Some Southern Expressions

“You think I don’t have culture just because I’m from down in Georgia. Believe me, we’ve got culture there. We’ve always had sushi. We just called it bait.” ~Ben “Cooter” Jones

"I'm so happy, I'm tickled pink."

“Who’s pluckin’ this chicken, you or me?”.

Bless your heart CAN be a good thing

How Southern are you? Take this test to find out.

I have a test for you. Do you know the meanings of the following words?

Cattywampus: A. Broken B. Askew C. Literally

Darn Tootin: A. Correct B. Aggravating C. Impossible

Fit as a Fiddle: A. Overweight B. Shapely C. Good Shape

Bowed Up: A. In a Knot B. Ill-humored C. Humorous

Hankering: A. Desire B. Habit C. Toothache

Lickety Split: A. Fencing B. Tongue Suppressor C. Quick

Over Yonder: A. Over the moon B. Over the top C. Over there

Answers: B, A, C, B, A, C, C

Now, just how much did you know about Southern Colloquialisms? Even if you are not a “from here”, but a “come here”, if you’ve been down here long enough, these words may be a part of your new southern lingo. If not, but you want to visit us, study your Southern Dictionary and come on down, ya’ll! If you’re lucky, someone may offer you some collards or turnip salad cooked with fatback. Just don’t forget to tell them to include some of the pot liquor! Umm…Umm Good!

He has enough money to burn a wet mule. (origin 1800's). Somebody with a lot of disposable income.

The wood on that tree is doted. (pronounced "dote-ed") A rural expression for half-rotted wood.

That is to much pumpkin for a nickel. Meaning it's more trouble then it's worth.

If ifs' and buts' were candy and nuts, everyday would be Christmas - A fellow with too many excuses. Related to "If wishes were horses, beggars would ride"

Forty going north - To do something with great gusto and enthusiasm. - Origin is 19th century, but unknown source.

Root hog or die - This means that we all must work hard to survive - Origin 19th century but unknown.

Mommas baby - Daddy's, maybe - In genealogy, tracking bloodlines through the father is certain to go wrong.

He looks like he's been rode hard and put up wet - Referring to a horse that has foundered by not being properly cooled-off after riding, a lame person.

Useless as teats on a boar pig - A reference to a bad worker.

Even a blind hog finds a nut every now and then - similar to the Yankee saying "even a stopped click is right twice a day".

That dog will hunt - A method that will be successful.

Never take a wooden nickel - A type of "goodbye", reminding people to be careful with Yankees.

Nobody will ever notice it on a galloping horse - Don't be too self-conscious about your appearance.

He's as poor as Job's turkey - Origin unknown.

A pullet can't roost too high for an owl.

All the buzzards will come to the mule's funeral.

Never shake hands with a crawfish.

Satan ain't so scared of long sermons.

The mule that chews up his own collar is fixing for a sore shoulder.

Don't fling away the empty wallet.

A sharp axe is better than big muscle.

Setting hens don't hanker after fresh eggs.

The mosquito says grace too loud for his own good before getting ready to eat.

Those who know too much sleep under the hopper.

You can't tell much about a chicken pie until you get through the crust.

Watch out when you're getting all you want. Fattened hogs ain't in luck.

Pigs don't know what a pen's for.

The angleworms aren't anxious for the fish to bite.

Don't blame the cow when the milk gets sour.

You can hide the fire, but what'll you do with the smoke?

Loading a wagon with hay ain't the quickest way to get religion.

A mule can be tame at one end and wild at the other.

Rheumatism and happiness both get bigger if you keep telling folks about them.

A pig has enough arithmetic to take the shortest cut through a thicket.

Stump water won't cure the gripes.

The rabbit thinks experience costs too much if you get it from a trap.

A crooked cornstalk can still have a straight ear.

Don't take too big a start to jump a ditch.

What you can learn by boxing with a left-hander costs more than it's worth.

You'll lose your grip if you put too much spit on your hands.

The north wind knows all the cracks in the house.

The otter would have more peace if his clothes weren't so fine.

Don't try to rake up the family secrets of every sausage you eat.

The partridge that makes a nest in a wheat field won't be pestered by her children.

A rabbit knows a fox track same as a hound does.

Folks on the rich bottom land stop bragging when the river rises.

When it takes half a hoecake to catch a catfish, let him alone.

A crow is a first-rate hand to thin corn.

Never climb an oak tree after chinkapins.

Satan loads his cannons with big watermelons.

