Southern Country Sayings
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I just love all of our Southern country sayings and talking about them never seems to get old. A few times now I’ve asked people to tell me their favorites on our Facebook page and it always lights up with hundreds of contributions. It tickles everyone to talk about them and see what old Southern sayings others have to contribute as we all walk down memory lane.
So today I want to start that conversation on this post as a fun way of celebrating our favorite Southern sayings and learning a few new ones we might want to work into our vocabulary. So grab a sweet tea and settle in, y’all.
Favorite Southern Country Sayings
Butter my biscuit
“Butter my biscuit” is an iconic Southern phrase. Although we generally use it to impart surprise, you can get a lot of mileage out of it for other purposes as well.
Over yonder
When giving directions Southern-style, you’d say “over yonder”, meaning over there… somewhere.
Gone off your rocker
Someone who is crazy can be said to have gone off their rocker or possibly have gone around the bend. There’s no telling what they’re fixin’ to do. You might need to call the law on them if they get too rowdy. Don’t be afraid to give the station boys a ring, even if the miscreant is only knee-high to a grasshopper.
There are plenty of Southern folks who think they’re tough and lots of Northern types that say some mighty hurtful things about their countrymen. The best advice the South has for either one tends to be that if you’re going to be stupid, you’d better be tough as well.
Skint
People don’t go broke much in the South, they get skint instead. Most likely someone convinces them to do something for a Yankee dime. That’s also a kiss, just by the by, and don’t let anyone tell you differently. I also like, “He’s tighter than Dick’s hatband” for stingy people.
Y’all
You can’t very well do a piece about common Southern phrases without mentioning what has become, arguably, the most iconic piece of Bible Belt parlance: y’all. In the same way, many other contractions and accents have become part and parcel of the way the South speaks. If that ain’t true, then grits ain’t groceries and eggs ain’t poultry.
Fixin’ To
Another popular Southern expression is fixin’ to. If you’re fixin’ to do something, it means you’re getting ready and preparing to do it. Like I’m fixin’ to make some grits, y’all.
Automotive country sayings
Ain’t nothing more Southern than a good old stick-shift pickup, so I think that I’ll give you a few automotive selections before anything else.
- For instance, that thing you push to get the gas going is a foot feed.
- The dimwit that just passed you illegally is riding a hawg or Harley, not a motorcycle.
- If you got behind a slow driver, “That man must be haulin’ eggs.”
You may have seen people doing some foolish things on Southern country roads. That’s fine, they can stick their arm out the car window as long as they don’t cry when it gets knocked off. If they do, then to heck with them and the horse they rode in on.
Agricultural country sayings
It takes someone dumb as the turnip truck they fell off of not to know that Southerners are farmers by breeding, training, and choice. That means that you’re going to see a ton of agricultural terms thrown around in Southern slang. Someone might be stubborn as a mule, working like a horse, or plain old dog-tired after a long day.
If you need to work out a deal, it might be time to squat down on the horse blankets and hammer out all the bits that are finer than a frog’s hair. If you’ve got an idea of how to do something, you’ll probably have a bee in your bonnet about it. A little birdie might tell you something you would otherwise not know. If you’re doing something you’re good at, you’re either holding back or going hog wild.
“That girl is too scared to say boo to a goose.” Meaning she is just a scaredy cat. At least I think that is what it means. From my experiences with geese, they are “meaner than snake piss!” Speaking of geese: “You ain’t got the good sense God gave a goose.” Southern speak for calling someone dumb or stupid, sorry folks!
Another commenter mentioned, “I wouldn’t vote for him for dog catcher”. This meant it didn’t matter which office the candidate was vying for, he wasn’t worthy of being elected. If you got a job done quickly: “I got that job done before a cat could lick his hind end.”
Speaking of farming, you’ll need some soil to plow and real Southern parlance knows just where to come by it. It’s not uncommon to hear that if dumb were dirt, a particularly dull individual would be an acre or two. Feel free to adjust the field size to suit the individual in question. Some people need more than just an acre to really get your point.
I also can’t forget my favorite I use too often on Southern Plate: “Whatever cranks yer tractor.”
