Favorite TN slang (areas, rain, single)

[Ridgerunner]

Originally Posted by cdeneve

Oh... what a fun thread!

My co-worker from Massachusetts almost fell off her chair laughing when she heard me say that someone "ran like a scalded dog."

When you want the door barely opened, you "crack the door."

I used to tell my kids that I "would beat them like a rug" but I never did and they never believed me, anyway.

And when my accent would really come out, my son would look at me, roll his eyes, and say, "is the yella pilla in the winda?" Little creep!

Many of these expressions are also heard in the Ozarks. Paul Henning, creator of the Beverly Hillbillies TV series grew up near there and must have suggested many of them to the show's writers. On of my favorites is when Cousin Jed describes someone as feeling "lower than a snake's belly in a wagon rut."

[MomsTn]

Now, that's pretty low.
My Grandma used to say that one.....

Originally Posted by Ridgerunner

Many of these expressions are also heard in the Ozarks. Paul Henning, creator of the Beverly Hillbillies TV series grew up near there and must have suggested many of them to the show's writers. On of my favorites is when Cousin Jed describes someone as feeling "lower than a snake's belly in a wagon rut."

[ColdCanadian]

Lingo I picked up in N.C. (probably similar to East TN)

To carry: meant literally, but can also mean to bring someone or escort someone somewhere; My friend's mom asked if we could carry him home after we were done fishing.

Liked to: means "almost." That was so scary, it liked to killed me.

Theatre: pronounced "thee-ate-er"

Distances: Drop the 's'; 1 mile, 5 mile, 150 mile. It's about 45 mile from here.

Ain't: means what you expect, and it's one of the most handiest words, even compared to "y'all."

Reckon: Unless your a gambler, you don't "bet something will happen," you "reckon something will happen."

[Maggie Nay]

I've heard alot of these expressions up here in SW PA, but my husband is from WV and he comes up with some good ones I had never heard, like if it rains hard it's a "gully washer", and when his stomach growls he say's "my guts is rattlin".
The "younse" is Pittsburghese. Yes we have our own language here, some others are:
Jumbo for balogna
gum bands for rubber bands
chipped ham for shaved ham and
red up for clean up

[TheShadow]

I'm from California, but my grandparents on both sides were Okies who migrated in the depression. One of the craziest sayings I've heard...it refers to something that's clearly not what it purports to be..."Well a cat could have kittens in the oven, but you wouldn't call them biscuits!" The first time I heard that one I just about "fell out" laughing.

[Ridgerunner]

John and Mary are no longer engaged. They had a "falling out."

[TNNative]

When I married my Hoosier spouse and the first time the word "hose pipe" was used by my dad, it caused a family "ruckus" (hey, I didn't mean to use that word originally, but it's true!..."ruckus" is also slang for disagreement.)
Almost 25 years later, my Hoosier remembers first hearing "hose pipe"....and vividly remembers the answer when my dad was bluntly told "Hose and Pipe are two contradicting terms"...

Maybe in Indiana.

(I confess though...we now call it a hose)

[ZCatcher]

I was born and raised in East Tennessee, then married a girl from central Illinois, where I live now. Her dad is a great fan of my "native" expressions. So far, his favorite is "I'm hangin' in there like a hair in a biscuit!"

[jabogitlu]

The "younse" is Pittsburghese. Yes we have our own language here, some others are:

Ah, but that's also Southern Appalachian, pronounced more "yuns."

Hmm, I don't really fall out laughing, but I have fell up in the floor laughing before.

[arblair79]

Everyone knows the plural of "y'all" is "all y'all".

But is it a sack or a bag...as in what you carrry the groceries home in? Does what it is made out of (paper or plastic) make the difference?

And yes, the garden hose is a hosepipe.

My mom and grandmother say "well I'll be John Henry".

And almost all proper places contain the word "the" ......I'm fixin to go to the Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is also know as Wal-Marks.

Kroger has an 's' on the end....as in.....I went to the Krogers.

Fixin to and reckon are the terms I say the most.