Do You Understand Southern, Dahling?

Do you understand "southern," dahling?  If so, well just bless yo' pea-picking lil ol' heart!

That's good, 'cause now I’m fixin’ to tell you something.

You do know what that means, don’t you? When you’re fixin’ to do something, you’re about to do it; you’re getting ready to do it. You’re not quite doing it yet but you’re almost at the point of doing it. You just can't do something if you haven't fixed to do it.

This is just one example of an idiom that’s peculiar to parts of the south. There are oodles more.

I thought everybody knew about  cow licks but I found out that’s just not the case the other day when I told somebody I have one. I believe that person thought I had been out in a pasture when a cow licked me! A cow lick is a bit or chunk of hair that does its own thing. Actually, I have two of ‘em, and they’re awfully inconvenient, don't you know?

Have you ever heard someone say “that dog don’t hunt?” This means the story just doesn’t add up; it doesn’t make sense.

When you’re “barking up the wrong tree,” you’re on the wrong track or you’re just plain wrong.

But, when you’re right and you’re doing something special, someone just might ask you to “give me some sugar.” This doesn’t mean the person wants to borrow a cup of sugar from you; this means “give me a kiss.”

We could go on and on with Southern sayings.  I've got lots more favorite ones so we’ll discuss some of those on down the road a bit.

But, that’s it for now, so here’s to you ‘til next time – God willing and the creek don’t rise.

In the meantime, what are some of your favorite ones?  Are there sayings and idioms you've just never understood?

 

 

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