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.”

Southern Country Sayings

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. 

Southern Country Sayings

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.

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

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2,675 Comments

  1. Brings back so many memories of my family 🙂 Many have passed on, and are dearly missed! My mom used to say people had a funny turn meaning they had a different personality. Tarnation, I reckon, yonder,
    clothes hangers for clothes racks, I reckon, ya’ll and on and on!!

  2. “Bakurds and fards” means, “I know everything about you.
    “Onced” and “Twiced” are words.
    “Jeet?” is a natural question.
    You “cut” things on instead of “turn” things on.
    You do not ‘press’ the button, you ‘mash’ it.
    You measure distance in minutes, not miles.
    Stores don’t have bags or carts; they have sacks and buggies.
    The first cool snap (below 70 degrees) is good pinto-bean weather.
    You say things like, “Well, I caught myself lookin’ …”
    You can have a conniption.
    But you must PITCH a hissie fit.
    And finally: You can properly pronounce Clemson. (No mister ESPN sportscaster, Clemson does not have a “z” in it… but there is a “p”)

    1. Judy….I pronounce Clemson the correct way, as well. Proper names are another drop in the barrel. We pronounce Cairo (kay-row) Albany is pronounced (all-BInny) and Lafayette is (la-FAYette)

    2. And Judy,
      All along I’ve been thinking that,
      Bakurds and fards, ? was. . . backward and forward
      Jeet: what did ya eat?

      Frankly, we also pronounce Phillo Dough “fee low” . . . unlike some others who chose to call it File Low . . . either way, I’m from the country and I like it that way, however, we actually “really” do know the difference. . . most of us anyway!!! I can’t believe some folks call a tobagan (woolen cap) a sleigh? hum…. it’s all a “regional” thing, I suppose!

  3. These are not altogether nice – but often used around here… if they aren’t acceptable you’re welcome to delete.
    When my grown-up kids whine: “Who licked the red off your apple?” “Who peed in your corn flakes?” or ” Who cut the string off your tampon?”
    When they are misbehaving really badly: “If you don’t cut it out I’m gone be all over you like white on rice.” Or alternately “like stink on s**t”

    Southern phrases I haven’t seen here:
    If I had my “druthers”.

  4. My mom used to say “I’m so hungry my belly button is gnawing on my back bone” and when you wanted something that “people in hell want ice water too”. Good ole Arkansas sayings!

  5. In NE Texas we also say “we are fixin’ to do something or ’bout to do something. My mother and great grandmother used the word stir for saucepan also, but it came out more like stir’er. My fondest memory is arriving at my grandparents country home and my “pawpaw” holding the screen door open wide to welcome us and saying,”well, dadburn my time, look whose here!” A mess of sweet memories. Thanks to everyone here for making me smile today.

    1. Kaye,

      I am from North Central Texas and I know what you are referring to but my Mom always said ‘stewer’. Like “I made a stewer of beans “. My Mom was born and raised in southern Oklahoma, but her parents were from Mississippi and Alabama so I don’t know if that was something she learned from my Grandma or if that was what they called that particular kind of pot in the day.

      1. My grandmother always cooked in a stewer too! She had all kinds of expressions that have been given above. She used the expression “tumped” too and my cousin and I still do! We were all from Bardstown and Louisville, Kentucky. One of my mother’s favorites was – “Nothing ventured, nothing gained!”

      2. My Georgia mom always called a pot or saucepan a “boiler.” And my South Carolina former mother and father in law never turned anything off…they “cut it off.” OMG, this brings back memories.Keep ’em coming!

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