NWR - Southern Sayings

I'm with team "bags"; corn hole isn't an appropriate term to use in polite company around here. I love the word "y'all"; Amanda is correct about "fixin' to". I always use "Are y'all fixin' to do (go, etc.)"

"S/he's a bit touched" - s/he's slow

A little older, but we still use it: "There's no point in waterin' last years crop" - No reason to keep on with an old idea (I've lived around Farmers since I was young and still hear this)

ETA: thought of a couple more: "Too big for your britches" - egotistical/full of yourself *idk if that's purely southern, though*; "Like a bump on a log" - lazy;

If some one asks, "how r you?" you can say - Just trying to make a dollar outta 15 cents.

I forgot to mention "kinfolk." I still hear that a lot. That and "who are you kin to?" They just want to know who your relatives are.

Hugging isn't a saying, but where I'm from, hugging is a completely legitimate substitute to a handshake. I like hugs though

Oh and "hon'" and "sweetheart" are sometimes used instead of ma'am. For example, sometimes after paying for something at a store I'll be told "thanks, hon'," instead of "thank you, ma'am."

This isn't a saying either, but holding doors for others is considered polite too. So you may get the door held for you a lot too.

I'll try to think of what else we do "'round these parts" and let you know; even though it isn't exactly what you asked for, I figured it would still be good for you to know these things.

And in addition to "y'all," there are some - like my Houstonian boss - who say "all y'all"...

Colder than a witches tit

Sweating like a whore in church

oh and get used to things like if your ear itches or burns it means people are talking about you, if your nose itches company is coming, etc etc

Also, when getting directions: "a-ways" "a-spell" and "a-piece" are apparently valid forms of advice

i.e: If you head down that there road a-ways, you'll see a big oak tree and you'll turn by it...and after a spell, you'll be there!

To which I responded: I'm from California. Can I get that in miles and left or right turns?

My FFIL loved me from then on.

If someone starts talking to you in line at the store, it doesn't mean they are trying to steal your purse. That's just how we roll

"I reckon"...which means "I guess". That's a big one.

And in NC, we say "buggy" for shopping cart; "grocery store" for a market; a "grill" is a barbecue and we have a "cookout" rather than a barbecue.

http://spark.rstudio.com/jkatz/SurveyMaps/ This is an awesome...it tells you how things are pronounced and what things are called throughout the country!

Agree with Catrapion. My FH is from LA and couldn't figure out why people passing him on the street would nod and say hello or good morning or whatever.

Not a saying, but get used to men opening the door for you, and especially letting you on the elevator before them. It is a good sign that a man is not from the south if he steps in front of a woman to enter an elevator.

Oh, and I agree with the responses about strangers talking to you at the store, or on the street. I moved to Texas about 6 years ago after being a Yankee my whole life, and this is one of the things I love about the south.

Ok i live in kentucky and not everyone talks like that or uses those sayings lol. It depends what part you're moving to. The most i hear are names like honey, darling, etc;

i've never heard it called bags either. it's corn hole where i live!

Hon is a Baltimore thing...at least that's what I was raised to believe.

It's called cornhole here.

And my nephews sitter is from Louisiana and she says "ew cocky" insted of "ew yucky" my nephew now says it and I think it's totally weird.

I think the biggest thing you will deal with if your use to doing anything fast is that things are slower in the south.

Lol I've lived in southeast Texas my whole life and I use "bless her heart" and "dumber than a bag of rocks" all the time. I'm also very fond of saying "y'all, yonder, and ain't" Heads up, come down south and pronounce pecan "pee-can" You're gonna get a, "Child, do you know what a pee can is down in the south?" It's pa-cahn down here. Lol

Lol I love being from Texas.. all of these are great, y'all!

I like a As quiet as a mouse peeing on cotton.

"Butter my butt and call me a biscuit" Okay it's a saying, but not said nearly enough.

Devil's beatin' his wife (when it's raining and sunny at the same time - sunny because he's happy, and raining because she's crying)

you should watch these:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUFL2GT1-2g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chrEsZffie8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBnaw1-1fTg

I LOVE these videos!

What about "Does a bear shit in the woods?!"

idk if that's a southern thing but i hate when my fh says that and he knows it!

Yeah, always remember bbq and cookout are not interchangeable. And some people can be rabid about the style of bbq even! Peecan vs pacahn lol. That one I refuse to adapt. I went from NYS to NOLA. Didnt really find any sayings deceiving, but some accents can be like a foreign language lol. Oh! And beware the derby lol. I still remember a classmate running into the common room yelling "DERBYDERBYDeRBYDERBY!" And commandeering the tv for hours :p