Do you have a hard time explaining life in KY to folks not from around here? (Lexington: home)

[Spotted1]

Sometimes I get SO caught off guard when I'm telling someone that's not from around here a story. I'll get stopped on silly parts and asked "What's that? What does that mean? Why do you call it that?"

And honestly, there are times when this happens that I just sit there with a blank stare cause I have no idea how to explain whatever it is I was talking about in any other way.

[nlschr0]

That happens sometimes when my husband is telling me a story. Sometimes he will be very passionate or upset about something that has happened to him, and I have to stop him in the middle of the story because I didn't understand what he was saying (he and his family are all native KYians, although he has moved around as an adult).

Some of the things my in-laws say are hilarious - like my father-in-law telling me in passing that he could put lips on a chicken. What???

[kygman]

nlschr0, my dad had fun telling people about some of the small Kentucky towns while he was in Europe in WWII. I mentioned this in the thread about funny Kentucky names. One he got the most comments on was when he talked about Coldwater, Ky. (Between Mayfield and Murray). He always got a chuckle when he told them he knew a place where you could scald a pig in Cold-water! He told them he would do that after he went to see Stella. (Smaller town between Murray and Coldwater)

[dixiegirl7]

I have lived in Kentucky my whole life, but I have a hard time understanding some things people say that are from other areas of Kentucky...some even just a county over from the one I live in. Each area has their own little sayings and such for sure. My sister in law told me she was watching PBS or the educational channel or whatever the other day and they were talking about rural Appalachia Kentucky and they were interviewing an elderly lady and they had an actual interpreter repeating what she said. My sister in law said the funny part was that she and everyone at home at the time understood every word the woman said perfectly...lol.

[EclecticEars]

It's impossible to make a generic label for "Kentucky life." Not that I'm accusing the OP of doing that necessarily, but we need to keep that in mind.

For example, some sayings, accents, delectables, and even general pro sports affiliations, among other sub-cultural nuances, will be different in Florence than Louisville. Many people in Florence lack any kind of southern accent, eat the Cincinnati style chili, and cheer for Reds. In Louisville, you are more likely to find random mixes of southern and midwestern accents, you don't find much in the way of "Gold Star Chili", and I don't see that many folks wearing Reds hats.

Differences also exist b/t those places and Lexington, Somerset, Bowling Green, Paducah, Henderson, Elizabethtown...you get the idea.