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
How about this-don’t bother to follow an empty pick’em-up truck, ain’t nuttin’ gonna fall outta it. . .
These are just a few of my brother’s …” I’ll hit ya so hard an’ so fast you’ll think you’re surrounded”. “he’s dumber’n a sledload of mud” “I’m fixin to knock you forty miles west of yonder”….and regarding whatever you complain about he says “well then you must not be drinkin’ enough!” Just a few of mine-“it’s colder’n a witch’s titty out there!” “Oh, for cryin’ in the milk!” “I’m fixin’ to blow this pop stand”-(meaning I’m leaving right now). when someone is puttin’ on airs, “they’re gettin all twirly”….and if you really make me mad “I best be a leavin ‘for Tawanda comes out”
There are so many I don’t know where to start! First, basic grammar rules:
Y’all is singular. All y’all is plural. All y’all’s… is plural possessive.
“Y’all need to get in here”: Get in the house.
“All y’all best get to table”: Everybody come to supper.
All y’all’s trailers lost: Everyone lost their mobile home in a tornado.
Sayings:
My favorite: “I’d like to buy him for what he’s worth and sell him for what he thinks he’s worth”: Usually referring to Barack Obama (since 2008 in Arkansas).
“That was so good I could rub it in my hair”: Really delicious food.
Meals:
Dinner = Lunch Supper = Dinner Sunday Dinner: Served at 2 pm after church.
Love and Affection:
Sugar = Kiss Love = Hug Fixin’ to = about to do something
Travel:
Yonder / A piece = measure of distance 1-2 miles long
Way over yonder = 5 to 500 miles, depending.
Oldies:
Uppity = Rude, unruly.
Fancy Woman = A stripper or woman of poor morals
Fester Out = Let something abscess until a splinter/whatever is expelled.
Descriptions:
“She could hunt geese with a rake”= A very tall woman
Skin and bones: anyone of normal weight
Chubby: 50 pounds overweight
Pleasantly Plump: 100 pounds overweight
You’d have to butter him to get him out of the house = Morbidly obese
The list is endless and as a 5th generation Floridian living in Illinois, my expressions are an endless source of amusement to the Yankee folk.
Yankee folk = Anyone unfortunate enough to be born or live north of the Mason-Dixon line.
From a Good Family: Anyone whose family has been in the south since 1850 or earlier, preferably before 1776.
Carpetbagger: Anyone who isn’t a 3rd generation native southerner.
No one is gonna b’lieve this, but I read all 2600+ posts and left a few of my own. YA GOTTA READ THE OLDEST ONES – sumuv’em are UNIQUE and re-ally ol’ timey! You will not be sorry. I was reminded of wagon rides from the 1940’s in south Alabama. Priceless!
Now that I know what has been covered and what ain’t, I can ask what about “bob wahr”? As opposed to “chicken wahr” and ‘lectric (or “hot”) wahr or balin’ wahr.
One of my “favert” expressions is “dinner on the ground,” which I always took (correctly) to mean a picnic. But the whole phrase is “…on the groundS” ;_i.e., on the church property. ‘Least it was al’ays church fer us. And if you’ve read those early posts, we put our chairs back on the wagon when we were fixin’ to leave. They ‘uz mostly bark-bottom chairs, by the way, maybe with a few hide-bottoms in the lot.
Which brings up the mule lot! Didn’t you love the smell of those big, tall, sleek horse mules in the lot in front of the crib?
Mindja head, mindja step, mindja manners.
Love how school, church, prayer meetin’ al’ays “lets out”!
Who does that chile favor?
Now I don’t wont y’all plunderin’ in ‘at chifferobe!
My Nannie Faust (pronounced “Foste”) would “build” her cakes (the same pound cake recipe as Christy’s aunt).
Asked how he was, Grandaddy Faust said, “Bout one in a hill, and barely that!” (One sprouted plant in a hill of 3 or more seeds)
Them gals gnawed her name like a bone. The cat worried th’ yarn to a frazzle.
He ‘uz all tore up fer a wholl after she quit ‘im.
“Ah’m goin’ QUIT you! Smokin’ ’em ole LONG cigarettes…!” Nannie to Grandaddy after more than sixty years of marriage (ultimately, 68 total) while he grinned at her like a mule eatin’ briars. Also, “Dearl Faust, Ah would KE-EL you if Ah could blow breath back in you! Spoken to more indulgent, o’nry grins. When she died after those sixty-eight years, he said, “I said goodnight to her ever’ night for sixty-eight years – I jes’ have a big hole in my heart,” and he was dead in 3 months.
On a lighter note: you wouldn’t wont to “get up own the wrong side of the bed” an’ step in the pot!
On Saturdays when my daddy would head to the barber shop (yep the one with the striped pole outside turning around) to get his haircut “usen chillins would tag along hoping to get a piece of penny candy. After daddy got his haircut he say, “Welp don’t cha think I sure look purdy after I got my ears lowered?” He was right though in our eyes our daddy was so very handsome to all seven of us kids. he was one fine daddy that would put a belt to our hiney if we needed it. funny thing is now days when we talk about it we all agree we should have probably deserved more spankings that we actually got. because we were raised in the church to love God, family and respect others none of us ever got in trouble with the law and the oldest of us is now 88 and the youngest 58. We were far from perfect but had a good momma and daddy.
My great-aunt used to ask us to do something for her by saying “if you’ll do (whatever she needed at the moment) I’ll dance at your wedding.” She passed on the day of my first wedding shower. My cousin told me she had been telling them I was too young to get married . . . I was 30! Also, if any of us kids complained that our tea wasn’t sweet enough, she would say “here, let me stick my finger in it, that’ll sweeten it right up.” She was an amazing cook – home-style food, not gourmet – and all from scratch. She made biscuits every morning. And when we called to say we were coming for a visit, she’d say “we don’t have much, just beans and cornbread.” But when we arrived, the table legs were groaning under the weight of all the delectable foods waiting to be consumed. And there were always multiple desserts waiting on the side table!
Oh love this! My Southern roots run deep. My Dad would always say, when it was a bit chilly outside, “It’s a mite airish out today.” We have a really ugly, large, black and yellow grasshopper here. My Grandmother always called them The Devil’s Horsemen. A type of Dragonfly that is also here, has a really thin body, those she called Flying Darning Needles. If there was something in the news that was bad, she’d also say “Well the world’s going to hell in a handbasket.” Another one of hers is ” well, bullets got no eyes.” Both she and my Mom were fond of saying, “you better sit up straight and act like a lady.” Or “uh huh, your chickens will come home to roost.”
There is a really great documentary on the Documentary Channel called “Mountain Speak”. It is all about the dialect in the mountains of North Carolina and southern Appalachia. There is another, the name escapes me now, about the language of the islands off the coast of NC. They are very interesting to watch.
Thought of a couple more from my Mom and Grandmother. Upon seeing someone wearing inappropriate or outlandish clothing, they would say “I wouldn’t wear that to a cat fight.” If talking about someone who was very poor, they could say ” He’s so poor, he hasn’t a pot to piss in, nor the window to throw it out of.”
I’m from a very old southern family also. Heard all of what you said and also swannie. My sisters went a little further when mom wasn’t around and said :sani-flush. My family was originally from the CArolinas & Arkansas and apparently brought Mountain speak with them when they moved into Northern Florida. Mama called ‘”yankees” who moved to Florida. “Yam Dankees” because they came, stayed and took employment from natives rather than the yankees who came and spent money. Sigh, I went and married one of those and never heard the last of it. lol