If you buy a rainbow, don't pay cash for it.

Always drink pure water. Many get drunk from breaking this rule.

The hawk would like to get a job in the chicken yard keeping away the minks.

There's not much difference between a Hornet and a Yellow Jacket if they're in your clothes.

The cotton patch doesn't care which way you vote.

It doesn't take a prophet to predict bad luck.

A sore back mule is a poor hand at guessing the weight of a sack of meal.

Someone who pets a live catfish isn't crowded with brains.

A bull without horns can still do some right sharp pushing.

It's easy to get off a bucking mule.

The rabbit is too honest to steal grapes, and the fox is too honest to steal cabbage.

You might as well die with the chills as with the fever.

You can sow in my field, but the crop will come up in yours, and you won't know how it got there.

What you don't have in your head, you have to have in your feet.

Better gravy than no grease at all.

Lazy folks' stomachs don't get tired.

Save the pacing mare for Sunday.

It don't rain every time the pig squeals.

Crow and corn can't grow in the same field.

Rails split before breakfast will season the dinner.

The jay-bird doesn't rob his own nest.

Meat fried before day won't last until night.

A blind horse doesn't fall when he follows the bit.

A blacksnake knows the way to the hen's nest.

If you have to eat dirt, eat clean dirt.

The terrapin walks fast enough to go visiting.

Corn makes more at the mill than it does in the crib.

Good Luck says, "Open your mouth and shut your eyes."

The rooster makes more racket than the hen that laid the egg.

A one-eyed mule can't be handled on the blind side.

Liquor talks mighty loud when it gets loose from the jug.

Tomorrow may be the carriage-driver's day for ploughing.

Between the bug and the bee martin, it ain't hard to tell which will get caught.

Trouble is seasoning. 'Simmons ain't good until they're frost-bitten.

A full purse ain't half as good as an empty one is bad.

Soft ground tells a heap of tales.

Don't trade off a coonskin before you catch the coon.

Don't spoil Saturday night by counting the time to Monday morning.

A good farmer stays acquainted with daybreak.

Never trust a man too far who stays mad through Christmas week.

The mule doesn't pull so well with a mortgage on his back.

Crabgrass lines the path to the poorhouse.

Ground sparrows see the snowstorm way off yonder.

A hole in your britches lets in a heap of uneasiness.

Grubbing roots softens a straw bed.

The distance to the next milepost depends on the mud in the road.

Turnip tops don't tell you the size of the turnips.

An old sow knows enough about figures to count her pigs.

A sleepy fisherman totes a light load home.

The devil has no particular objection to Christmas.

The bullfrog never makes a mistake when he starts singing.

Trying to understand some folks is like guessing at the direction of a rat hole underground.

Some people's honesty is regulated by the spunk of the yard-dog.

The Black Gum laughs at the Red Oak when the woodcutter comes around.

You can't hurry up good times by waiting for them.

Many good cotton stalks get chopped up by associating with weeds.

Tomorrow's ash-cake is better than last Sunday's pudding.

The man that always takes the shortest road to a dollar generally takes the longest road away from it.

All of the justice in the world isn't fastened up in the courthouse.

A blind mule ain't afraid of darkness.

The dinner bell's always in tune.

Who licked the red off your candy?

The woodpile doesn't grow much on frosty nights.

I love you as much as the cat loves the cream jar?

Some smart folks can't tell a rotten rail without sitting on it.

You can't make a silk purse out of a sows ear - You cannot change the fundamental nature of things, so matter how hard you try.

He's two bricks short of a load - Someone with a mental deficiency, dropped on their head as a baby.

Marry in haste, repent in leisure - From William Congreve in his comedy of manners The Old Batchelour, 1693: "Thus grief still treads upon the heels of pleasure: Married in haste, we may repent at leisure."

Tell the Truth and Shame the Devil - Stop lying

Food that tastes so good that if you put it on top of your head your tongue'd slap your brains out tryin' to get it.

Don't nothing hurt a duck but his bib - Origin unknown.

You can't hold water - You can't can't keep a secret

I'm going to talk to a man about a cow - When you got business to take care of.

She looks like she's been beaten with a bag of nickels - Similar to "she was beaten by the ugly stick".

A hard head makes a soft behind -Being stubborn can result in punishment.

A guilty dog barks the loudest - A dishonest man will be the first to tell you how honest he is.

If wishes were horses, beggars would ride - Poor folks dream, rich folks do.

