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So, just talk to me like a Southerner - 7/24/2008 8:17:28 PM
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Covaan_Meshuga
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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!
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Abiyah
"Ladies and gentlemen, there are things that you will only be able to learn by the weakest among us, and when you snuff them out, you are the one that loses." ~~Gianna Jesson, 1977 LA, CA, saline abortion survivor
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RE: So, just talk to me like a Southerner - 7/24/2008 8:18:32 PM
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Covaan_Meshuga
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To start us off, "She cut her eyes at me." Can you tell me what that means?
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Abiyah
"Ladies and gentlemen, there are things that you will only be able to learn by the weakest among us, and when you snuff them out, you are the one that loses." ~~Gianna Jesson, 1977 LA, CA, saline abortion survivor
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RE: So, just talk to me like a Southerner - 7/25/2008 9:33:04 AM
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daisies4u
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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).
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RE: So, just talk to me like a Southerner - 7/25/2008 10:23:08 AM
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bluestone
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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.
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I need Christ. Not something that resembles Christ.
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RE: So, just talk to me like a Southerner - 7/25/2008 10:26:24 AM
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bluestone
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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"
_____________________________
I need Christ. Not something that resembles Christ.
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RE: So, just talk to me like a Southerner - 7/25/2008 11:19:37 AM
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rogermugs
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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)
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RE: So, just talk to me like a Southerner - 7/25/2008 11:23:02 AM
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bluestone
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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".
_____________________________
I need Christ. Not something that resembles Christ.
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RE: So, just talk to me like a Southerner - 7/25/2008 11:44:06 AM
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JimboFletch
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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.
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RE: So, just talk to me like a Southerner - 7/25/2008 11:57:36 AM
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Covaan_Meshuga
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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.
_____________________________
Abiyah
"Ladies and gentlemen, there are things that you will only be able to learn by the weakest among us, and when you snuff them out, you are the one that loses." ~~Gianna Jesson, 1977 LA, CA, saline abortion survivor
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RE: So, just talk to me like a Southerner - 7/25/2008 12:40:48 PM
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bluestone
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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!
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I need Christ. Not something that resembles Christ.
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RE: So, just talk to me like a Southerner - 7/25/2008 11:14:09 PM
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Kerrlaw
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People in my family were "work brittle", as were most of our neighbors
Meaning strong and tough from continual hard labor.
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That which does not kill us makes us fatter. ~ crankius
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RE: So, just talk to me like a Southerner - 7/26/2008 12:14:39 AM
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lambslite
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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
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“God tempers the wind to the shorn lamb”
Laurence Sterne
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RE: So, just talk to me like a Southerner - 7/26/2008 11:35:28 PM
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Kerrlaw
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If someone was frugal, he was "tighter than Dick's hatband".
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That which does not kill us makes us fatter. ~ crankius
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RE: So, just talk to me like a Southerner - 7/27/2008 9:33:21 AM
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Covaan_Meshuga
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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?
_____________________________
Abiyah
"Ladies and gentlemen, there are things that you will only be able to learn by the weakest among us, and when you snuff them out, you are the one that loses." ~~Gianna Jesson, 1977 LA, CA, saline abortion survivor
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RE: So, just talk to me like a Southerner - 7/27/2008 10:54:15 PM
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Kerrlaw
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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.
_____________________________
That which does not kill us makes us fatter. ~ crankius
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RE: So, just talk to me like a Southerner - 7/28/2008 8:33:48 AM
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bluestone
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hot dogs are weenies. none of that frankfurter stuff!
we put Cole slaw on weenies. slaw dogs rule!
_____________________________
I need Christ. Not something that resembles Christ.
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RE: So, just talk to me like a Southerner - 7/28/2008 10:46:38 AM
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Covaan_Meshuga
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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.
_____________________________
Abiyah
"Ladies and gentlemen, there are things that you will only be able to learn by the weakest among us, and when you snuff them out, you are the one that loses." ~~Gianna Jesson, 1977 LA, CA, saline abortion survivor
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RE: So, just talk to me like a Southerner - 7/28/2008 10:56:12 AM
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bluestone
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no. except opossum.I spelled it possum, and got it wrong on a spelling test.
I really had no problems at all.
_____________________________
I need Christ. Not something that resembles Christ.
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RE: So, just talk to me like a Southerner - 7/28/2008 12:13:39 PM
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elastic
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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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Whoever said "Nothing is Impossible" never tried slamming a revolving door.
 I Stand with Israel!
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