Southern Sayins and Old Wives Tales.....Originals For You

Down here in the south we talk real slow, ifn you are from the north it is hard to understand us. Just slow down a bit and you will catch on.

The south has its own charm and its own version of English. Where else would you hear the phrase such as “She’s as cute as a bug in a rug!” “He was all over that like white on rice!” or the famous “Ya’ll give us a hollar!”. It’s a fact that many southern sayings can be confusing but they are colorful as well as comical. However the person not of southern descent, doesn’t realize this until they visit one of the beautiful southern states. One should keep in mind; appropriate facial expression and a southern accent are important for obtaining the desired effect.

Very very cold - "Cold as a well digger's tail"

Surprised and unprepared - "Caught with your pants down."

Just really tired. - "Plumb tuckered out. "

Shes very flexible - "She's limber as a dishrag. ”

Very FAst. - "Faster than greased lightning. "

Hes a boy trying to be a man. - "He's just a cub tryin to be a bear"

Not many of these. - "As scarce as hen's teeth. "

You are so much older and wiser. - "Older than the mountains and got twice as much dust."

Meaning, i am so full from supper! "Full as a tick. "

She was so frightened she ran very fast - "She ran like a scalded dog."

He did that so fast! - "He was all over that like white on rice!"

You are so pretty! - "Purty as a speckled pup."

This means that you are wrong - "Barking up the wrong tree."

The cheif is in charge, not the Indians - "Don't let the tail wag the dog."

To have only half the facts - "Go off half-cocked"

To get angry and lash out - "Fly off the handle."

Don't be talking too much - "Don't let your mouth overload your tail."

Get upset - "Get your feathers ruffled."

Means, going to bed very early - "Go to bed with the chickens."

Getting sophisticated - "In high cotton."

Just alike - "Like two peas in a pod."

Taking oneself too seriously - "Too big for one's britches. "

Haven't seen or done that in a long time - "In a coon's age."

Very easy to do - "As easy as sliding off a greased hog backwards."

Just a Little History of Southern Words

Many words commonly used in America today such as Hillbillies and Rednecks have their origins in our Scottish roots. While the following three terms are associated today with the American South and southern culture, their origins are distinctly Scottish and Ulster-Scottish (Scots-Irish), and date to the mass immigration of Scottish Lowland and Ulster Presbyterians to America during the 1700’s.

HILLBILLY
The origin of this American nickname for mountain folk in the Ozarks and in Appalachia comes from Ulster. Ulster-Scottish (The often incorrectly labeled “Scots-Irish”) settlers in the hill-country of Appalachia brought their traditional music with them to the new world, and many of their songs and ballads dealt with William, Prince of Orange, who defeated the Catholic King James II of the Stuart family at the Battle of the Boyne, Ireland in 1690.

Supporters of King William were known as “Orangemen” and "Billy Boys" and their North American counterparts were soon referred to as "hill-billies". It is interesting to note that a traditional song of the Glasgow Rangers football club today begins with the line, "Hurrah! Hurrah! We are the Billy Boys!" and shares its tune with the famous American Civil War song, "Marching Through Georgia".

Stories abound of American National Guard units from Southern states being met upon disembarking in Britain during the First and Second World Wars with the tune, much to their displeasure! One of these stories comes from Colonel Ward Schrantz, a noted historian, Carthage Missouri native, and veteran of the Mexican Border Campaign, as well as the First and Second World Wars, documented a story where the US Army's 30th Division, made up of National Guard units from Georgia, North and South Carolina and Tennessee arrived in the United Kingdom…”a waiting British band broke into welcoming American music, and the soldiery, even the 118th Field Artillery and the 105 Medical Battalion from Georgia, broke into laughter.

The excellence of intent and the ignorance of the origins of the American music being equally obvious. The welcoming tune was “Marching Through Georgia.”

REDNECK
The origins of this term are Scottish and refer to supporters of the National Covenant and The Solemn League and Covenant, or "Covenanters", largely Lowland Presbyterians, many of whom would flee Scotland for Ulster (Northern Ireland) during persecutions by the British Crown. The Covenanters of 1638 and 1641 signed the documents that stated that Scotland desired the Presbyterian form of church government and would not accept the Church of England as its official state church.