If I put his brain in a nat's butt, it would fly backwards - A really stupid person.

Wish in one hand and spit in the other and see which one fills up first -

I would not trust him in a sh**house with a muzzle - Someone that you cannot trust.

If you can't race it or take it to bed, you don't need it

Ate that chicken til it was slick as a ribbon.

A wink is as good as a nod, to a blind horse.

Barefooted as a yard dog.

Better than a sharp stick in the eye.

Birds of a feather flock together.

Bleedin' like a stuck pig.

Busy as a one armed paper hanger.

Butter my butt and call me a biscuit! (term of amazement)

Cold as a frog's behind.

Cold as a banker's heart.

Colder than a mother-in-laws love.

Colder than a well digger's destination.

Clean as a hound's tooth.

Could go bear huntin' with a switch.

Craw fishin' (going back on something like your word).

Crooked as a barrel full of fish hooks.

Cute as a toe sack full of puppies.

Dark as the inside of a cow.

Deader'n a doornail.

Didn't have sense enough to pound sand into a rat hole.

Don't flog (or beat) a dead horse.

Don't get your cows runnin.

Don't monkey with that.

Eatin' the gospel bird (that's chicken, since the preacher always seemed to show up when there was fried chicken for dinner.

'et up with.

Empty as a winter rain barrel.

Everything's chicken but the bill.

Fast as all get out.

Fine as a frog's hair split up the middle and tied at both ends.

Flat as a flitter.

From now until Gabriel blows his horn

Gee willikers.

Getting too big for his britches.

Going at it like killing snakes. (Doing something with more vigor and enthusiasm than the task requires.)

Gooder'n snuff.

Green as a gourd.

Happier than a dead pig in the sunshine.

Happier than a pig in slop.

He ain't got the sense he was born with.

He hasn't hit a lick with a snake. (He hasn't worked in a while.)

He moves like the lice is fallin' off him.

He put the "e" in ignorant ig-nernt. Submitted by novasy.

He talks like he's got a mouthful of mush.

He thinks he's the best thing since sliced bread.

He's cooler than the other side of the pillow. dannye

He's all hat and no cattle.

He's got a tough row to hoe.

He was moving so slow, dead flies wouldn't fall off 'im.

Hells' bells.

Highfalutin'.

High muckety-mucks.

Hotter than a June bride.

Hotter than a $2 pistol.

I ain't got no dog in that fight.

I didn't just fall off the turnip truck.

I didn't take her to raise. (I'm not responsible for her)

I don't know her from Adam's house cat.

I feel like a banjo. Everybody's picking on me.

I feel like the underside of a turnip green. (I feel sick or low and green.)

I feel lower than a snake in snowshoes.

I suwanne. (I swear.)

I spoke to her and she didn't say pea turkey squat.

I was as surprised as if a sheep had bit me.

I went to the barber and got my ears lowered.

I wouldn't give you air if you were in a jug.

I wouldn't p*** on him if he was on fire.

I'd have to feel better to die.

I'll do that directly.

I'll get all over you like white on rice.

I'll knock you into next week.

I'm feelin' lower than a a snake's belly in a mud rut.

I'm gonna jerk you through a knot.

I'm gonna slap you so hard when you quit rollin' your clothes'll be outta style.

I'm so busy, I don't have time to cuss the cat.

In a minute.

If she had one more wrinkle , she could screw her hat on.

If you don't do that, I'll be all over you like stink on a skunk.

If it'd been a snake it would have bit you.

If you lie down with dogs, you'll get up with fleas.

Is it any 'count? (is it any good?) Submitted by novasy.

It was so good it would have brought tears to a glass eye.

It's been so long since the last rain I had to blow dust out of the rain gauge.

It's comin' up a bad cloud.

It's more than I can say grace over.

It's not too pretty for nice, but it's great for good.

It's pourin' down bullfrogs.

Jumpy as a long tailed cat in a room full of rockin' chairs.

Live and learn, die and know it all.

Like tryin' to poke a cat out from under the porch with a rope.

Livin' high on the hog.

Loosing my religion.

Mad as a mule chewing on bumblebees.

Madder than a wet hen.

Make hay while the sun shines.

My mouth is dry enough to spin cotton.

My stars and garters.

Older than dirt.

One of 'em will lie and the other one'll swear to it.

Petered out.

Pipe down.

Plumb tickled to death.

Pulled too green.

Put on the dog.

Right as rain.

Rode hard and put up wet.

Runnin' like the house is afire.

