Being born and raised in the south comes with its own vocabulary and accent or as we southerners say when people visit “you’ll wake up with the south in your mouth”. There are just some things that can’t be said other than with how you heard it explained growing up. These country sayings are used to describe someone, something, or a situation that would take too long to explain or that paints an image in your head to show emotion better than people can sometimes. I find it is most often used around family, friends, neighbors, or other southerners at events like church, festivals, or within the home. It is more commonly spoken than written but some people love the sayings so much you can find them as signs to hang in the home or even in letters written to others, or lyrics in a country song.
People use these sayings to communicate thoughts, feelings, ideas, or sometimes offenses. It can either conceal what your feel or addresses what you wish want to say or it can make a situation “Crystal clear” or perfectly clear.
Animal References: Some of the more popular saying are related to animals and their behaviors or connotation. Some examples are:
- Runnnin’ like a chicken with its head cut off – this is a saying the reveals how busy a person is.
- Poor as a church mouse – this saying refers to someone having no money
- That dog won’t hunt – this saying refers to someone who is a liar
- Till the cows come home – means that it will take a long time
- Ants in your pants – means you can’t sit still
*these examples were from my grandmother that taught me them
* https://wanderwisdom.com/travel-destinations/Funny-Southern-Sayings-and-Southern-Expressions
Food References: There is nothing more that southern people love more than their food. Some of the classics are fried chicken, biscuits and gravy, okra, all the home style foods you would find a cracker barrel restaurant. So, it is no surprise that Southern saying would incorporate food.
Examples:
- Mind your own biscuits and life will be gravy – a saying to tell others to mind their own business
- She’s whiskey in a teacup – a saying that means a woman is a little on the wild side but still a lady
- Well that just dills my pickle – means that you are surprised or super happy
* https://youtu.be/nGIUtLO_x8g
Sex and Women compared to objects: men of the south love their women. Most of the country songs are about love and life and how women and sex compare to some of their favorite objects like trucks, alcohol and other crazy silly things.
- Take you for a ride on my big green tractor
- I’d like to check you for tics
- Over the shoulder boulder holder
- City girls slip and slide country girls grip and ride
- Tequila makes her clothes fall off
- Body like a back road
* https://youtu.be/8oO8cahqr8I
* https://youtu.be/OctrGD4JW8U
* https://youtu.be/Nj2700em-JQ
* https://youtu.be/Mdh2p03cRfw
Southern slang words: Sometimes you don’t need a whole saying to try and explain what you mean and so the southern community uses some funny words to get their point across. Not only that but there are just some universal southern country words.
- Ya’ll – yes this is an actual word it is the combination of “you” and “all” and is a pronoun substituted for the other pronoun they or you guys.
- Catawampus – is an adjective that describes something that is askew or cockeyed
- Fixin’ – is a verb or adjective that means you are going to do something
- Piddlin’ – adjective or verb that means you are fiddling around or puttering
* https://wanderwisdom.com/travel-destinations/Funny-Southern-Sayings-and-Southern-Expressions
*I also confirmed these with what my grandmother says
Many of these saying do not have an author or writer. We may never know who said or wrote them down. It is simply passed on from one generation to the next as a country tradition. I would say that depending on where in the north or the south you live and who is around you would determine what sayings you use and write. However, some of the sayings are from country musicians that have used them to write songs. These lyrics convey a message that the singer and/or songwriter finds important, amusing, or relatable to southern country folks. So, there are many authors, I guess. As for readers I would say that most of the time people that are from the south, listen to country music, or that have family or friends from the south would use these sayings.
Hi Jessica, I never thought of Southern colloquial sayings as a genre, but it makes sense. They are a thing all on their own. It’s interesting how we all live in the U.S but can hear and say things that other people may never have heard or might not understand the meaning. I think it’s a significant thing to note, like you have, that these sayings get passed on from generation to generation and we don’t really know who is the author of such sayings. I look forward to seeing more of your posts about this topic.
I love love love this genre. I have always been a huge country music fan from the time I was a little girl when my mom bought me my first Kenny Chesney CD. Southern sayings are super cool, as some of them sound funny but actually have a meaning. Also, I like how you pointed out certain country lyrics that relate to men comparing women to their favorite objects. Listening to these songs, you just sing a long and enjoy the lyrics because they’re catchy, but looking deeper into it it’s interesting to see the connection between things.