot with the instructions

written on the heel.

[Kat 333]

36. A few of my favorites are ...

He's so bright his daddy calls him son

He/She is duller than a butter knife

Faster than a duck on a June bug

You can't make a silk purse out of a pigs ear

Your daddy wasn't a glass maker - Said when someone was "in the way" ... Standing in front of the tv

[bamademo]

41. Oops! I still say your Daddy wasn't a glass maker!

I'm gonna land on you like a tornado on a trailer park!

[Kat 333]

54. lol

THAT was it ...

[bamademo]

46. Another one I forgot

I used to hear this in hushed tones, "And there they were, BUCK NEKKID!". Naked in the South is okay but nekkid indicates some hanky panky going on. :evilgrin:

[Kookaburra]

37. ill as a hornet

It means extremely angry

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

38. I'm fixin' to go down yonder

:)

[ACK]

39. I am going down to the creek to catch a mess of fish

I loved to hear that one. That meant hushpuppies were coming soon.

[Red State Rebel]

40. Grinnin like a possum eating sh@t on a flat rock....and more

Slicker than greased owl sh@t (very slippery)
Take a flying suck at a bluebird's a@@ (get lost)

[Fleshdancer]

43. "knee high to a grasshopper" n/t

[Lars39]

45. I didn't grow up hearing some of the wilder sayings mentioned here,

but what I did hear was kinda unusual. My paternal grandparents would occasionally come out with phrases from a century or two ago. King's English? I know it was once documented that people in the Appalachians spoke this way.

[camero]

47. You lie with dogs, you get fleas

And "I reckon"

[Padraig18]

48. Some I've heard:

"Colder than a stepmother's heart"

"Tougher than a hobnailed boot"

"Hard road" (paved highway)

:hi:

[trackfan]

49. Study long, study wrong! n/t

[sistersofmercy]

52. "Fit to be tied! " "chompin' at the bit" "catfish"

Catfish is usually followed by, "all mouth, no brains!" As in "he ain't nothing but a catfish, all mouth, no brains." I think "catfish" would be perfect for georgie boy!

[soleft]

53. He's got more money than Carter has liver pills

and

she went through there faster than Grant went through Richmond

[Endangered Specie]

83. usually the 'liver' part is left out

COurse.. could be modified ...than Rush has pills.

[camero]

89. My Grandmother used that one

She said because a man named Carter made liver pills in the Great Depression.

[dolo amber]

55. Plumb (or maybe just Plum, I have no idea)

As in "I may be some dumb, but I ain't plumb dumb."

My Nana used the word "Goodnight" as "Good Grief": the catch here is that it took about 10 seconds for her to drawl it all out for proper effect: "Gooooooooooooodniiiiiiiiiiiiiiight, I plumb forgot all about it!" :D

Another good one is "That boy's hair's so long he'd have to climb a tree to shit." My Aunt Betty used this often in the 80s. :7

[jus_the_facts]

56. He looks like he just fell through his asshole and hung his'self...

:evilgrin:

[jus_the_facts]

57. more nervous than a long tailed cat in a room full o' rockin' chairs!

:D

[LizW]

59. "Get on the car"

My husband is from Covington County, Alabama, and they say this instead of "Get in the car." The visual cracks me up. I imagine families driving along with piles of kids hanging on the outside of the car.

[GOPisEvil]

61. That's a Mexican-American thing here in TX too.

They get on and off the car, and they drink medicine, even if it is a pill. :shrug:

[soleft]

91. and you carry someone to the doctor

[marzipanni]

62. A co-worker from Texas (yeah, I know, not the SouthEAST)

would say when asked for a pen, "Do you want a writin' pin or a stickin' pin?".
A friend said to me, on a gray day with a tiny piece of blue sky showing,
"There's about enough blue to make a cat a pair of kitten britches".

[bamademo]

69. Ink pen

For some reasons Southerners all say "Got an ink pen?". I guess it's because some of us pronounce pen and pin the same way.

[annagull]

63. "Hay Shug"

My Nana always called you "Shug", short for sugar. To pronounce it hold out the "u" for a little longer than you normally would.

[BlackVelvetElvis]

97. Shug was my father's pet name for me!

[ewagner]

65. my favorite

Uglier than homemade sin.......

also like:

Toad floater = heavy rainstorm

[dani]

67. when I was in southern Virginia

about a month ago, some guy told me the snow this winter was going to be knee deep on a giraffe. You had to hear him say it.