Bible Belt
Not for nothing is the South called the Bible Belt. Hang out there long enough and you are almost certain to hear a fair amount of religious terminology.
- I want to start by saying yes, bless your heart can be a good thing. In fact, I’ve heard it used more often than not in situations where it really is a good thing. If someone is going through a rough time or suffering a loss, you’d hug them and say, “bless your heart” as a show of compassion.
- Another catch-all phrase you are likely to hear before too long in the South is “Lord have mercy” in any of many different enunciations. It’s a hugely versatile term that can mean nearly anything if you give it the right inflection.
- “On God” to indicate commitment.
- “I’ll be there tomorrow if the Good Lord’s willing and the crick (creek) don’t rise” to limit that commitment. Meaning sometimes there weren’t bridges over creeks. If there had been heavy rain, the creek would cover the road and made it impassable.
- “From your mouth to God’s ears” to say you hope you will be able to fulfill that commitment nonetheless.
Angry country phrases
When people get angry, some of them throw a “hissy fit” or will be “madder than a wet hen.” Because y’all, when a hen is wet, it’s mad. Others will simply mutter “fiddlesticks” and move on. If you’ve really offended someone, chances are they’re fit to be tied. If so, just telling them not to get their britches in a wad is probably not going to cut it.
Foodie Southern sayings
Of course, we wouldn’t be doing justice to the American South if we didn’t mention its unique cuisine. The Southern kitchen is so important to its culture that some things have made their way from the kitchen range into normal conversations. If someone is starving to death in the dining room, you might want to brew them up something hot or give them a little something to tide them over.
If it’s hot out, don’t forget to offer them some coke. That’s any fizzy drink, not just the brand-name Coca-Cola. If you’re out in the fridge, remember to check in your cellar before heading off to buy more.
Family country sayings
Family is important in the Deep South too. As they say, Southern blood runs deep. You’ll be hard put to find even a single Southerner who can’t recall their grandparents asking for “some sugar.” That’s a kiss, for you Northern folks. There’s plenty of effort that goes into making sure that kids get brought up right.
FAQs
What is the most southern saying?
I think we can all agree that the most Southern slang is y’all.
What is a Southern greeting?
An old-fashioned Southern greeting some folks still use today is howdy.
What is Southern slang for tired?
A Southern way of saying I’m exhausted is “plum tuckered.”
That’s just a small selection of all the great Southern expressions that you guys have poured into this page. If y’all think I missed something, feel free to put your favorite country sayings in the comments section. If you see a term there that no one seems to understand, please, share your Southern pride and define it for us. Catch you later, hun. Bye now!
“You think I don’t have culture just because I’m from down in Georgia. Believe me, we’ve got culture there. We’ve always had sushi. We just called it bait.”
~Ben “Cooter” Jones
“Mom and them” when referring to family……kills me!
to East Tennessee, while “Mom and them” kills you. . . I’d give an “eye tooth” to have my Mama and them back!!
Nashville Tennessee~
“honey your dumplins are boilin over.” when Momma felt I needed to adjust whatever I was wearing! or to indicate female with excessive cleavage.
..and a tall male friend would always be referred to as ” one long drink of water.”
Just have to tell abou this Southern Girl teaching for a large technical firm up there in New Jersey and just teaching along and all of a sudden the entire class of 24 adult students whose company had paid $3000 for the weeks training burst into laughter for apparently no reason. I inquired as to why all the laughter and one of the men in the back of the room said, “What do you mean “You will have to lick your calf over?” ” Well, pitty more, here these grown folks had never had any cultural lesson and I had to take time out to give them a science lesson about how a poor mother cow has to lick her newborn to stimulate blood flow and clean the calf up and if she does not do a good job of it, “She has to lick her calf over!” Now seems to me anybody in their right might would a known that little tidbit of information. Be kind to yourself, ya’ hear!