Many Covenanters signed in their own blood and wore red pieces of cloth around their necks as distinctive insignia; hence the term "Red neck", which became slang for a Scottish dissenter*. One Scottish immigrant, interviewed by the author, remembered a Presbyterian minister, one Dr. Coulter, in Glasgow in the 1940's wearing a red clerical collar -- is this symbolic of the "rednecks"?

Since many Ulster-Scottish settlers in America (especially the South) were Presbyterian, the term was applied to them, and then, later, their Southern descendants. One of the earliest examples of its use comes from 1830, when an author noted that "red-neck" was a "name bestowed upon the Presbyterians." It makes you wonder if the originators of the ever-present "redneck" joke are aware of the term’s origins?

*Another term for Presbyterians in Ireland was a "Blackmouth". Members of the Church of Ireland (Anglicans) used this as a slur, referring to the fact that one could tell a Presbyterian by the black stains around his mouth from eating blackberries while at secret, illegal Presbyterian Church Services in the countryside.

Second definition- One of Southern, rural, or small town origin. This term describes poor white subsistence farmers, sharecroppers, and tenants beginning in the nineteenth century. They had red necks from working in the field long hours.

CRACKER
Another Ulster-Scot term, a "cracker" was a person who talked and boasted, and "craic" (Crack) is a term still used in Scotland and Ireland to describe "talking", chat or conversation in a social sense ("Let’s go down to the pub and have a craic"; "what's the craic"). The term, first used to describe a southerner of Ulster-Scottish background, later became a nickname for any white southerner, especially those who were uneducated.

And while not an exclusively Southern term, but rather referring in general to all Americans, the origins of this word are related to the other three.

GRINGO: Often used in Latin America to refer to people from the United States, “gringo” also has a Scottish connection. The term originates from the Mexican War (1846-1848), when American Soldiers would sing Robert Burns’s “Green Grow the Rashes, O!”, or the very popular song “Green Grows the Laurel” (or lilacs) while serving in Mexico, thus inspiring the locals to refer to the Yankees as “gringos”, or “green-grows”. The song “Green Grows the Laurel” refers to several periods in Scottish and Ulster-Scottish history; Jacobites might “change the green laurel for the “bonnets so blue” of the exiled Stewart monarchs of Scotland during the Jacobite Rebellions of the late 1600’s – early 1700’s. Scottish Lowlanders and Ulster Presbyterians would change the green laurel of James II in 1690 for the “Orange and Blue” of William of Orange, and later on, many of these Ulstermen would immigrate to America, and thus “change the green laurel for the red, white and blue.”

GOOD OL’ BOY: A rough and fun lover who likes most anything involving challenge and expression of virility. Many wear cowboy hats and boots, and drive pick-up trucks equipped with CB radios, fishing rods, and firearms.

COON-ASS: A good ol’ boy in Cajun Country. Second definition: Only people born and raised in South Louisiana, and of French Canadian decent (the original Acadians) are called this, and it is generally considered a vulgar and derogatory term, and most South Louisiana residents of French decent do not use this term.

CARPETBAGGER: A term of disgrace applied to Yankee opportunists and uncompromising Secessionist who settled in the South during and after the Civil War, some with all their possessions in carpetbags. Years later, history shows us that some carpetbaggers were respected citizens who came to the South for humanitarian and legitimate business reasons. But, for the most part, they were trouble. **In earlier years the term described itinerant bankers who carried their negotiable assets in gritchels made of carpeting material.

SCALAWAGS: Southern whites who, during the Reconstruction Era, joined carpetbaggers and freedman for profit and political power. They formed the Republican party in the South.

Old Wives Tales

If you open a pocket knife, then you be the one to close it or bad luck will follow.

Throw salt over the shoulder to dispell bad luck

When a bell rings, a new angel has received his wings.

If you blow out all the candles on your birthday cake with the first puff you will get your wish.

It's good luck to find a four-leaf clover.

It's bad luck to pick up a coin if it's tails side up.Good luck comes if it's heads up

A horseshoe, hung above the doorway, will bring good luck to a home.

Please, you all let me know, if you know any.

Ya'll Come Back, Now Ya Heer!