[scarlet_owl]

71. Cold drink.

When I was in the south, in every restaurant we went to, we were offered "cold drinks".

[donotpassgo]

72. "Fixin' to do somethin'" and "Lik'at" for like that.

n/t

[guitar man]

73. "gonna slap a hair lip on yer ass"

"gonna knock fire from yer ass"

"mom-n-em" (mom and them) as in "how's your mom-n-em?"

[northernsoul]

74. Crazier'n a box of frogs!

:evilgrin:

[northernsoul]

75. Well, that sounds downright college-educated

(said by my grandma anytime she didn't understand what someone just said)

[ArkDem]

77. Shittin' in High Cotton...........

(everything is coming up roses)

[ArkDem]

78. Goin' to see a man about a horse

(got to go to the john)

[VOX]

79. "I'm gonna do this if it harelips the governor."

From my Texas dad. Origin unknown, meant to denote determination about a particular task.

[GOPisEvil]

80. How hard is it raining? Like a cow pissin' on a flat rock!

:D

[Robb]

81. "You're a good boy, but remember..."

"...Ain't no demand fer it."

:) Thanks, grandpa.

[Endangered Specie]

82. Ya couldn' tell yer ass from a hole in the ground

-Indication of stupidity

also...


(S)He think his/her shit don't stink
-reference to someone who is narcisist or a Prima Donna.

I Reckon, I Gather
-I Think/Imagine/Guess

[histohoney]

84. There's a few cats missing out of that neighborhood

West Texan and Eastern New Mexican for a Restaurant that you may think is not to clean in the kitchen. In the old days(My mom's time) it refered to suspicions about the restaurant's meats.

[Leftist78]

86. My Mama always says

Slower than molasses in January. (referring to my Step-Dad.)

[Leftist78]

87. got a few more

Might nigh-as in just about. "I might nigh run into you". :) that one goes WAY back in my family

Kyarn-referring to the smell of something dead and decaying or the actual corpse. "I smell kyarn"

"a-body"-sombody. "if a-body wanted to they could.."

red as a fox's ass-really red!

[Rowdyboy]

88. "Shit fire and save the matches!"

"Colder than a well-diggers ass in Idaho!"

[underpants]

92. Wake up and piss the world's on fire!!

Those two where two of my high school coaches favorites. God I hated him.

[populistmom]

90. "Well, dog my cats."

My dad grew up in Louisiana. It's not really a favorite, but something I remembered anyway.

[Individualist]

94. Shove it

where the sun don't shine.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

95. "Nervous as a whore in church with a bastard on each knee"

"Tight as Dick's hatband"

[mlawson]

98. "Directly" and "naryun"

When are you gong to do that? "Why I'm going to do it directly!!" Note: 'directly' does NOT mean 'immediately'. It could be now, or never, or any time in between.

"Do you have any?? No, we ain't got naryun"

[areschild]

99. I'm gonna tan your hide.

[kayleybeth]

100. Well I do swan!

Heard that one a lot growing up. Used the same as "I do declare". Then there's "Bless her heart", which is generally preceded by some sort of put down, as in "That's the ugliest baby I've ever seen in my life... Bless her heart!" Those are generic to the South, I think.

New Orleans has it's own distinct Southern expressions that I never heard until I moved here. Some of my favorites:

Make groceries= go grocery shopping
Where y'at? = How are you doing?
How's your Mommandnem?= How's your family doing?
Neutral Ground= the median between streets
Flying Horses= Merry Go Round
Shoot the Chute= a slide (like on the playground)
Silver dime= 10 cents
Zinc= sink
Wrench= rinse, as in "Go wrench your hands in the zinc"
Locker= closet
Over by= "at", as in "over by Barry's house"
Hickey= a bump or bruise
Bobo= a mistake, or a minor injury
Minicat= kitten
Skrimps= shrimp, as in shrimp poboy
Beh room= bedroom
You gotta see da Special Man= You're a deadbeat with bad credit
Go cup= paper cup the bartender gives you so you can take your drink with you when you leave the bar
Go box= doggie bag
Mahnezz= mayonaisse
Dressed= how you might order a poboy, i.e. w/lettuce, tomato, pickle and mahnezz

I'm sure I'm missing some.

[Penndems]

102. "Faster than Grant took Richmond"

An expression I've heard my entire life growing up in Virginia.

I was talking with a neighbor of mine here in Pennsylvania, when I used it. He looked at me, burst out laughing, and replied, "That's pretty darn fast!"