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Mash the buttons, cut the light out, fixin to, carry me to the store, nervous as a ***** in church, hey y'all, up the road a piece, a country mile, slap funny, happy as a pig in poop, to be sure, the hell you say are a few saying off the top of my head that heard frequently in my youth from friends , relatives, neighbors and my parents.
Another was "turn on/off the light". That was new to him too.
huh?? where was he from Mars? How can that be new to anyone- if you want someone to turn on (or off) the light wtf else can you say but turn on (or off) the light?
The expression he was used to was "switch the light on/off".
I used "Coke" for one thing too...a Coca Cola. I also used "drink" a lot. "Hey, lets go to the store and get a drink" referring to any bottled soft drink...not alcoholic. We never used "pop" or "soda"
Yes, a soft drink was referred to as a drink. I never heard it called soda here until the great migration.
I think pop is from the Midwest.
Mash the buttons, cut the light out, fixin to, carry me to the store, nervous as a ***** in church, hey y'all, up the road a piece, a country mile, slap funny, happy as a pig in poop, to be sure, the hell you say are a few saying off the top of my head that heard frequently in my youth from friends , relatives, neighbors and my parents.
We still use most of those terms and we never lived in a rural area like one poster said most of the people that talk like that lived there. I spent most of my years growing up near the downtown state capitol, hardly rural. And everyone I know used and still uses these:
I'm always fixin to do something, I mash the gas peddle in my car, we cut out lights. Some people still say they are cutting a fool but I never say that. My mom calls a bill a dun, I never figured that one out.
Some people say they will be there directly.
We never called cokes a coke, they were always co-cola. But our language is dying for some reason.
Back in my youth I had a summer job at a camp on the coast. One of the guys I worked with was from New Jersey. We had a conversation along these lines. I can't remember everything we talked about, but here's a couple.
Down here we say "crack the window" meaning open the window just a little. He hadn't heard that.
Another was "turn on/off the light". That was new to him too.
My wife tells the story of her mother (who was originally from Iowa and lived in Southern Pines at the time) wrote a letter to her sister, saying that her husband was going to "carry her" to town to go shopping. Of course we all know this means that she and her husband will ride the car into town and he will drive. Her sister writes back and asks "What's wrong with you? Why does Dan have to carry you?
That camp wouldn't happen to be Camp Seagull would it? I went there 3 summers in a row and loved it! The summer of 68, 69, and 70. The best place on earth. I wonder if it's still there. We always said Ahoy there Wyatt to the man that was in charge.
Yep we still say crack the window for some air. We still say cut off the light or cut off the tv. Not many people say carry anymore. But in my circle people still ask if you will carry them to the store.
Some of my country relatives said po(rhymes with so)lice, motorsickle, sireen, billfold, heffer for a fat woman and rip for a big drinker as in he ain't nothin but an old rip. no count for a worthless man.
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
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I grew up in Philly. We definitely turned on/off the light. And although I don't say it, I've always heard "crack the window." I'm pretty sure my Dad says that, and he's from Brooklyn. Soda is always soda or the specific name, "Coke" for Coke, "Sprite" for Sprite, etc. And I've never ever heard the term "carry her." That's funny.
My funny story is when I was living in DC and had my first child, I befriended a very nice woman from Mississippi who also had just had a baby. We were discussing our hospital stays, and she told me that her hospital roommate's father had visited, and he was very ugly. When she said that, I couldn't believe how shallow this woman was - commenting to me so negatively on someone's looks. Then she told more details of the story and why this man was so ugly and I got a clue that "ugly" meant his actions not his looks. This Northern girl had never heard "ugly" used in that way before.
I'm always fixin to do something, I mash the gas peddle in my car, we cut out lights. Some people still say they are cutting a fool but I never say that. My mom calls a bill a dun, I never figured that one out.
Is your family from or from near Harnett County by chance? I live in Raleigh, but work in HC. I was told this: most of the bills back in the olden days in HC came from Dunn (which was the "big city" of HC apparently), so people said "I got a Dunn in the mail today". This is just what one of the old-timers told me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by michgc
Then she told more details of the story and why this man was so ugly and I got a clue that "ugly" meant his actions not his looks. This Northern girl had never heard "ugly" used in that way before.
One of my grad school classmates shared a similar story; a mother was telling her child that she was "actin' ugly", and my classmate thought it was SO horrible that a woman would call her child "ugly". She found out later it refers to behavior, not looks. LOL
The expression he was used to was "switch the light on/off".
He's an outlier! We always said turn the light off and crack the window.
My neighbor in Wilmington referred to the police as "the law" and I kind of loved it.
I don't think I've really picked up many sayings as they seem to go with a southern accent, and I don't have one. I do use "y'all" but that's about it.
Some of my country relatives said po(rhymes with so)lice, motorsickle, sireen, billfold, heffer for a fat woman and rip for a big drinker as in he ain't nothin but an old rip. no count for a worthless man.
I only heard older people say motorsickle. I had an uncle that said that.
He also said people aint no count when they were no good.
When I'm out in public I try and say siren and cement, but back at home I am myself and say sireen and seement. Just the way I was raised in beautiful downtown Raleigh!
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