Mar 13, 2022

Yes, What They Said!

 

This describes how we are "To a T" There's another one "TO A T" and it means to Describe something perfectly or exactly right!
We do tend to protect and love our crazy people in the South, and if we can't find one we'll pretend we have one on call.
Join me today as we talk about it...



This family short story has to do with the Southern Saying from Julia Sugarbaker above.

I'll tell you something funny.  My Great Grandma Maggie would come into the sitting room always in a dress with a sweater on, carrying her purse (always. You can't be too careful you know your loved ones who wouldn't steal a piece of gum might rob you blind!) clutched to her chest and on her lap.
She'd take a seat and before long her stockings would be sliding down and she'd sit and listen so hard to the conversations.  
We were so bad because as youngsters we knew she would get upset and say something funny if we played around. 
We had a friend and he was as funny as could be.  Mind you we loved this woman dearly, but we were young and silly. This friend kept sliding/falling out of his chair on purpose.  Most knew he was picking but she did not.  
Sweet Great Grandma

She kept silent for a while but slowly as he fell over and over again. Her eyes got wide and her mouth fell open so wide.  So wide in fact that I thought her false teeth would fall out!  She was after all in her 90s.  She called me over to her quietly and asked me, "Dolly, what's the matter with that boy?"  He can't stay in his chair?  I told her, "He sure is acting strange." She finally said in a whisper, "They tell me he's from the home." (home being an insane asylum)   
I laughed so hard and then we came clean and told her he was just kidding. 
She wiped her face with her embroidered handkerchief and said, "Thank goodness, I was beginning to get worried." Then she just laughed with us.
To this day I don't remember who told her he was "from the home".  😊

Join me as we talk about a few more Southern Sayings....

You'll have to excuse me I may be a little slap happy with the time change and all I'm a little sleepy.

SLAP HAPPY while not particularly Southern deserves recognition This means:  So tired you start laughing or become silly for no apparent reason other than being exhausted. This one had its beginnings in the 1930s from slaphappy aka stupefied from repeated blows to the head of a boxer.  

"YOU LOOK RODE HARD AND PUT UP WET"
Which refers to a horse that has been ridden hard and not taken care of groomed and allowed to dry off after a hard run.  In other words, you look tired, overworked, or sick and worse for wear. 

"WORSE FOR WEAR"
Which means tired, ill, or in a bad state because they've been through a difficult time.

"SHE'S GOT MORE NERVE THAN CARTER'S GOT LIVER PILLS"

I heard grandma say that in the past and just took it to mean that person has a lot of nerve acting like that.
It means that company Carter's Little Liver Pills really made a lot of them and evidently advertised them a great deal. By 1959 the company had to remove the word Liver from the name as it had nothing to do with the liver. But the saying stuck with Southerners and continued on with the title.


photo credit

You can read more about the company in The History of Carter's Little Pills Southern Living



"HE THINKS THE SUN COMES UP JUST TO SHINE ON HIM!" or "THE SUN COMES UP JUST TO HEAR HIM CROW!"
Meaning he is so full of himself or thinks so highly of himself the sun only shines on him.
This saying is not only found in the South but on farms across America as well.

The next one has some history connected to it, or so they say.

"HE'S AS DRUNK AS COOTER BROWN!" 
This saying came about when Cooter Brown of Southern Lore and Legend lived on the Mason-Dixon line.  The line between the North and the South.  To avoid going to war with either side he stayed drunk during the Civil War.  It is said that Southerners have gauged their drunkenness by him ever since.

You can read a cute description in the Almanac Who was Cooter Brown, as in Drunk... 

My grandma's take on it was to say "He's as drunk as a Cooter Pig." What that means is beyond me and I wish she were here to tell me.


photo credit

I have no idea but borrowed this picture from this company because evidently, he has heard of a cooter pig too!


"DON'T COUNT YOUR CHICKENS BEFORE THEY'VE HATCHED!"
I can tell you from first-hand experience not to count them especially if you're hoping for hens more than roosters!  Odds are you'll get a surprise every time!

"HE'S OR SHE'S THE SPITTING IMAGE OF SO AND SO"
Meaning they look so much like someone else.

"STOP BEING UGLY"!
Has nothing to do with how anyone looks but how they are acting. It means acting ugly, vulgar, rude or misbehaving.

This next one has many answers and although some aren't very nice I didn't make them up! They all begin with:

" YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH SENSE:
  • To come in out of the rain
  • Pour sand in a rat hole
  • Stay out of the fire
  • Pour pee out of a boot

or "YOU AINT GOT THE SENSE:
  • God gave a goose
  • To get out of your own way
  • To keep your mouth shut
  • To know which end is up
I could go on and on but enough is enough and you get the picture.

There's another one
"GET THE PICTURE". 
Means you should understand, or do you?

LAST ONE FOR TODAY

One of Chuck's favorite sayings being a traffic cop

"YOU CAN LOOK IN THEIR EYES AND TELL NOBODY'S HOME"

"YOU CAN LOOK IN THEIR EYES AND TELL SOMEBODY ELSE IS DRIVING."

Meaning they are so confused and may not know what they are doing. They have no business being behind the wheel of a car. (in this instance)



SHARE ANY SAYINGS YOU USE OR HEAR IN YOUR FAMILY IF YOU WISH.

GOODBYE FOR NOW

This below is so us!





4 comments:

  1. Oh I loved these - brought back so many memories. No one where I live talks like that, more's the pity - Yes, I get funny looks when I let a Southern idiom slip out. Language used to be more 'colorful' and I don't mean the profanity that is so prevalent today. But God don't love ugly, and they'll get their's. Thanks for the smiles.

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    Replies
    1. Eileen, it was so good to hear from you! I don't hear as much of it as in the past here either. I miss it too. I know what you mean about the profanity. I like the way you described the saying 'colorful'!
      Thank you!
      Dolly

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  2. I snickered all the way through this. So very true. Ours was-He's as Irish as Paddy' pig. The elevator doesn't go all the way to the top (brain). If he had a brain it would be lonesome. Probably lots more but those just popped up in my head. lol. xo Diana

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