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For Yankees & Yawls Southern Sayings Thank you for taking time to visit our site. Your input is very important to us; therefore, we welcome your comments and/or creative ideas.If you have anything to contribute to the Hillbilly Southern Dictionary, Southern Sayins or Recipes, please submit them to dfree@otelco.net Down here in the south we talk real slow, ifn you are from the north it is hard to understand us. Just slow down a bit and you will catch on. The south has its own charm and its own version of English. Where else would you hear the phrase such as “She’s as cute as a bug in a rug!” “He was all over that like white on rice!” or the famous “Ya’ll give us a hollar!”. It’s a fact that many southern sayings can be confusing but they are colorful as well as comical. However the person not of southern descent, doesn’t realize this until they visit one of the beautiful southern states. One should keep in mind; appropriate facial expression and a southern accent are important for obtaining the desired effect. Very very cold - "Cold as a well digger's tail" Surprised and unprepared - "Caught with your pants down." Just really tired. - "Plumb tuckered out. " Shes very flexible - "She's limber as a dishrag. ” Very FAst. - "Faster than greased lightning. " Hes a boy trying to be a man. - "He's just a cub tryin to be a bear" Not many of these. - "As scarce as hen's teeth. " You are so much older and wiser. - "Older than the mountains and got twice as much dust." Meaning, i am so full from supper! "Full as a tick. " She was so frightened she ran very fast - "She ran like a scalded dog." He did that so fast! - "He was all over that like white on rice!" You are so pretty! - "Purty as a speckled pup." This means that you are wrong - "Barking up the wrong tree." The cheif is in charge, not the Indians - "Don't let the tail wag the dog." To have only half the facts - "Go off half-cocked" To get angry and lash out - "Fly off the handle." Don't be talking too much - "Don't let your mouth overload your tail." Get upset - "Get your feathers ruffled." Means, going to bed very early - "Go to bed with the chickens." Getting sophisticated - "In high cotton." Just alike - "Like two peas in a pod." Taking oneself too seriously - "Too big for one's britches. " Haven't seen or done that in a long time - "In a coon's age." Very easy to do - "As easy as sliding off a greased hog backwards." Just a Little History of Southern Words Many words commonly used in America today such as Hillbillies and Rednecks have their origins in our Scottish roots. While the following three terms are associated today with the American South and southern culture, their origins are distinctly Scottish and Ulster-Scottish (Scots-Irish), and date to the mass immigration of Scottish Lowland and Ulster Presbyterians to America during the 1700’s. HILLBILLY The origin of this American nickname for mountain folk in the Ozarks and in Appalachia comes from Ulster. Ulster-Scottish (The often incorrectly labeled “Scots-Irish”) settlers in the hill-country of Appalachia brought their traditional music with them to the new world, and many of their songs and ballads dealt with William, Prince of Orange, who defeated the Catholic King James II of the Stuart family at the Battle of the Boyne, Ireland in 1690. Supporters of King William were known as “Orangemen” and "Billy Boys" and their North American counterparts were soon referred to as "hill-billies". It is interesting to note that a traditional song of the Glasgow Rangers football club today begins with the line, "Hurrah! Hurrah! We are the Billy Boys!" and shares its tune with the famous American Civil War song, "Marching Through Georgia". Stories abound of American National Guard units from Southern states being met upon disembarking in Britain during the First and Second World Wars with the tune, much to their displeasure! One of these stories comes from Colonel Ward Schrantz, a noted historian, Carthage Missouri native, and veteran of the Mexican Border Campaign, as well as the First and Second World Wars, documented a story where the US Army's 30th Division, made up of National Guard units from Georgia, North and South Carolina and Tennessee arrived in the United Kingdom…”a waiting British band broke into welcoming American music, and the soldiery, even the 118th Field Artillery and the 105 Medical Battalion from Georgia, broke into laughter. The excellence of intent and the ignorance of the origins of the American music being equally obvious. The welcoming tune was “Marching Through Georgia.” REDNECK The origins of this term are Scottish and refer to supporters of the National Covenant and The Solemn League and Covenant, or "Covenanters", largely Lowland Presbyterians, many of whom would flee Scotland for Ulster (Northern Ireland) during persecutions by the British Crown. The Covenanters of 1638 and 1641 signed the documents that stated that Scotland desired the Presbyterian form of