Southern Sayings”
“A dither” – what you get in when you get caught lying
“where the sun don’t shine” – where you hide your savings
“a damn fool” – your ex boyfriend
“knock you into next week” – what your mama could do with a flip flop
“Chile, please!” – Expressing disbelief at local gossip
“pass on” – what you do when CPR doesn’t work
“take a load off” – sit down
“pull up” what we do at the dinner table
“10 pounds of sugar in a 5 pound sack” – what you look like when your outfit is too tight
“a month of Sundays” – in a long time
So many more! Southerners are the best!!!
“where the sun don’t shine” always referred to up your butt… As in, you can take that attitude missy and put it where the sun don’t shine! Likewise, “blowing sunshine up someone’s butt” meant you were trying to make them happy — and “blowing smoke up someone’s butt” meant you were hiding something.
I always hated to be sent to pick my own “hick’ry” because it required a lot of finesse. If you came back with some little skinny old twig, then daddy would pull a tree limb out from behind his chair and use it!
My youngest grandson is quite the handful… and he’s used to such threats coming from me or his Mom and completely ignores them, of course… because he knows we’re “all hat and no cattle”. We were at Applebee’s one night when he was about 3, and he wouldn’t stay in his seat or behave. I said to him “boy, if you don’t git up here and sit down I’m gonna smack the white right offa your face.” My grandson was terrified? NOT. But a waitress overheard and came to investigate as to whether or not this was an abused child… I’m glad she was on her toes about it, but it was kinda embarrassing.
Course even city folk done knowed about fetchn up far-flys in a mason jar. But how bout thisn?
Take them babies out at midnight with a flash light to catch a locust comin out his shell. They clum about yay high up an elum then stretch way on back til theys hangin all catty-wampus mos down-side up. When they split the shell n’ first come out theys might near Neon Emraled Green. Theys wings is clum see-thru and afore they dry its gotta tiny drop of Crystal Clear Water thats justa slidin down them Fragi-ul Wings. Like a Diamond shinin in the flash light. add ta that theys got teeny eyes whats Bright Ruby Red.
Now ifn yalls reeaal careful you can fetch im in the house-put im on the winda screen. When mornin comes theyll have done turned brown and can now fly. But theyll mostly sit rat there on that screen and sing that catydid song for the young-uns awhile. then you fetch em back out doors and turn em aloose. But longs theys wet like at-you caint be a touchin no wings. It’ll crumple and theyd be crippled. I done told my Worker-buddy & mah Little Angel Rei that thems “Magic Green Fairys”.
Now this happens long about now in may till up past june n july. Yall gwan now and fetch your babies out. stayin up late one night wont harm en none n I promise you, they will neva- eva- forgit seein that or who done showed em it. an one thang more. the shells when they done make wonderful toy soldiers or dinosaurs n whatnot. The shells is stout enough to even hold paint if youve a mind to color em. Have fun. I done thunk of anuther song yall ul thank is the best song ever. Til You’ve Heard Them Sang. And the Songs spelt that way on the web site. Anybody can sing… but can yall SANG?
Oh, I remember so many and use each and every one many, many times. One of my favorites is “I’ll jerk a knot in your tail” and “I’ll slap you spitless”. and when I was napping my nana would say “cover up your feet child or the devil will get in” as an old wifes’s tale was that the devil sneaked in through your bare feet while you were sleeping so we always covered up our feet! “Six of one half a dozen of another” was often said when things really didn’t make a difference. “Go out yonder and cut me a switch” I heard all too often when I was in trouble. I guess it sounds like I was always in trouble but that really wasn’t the case. Nana used to tell me over and over (when a lot of birds were around), “See all those birds up on that telephone line? Honey watch what you say on the telephone cause those birds can hear what your saying through their feet”. My brother in law from Tennessee offers this favorite “I’m so hungry my stomach thinks my throats been cut” Add a Tennessee twang to that and you’ll have it right.
Brings back memories!
We always heard it as “Six of one half dozen uh tother”. I was born in Wisc. – the cheesehead state!!!
In South Georgia things “tump” over. I think this word is a cross between tip and dump. I did not realize until I moved to Atlanta that this is not a real word…I still like it though!
I grew up in east Texas and we say “tump” too. I with you, Amy… I really like that word!
TUMP is not a real word?! uh oh, I STILL use that word…lol.