"song...song of the south...sweet potato pie and hush my mouth..."
FLASHBACK april 1986
i move to north carolina. within a month, my family cannot understand a word i say.
FLASH FORWARD 2009 until today
this happens almost daily~
remember when you said blah blah blah? bk "ummmm...when did i say that?". you know? the other day...when we were moving my stuff into your apartment. "the other day? that was 4 years ago...it was NOT 'the OTHER day'!".
or
the other day you asked me blah blah blah and...bk "the other day as in the other day? or the other day as in 30 years ago?".
FLASH FORWARD august 15, 2013
i'm fixin to head to starbucks, do y'all need anything? "you're fixin? what?".
okay. fine. so i picked up a few southernisms after living in the carolinas for 23 years...24 actually, since the bk and i lived there for a year. and most of my mid~west and west coast friends have a tiny bit of trouble understanding me at times. so...i thought, maybe, i would take this opportunity to teach you how to get along in the south...
- you should always be barefoot or in flip flops, and i will push it as close to the limit as i possibly can.
- sweet tea is just "tea", it should always be sweet.
- "bless your heart" doesn't mean that at all...and you will never, hardly ever, hear me say it.
- i stopped calling my parent's mom and dad 27 years ago...they are "mama" and "daddy".
- "fixin" doesn't mean to ACTUALLY fix something...it means i'm getting ready to do something or go somewhere...as in "i'm fixin to go to the store" or "i'm fixin to bake cookies" or "i'm fixin to roundhouse kick you in the face".
- "the other day" can be anywhere from yesterday to november 1965.
- bbq is pulled pork...all other "bbq" is called by it's name: brisket, chicken, and whatever else you cook on a grill...
- speaking of bbq...it's not a pig roast, it's a pig pickin because, duh doy, everyone is pickin meat off the pig. and you have slaw, and beans, and pig pickin cake. or else it's not a real pig pickin.
- if i say "i'm about to monkey" it means i'm super super hot and sweaty. cuz, well, monkeys are sweaty? i have no idea...you just say it in the deep south.
- "i swanee" means "i swear". i hardly ever say that, but if i do now you'll know what i mean...
- "drink" means coke and not a mixed drink. if you are asking me over for a cocktail you better be specific. also, if i say "coke" i mean soda...any soda...if i say "diet coke" i mean diet soda...any diet soda. it's not hard.
- grits. this is important. people in the mid~west have NO CLUE about the proper way to enjoy grits. they put butter on them! bleck! and SUGAR!! bleck! bleck!! and, sometimes, even milk!! BLECK! BLECK!! BLECK!!! grits should be served all mixed up with runny eggs (preferably sunny~side up) with lots of salt and pepper. and, if you haven't tried them, you should. you really should.
^barefootin^
^good ol' southern seafood^
^a rare sight in the south^
^in the south, we don't hide our crazy...we put 'em on the front porch for everyone to see^
do you have any southernisms not listed here? and, maybe, you want to know what they mean? i'll be happy to help you out ☺
the more you know.....
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