church government and would not accept the Church of England as its official state church. Many Covenanters signed in their own blood and wore red pieces of cloth around their necks as distinctive insignia; hence the term "Red neck", which became slang for a Scottish dissenter. One Scottish immigrant, interviewed by the author, remembered a Presbyterian minister, one Dr. Coulter, in Glasgow in the 1940's wearing a red clerical collar -- is this symbolic of the "rednecks"? Since many Ulster-Scottish settlers in America (especially the South) were Presbyterian, the term was applied to them, and then, later, their Southern descendants. One of the earliest examples of its use comes from 1830, when an author noted that "red-neck" was a "name bestowed upon the Presbyterians." It makes you wonder if the originators of the ever-present "redneck" joke are aware of the term’s origins? Another term for Presbyterians in Ireland was a "Blackmouth". Members of the Church of Ireland (Anglicans) used this as a slur, referring to the fact that one could tell a Presbyterian by the black stains around his mouth from eating blackberries while at secret, illegal Presbyterian Church Services in the countryside. Second definition- One of Southern, rural, or small town origin. This term describes poor white subsistence farmers, sharecroppers, and tenants beginning in the nineteenth century. They had red necks from working in the field long hours. CRACKER Another Ulster-Scot term, a "cracker" was a person who talked and boasted, and "craic" (Crack) is a term still used in Scotland and Ireland to describe "talking", chat or conversation in a social sense ("Let’s go down to the pub and have a craic"; "what's the craic"). The term, first used to describe a southerner of Ulster-Scottish background, later became a nickname for any white southerner, especially those who were uneducated. And while not an exclusively Southern term, but rather referring in general to all Americans, the origins of this word are related to the other three. GRINGO: Often used in Latin America to refer to people from the United States, “gringo” also has a Scottish connection. The term originates from the Mexican War (1846-1848), when American Soldiers would sing Robert Burns’s “Green Grow the Rashes, O!”, or the very popular song “Green Grows the Laurel” (or lilacs) while serving in Mexico, thus inspiring the locals to refer to the Yankees as “gringos”, or “green-grows”. The song “Green Grows the Laurel” refers to several periods in Scottish and Ulster-Scottish history; Jacobites might “change the green laurel for the “bonnets so blue” of the exiled Stewart monarchs of Scotland during the Jacobite Rebellions of the late 1600’s – early 1700’s. Scottish Lowlanders and Ulster Presbyterians would change the green laurel of James II in 1690 for the “Orange and Blue” of William of Orange, and later on, many of these Ulstermen would immigrate to America, and thus “change the green laurel for the red, white and blue.” GOOD OL’ BOY: A rough and fun lover who likes most anything involving challenge and expression of virility. Many wear cowboy hats and boots, and drive pick-up trucks equipped with CB radios, fishing rods, and firearms. COON-ASS: A good ol’ boy in Cajun Country. Second definition: Only people born and raised in South Louisiana, and of French Canadian decent (the original Acadians) are called this, and it is generally considered a vulgar and derogatory term, and most South Louisiana residents of French decent do not use this term. CARPETBAGGER: A term of disgrace applied to Yankee opportunists and uncompromising Secessionist who settled in the South during and after the Civil War, some with all their possessions in carpetbags. Years later, history shows us that some carpetbaggers were respected citizens who came to the South for humanitarian and legitimate business reasons. But, for the most part, they were trouble. In earlier years the term described itinerant bankers who carried their negotiable assets in gritchels made of carpeting material. SCALAWAGS: Southern whites who, during the Reconstruction Era, joined carpetbaggers and freedman for profit and political power. They formed the Republican party in the South. Old Wives Tales If you open a pocket knife, then you be the one to close it or bad luck will follow. Throw salt over the shoulder to dispell bad luck When a bell rings, a new angel has received his wings. If you blow out all the candles on your birthday cake with the first puff you will get your wish. It's good luck to find a four-leaf clover. It's bad luck to pick up a coin if it's tails side up.Good luck comes if it's heads up A horseshoe, hung above the doorway, will bring good luck to a home. Please, you all let me know, if you know any. Ya'll Come Back, Now Ya Heer!** Home News Southern Recipes My Home Town~Dixie Letters Sayins-n-Tales Southern Dictionary Kudzu Southern Belles Grits & Cornbread! Links E-Mail 600 DOWLOADABLE Printables!! Content Copyright Originals For You