Running around like a chicken with its head cut off.

Scarce as deviled eggs after a church picnic.

Scarcer than hen's teeth

She's a caution.(She's a trip or she's unusual).

She's so poor she ain't got two nickels to rub together.

She was cryin' and slingin' snot.

Slicker than snot.

Slower than molasses trying to run uphill in January.

Snake-bit.

Snatch the taste right out of her mouth.

So dry, the trees are bribing the dogs.

So surprised you coulda knocked his eyes off with a stick.

Squirmin' like a worm in hot ashes.

Staggerin' around like a blind horse in a punkin patch.

Stout as a mule.

Straight as a string.

Sunday-go-t'meetin' clothes.

Sure as a cat's got climbing gear. Submitted by Slidewell.

Tall enough to go duck huntin' with a rake.

Tender as a judge's heart.

That dog won't hunt.

That kid ain't knee-high to a duck.

That truck couldn't pull a fat baby off a tricycle.

That's a fine how d'ya do.

That's as good as a cold collard sandwich.

That's not big enough to cuss the cat in.

Thick as flies on a dog's back.

Thicker than fiddlers in hell.

Tight as Dick's hatband.

Useless as teats on a boarhog.

Walkin' like he's rakin' up shucks.

We didn't have crowded to swing a cat.

Weak as dishwater.

Well, shut my mouth.

We've howdied, but not met.

What ever blows your dress up.

You can't beat that with a stick.

You can't judge the depth of a well by the handle of the pump.

You have a hollow leg.

You lie like a dirty cur dog.

You're going to wool that baby to death." (to wool = to cuddle or love on excessively) Submitted by novasy.

You scared the livin' daylights out of me.

Colorful Insults

He's dumb as a sack full of hammers.

He looks like he got beat with an ugly stick.

He was so buck toothed he could eat an apple through a picket fence.

He's about half a bubble off plumb.

He's as ugly as homemade lye soap.

He's got the personality of a dishrag.

He's so low down he could crawl under a snake's belly.

I wonder what she would charge to haunt a house.

If you had bird brains you'd fly backwards.

She had a face as ugly as a stack of black cats with their tails cut off.

She had a face so ugly she wore out two bodies.

She's as ugly as a mud fence daubed with tadpoles.

She's so ugly she could scare the bulldog off a meat truck.

She's so ugly they had to tie a pork chop around her neck to get the dog to play with her.

She's three pickles shy of a quart.

She's ugly enough to stop an eight day clock.

That face might not stop a clock, but it'd sure raise Cain with watches.

You look like something the cat dragged in.

You're not worth the powder and shot it'd take to blow you to kingdom come.

You're so dumb if they put your brain on the head of a pin it would roll around like a BB on a six-lane highway.

Compliments

Cute as a bug's ear.
He's handier than a pocket on a shirt.

He's as fast as greased lightening.

I wouldn't trade you for a farm in Georgia.

She's as purty as a speckled pup under a red wagon.

She's as purty as a spotted horse in a daisy pasture.

Sure as the vine twines 'round the stump, you are my darlin' sugar lump.

Things Only a True Southerner Knows

The difference between a hissie fit and a conniption fit.

Pretty much how many fish make up a mess.

What general direction cattywumpus is

How long "directly" is---As in "Going to town, be back directly."

That "gimme sugar" don't mean pass the sugar.

When "by and by" is

How to handle their "pot likker" --It's the liquid greens, for example collards, are cooked in. Scheherazades

The best gesture of solace for a neighbor who's got trouble is a plate of cold tater salad.

The difference between "pert' near" and "a right far piece."

The differences between a redneck, a good ol' boy, and po' white trash.

Never to go snipe hunting twice.

You plant a tater, you get a tater

You can't unsay a cruel word

Don't sell your mule to buy a plow

That's how the cow ate the cabbage

He couldn't hit the broad side of a barn

She's about as useful as buttons on a dishrag

He runs just like a candle

She slapped him like a red-headed stepchild

He was the turd in the punchbowl

You can catch more files with honey than with vinegar

He's steal the bridle off a nightmare

Dumber than a road lizard

He's nuttier than a squirrel turd

Good fences make good neighbors

She could eat an apple through a picket fence

He's tougher than a two dollar steak

He's as mad as a wet hen

Sober as a judge

That's as scarce as hen's teeth

That ain't worth the powder to blow it to hell

That's finer than frog's hair

"He's got molasses in his britches" - means you're lazy

Source: Internet