Some Say It Southern

Came across this great sign the other day. As a transplant to the South I’m still learning to translate some of the sayings, and man is there a bunch! Often things are stated with quite a fiery passion and other times just good ol’ southern charm. So, in an effort to understand better, I recently came across a great piece written by another “Yankee” transplant to the South. Thought I’d share a snippet of hers and some more Southern sayings, below. I hope you enjoy and maybe get a giggle or two! 

Cee’s B&W Photo Challenge: Signs

“Translating Southern Sayings”

by- Copyright ©2015 Stephanie Henkel

“As a transplanted Yankee living in the South, I am often surprised and amazed by the colorful Southern things I hear. Of course, there are the good old standbys we all know and love, like “y’all” and “down yonder.” But the richness of Southern speech goes far beyond one or two-word expressions and there’s a Southern expression for every occasion.

While their images and colloquialisms tickle the funny bone, Southern expressions usually convey exactly what the speaker intended. No one can mistake the intent and meaning of “I’m going to jerk a knot in your tail!” On the other hand, there are some Southernisms that it might take a Yankee like me years to figure out without a translator.

Whether you are from another part of the country or from another country altogether, I hope you enjoy this collection of Southern sayings.

Southern Expressions We Couldn’t Do Without:

• Y’all.
• All y’all.
• Down yonder.
• Bless your pea-pickin’ little heart!
• Kiss my go-to-hell.
• I wouldn’t walk across the street to piss on him if he was on fire.
• If you can’t run with the big dogs, stay under the porch.
• Why so sad? Did Chevrolet stop makin’ trucks?
• Deep in the South where sushi is still called bait.
• He’s about as useful as a screen door on a submarine.
• That sticks in your throat like a hair in a biscuit.
• You’re so fulla s**t your eyes are brown.
• He was as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a roomful of rocking chairs.
• He couldn’t carry a tune if he had a bucket with a lid on it.”

What is a saying that might be more common to your part of the country or world that others would find interesting, funny or hard to understand? Share in the comments!