Favorite TN slang (live in, best, location)

[hiknapster]

I think one of the reasons that I made a smooth transition to the area is that I worked in Florida for a very large telecommunications company that only served the south. (I'm sure you can guess the company!)

Right from the jump, they taught us to IMMEDIATELY say, "I apologize," and mean it, when a customer complained.

I also learned to understand the accents. It has made a huge difference. I never have to ask people to repeat what they say, and I'm sure they appreciate me!

We were not allowed to address a person by their first name. It was only "sir," "ma'am," "Mister" and "Miss."

Do you ever notice that no one says, "Mrs?" It is always "Miss."

I wonder why that is?

Not that I'm complaining. I'd rather be called "Miss!"

Regarding, "Bless his heart."

That sure came in handy on these boards, lately, didn't it?

I consider "Bless his heart" to be a great phrase. It can mean, "What a jerk, but I hope everything works out for him."

I just love the culture and language here. Beautiful.

[hiknapster]

Ohhh, here's another...

Instead of saying, "You need to talk to John."
You say, "you need to get with John about that."

[JMT]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

I think one of the reasons that I made a smooth transition to the area is that I worked in Florida for a very large telecommunications company that only served the south. (I'm sure you can guess the company!)

Right from the jump, they taught us to IMMEDIATELY say, "I apologize," and mean it, when a customer complained.

I also learned to understand the accents. It has made a huge difference. I never have to ask people to repeat what they say, and I'm sure they appreciate me!

We were not allowed to address a person by their first name. It was only "sir," "ma'am," "Mister" and "Miss."

Do you ever notice that no one says, "Mrs?" It is always "Miss."

I wonder why that is?

Not that I'm complaining. I'd rather be called "Miss!"

Regarding, "Bless his heart."

That sure came in handy on these boards, lately, didn't it?

I consider "Bless his heart" to be a great phrase. It can mean, "What a jerk, but I hope everything works out for him."

I just love the culture and language here. Beautiful.

What a wonderful post! And I have to admit that I have always enjoyed talking to the customer service people at the large telecommunications company you worked for precisely because they were so friendly, so polite, so SOUTHERN. I am definitely not anti-Northern (my grandfather was from Pennsylvania) but it really does make a difference when people learn to speak like us and not make fun of us because of our quirky speech patterns and colloquial phrases.

Bless your heart! (tee hee!)

[MomsTn]

another one...

a person will ask.. "How ya doin?"
the answer... "fair ta midlin"

Which means, just about what you want it to mean...
I feel ok, crummy, half baked... or in between.

[MomsTn]

"I'll be there in...... two shakes of a lambs tail."

[mbmouse]

Question- "Are you going to be there tonight?"
Answer- "God Willen and the crick don't rise"

I also want to make note to those reading these that are not here yet or from here. Most of these phrases and words are used by just about everyone. From the COE's of a large corporation to the farmers and the children in schools. I love hearing this "language". It sounds strange but it is quaint and comforting........... I just can't explain it very well.

[MomsTn]

"Go out there and cut me a switch from that tree, make sure it's a good one."
"Or, you'll be in a heap a trouble."

[FL_TN_Nana]

Some of my favorites are:

"Well.... I swanee" -- when a lady is perplexed or surprised (probably instead of "I Swear")

"Dad-gum-it" My Granddaddy's favorite expression of "profanity!"

To add to the 'Bless his heart' -- "Bless his little pea pickin' heart!"

"It's raining cats and dogs."

"I reckon I'll be there." (I plan to be there.)

Ask how a lady is feeling..."Pretty well" if she's doing ok!

[SunKrist]

This thread is so great. I love the warmth and completely non-condescending nature of Southerners. Everyone I talked to in TN was nice, and treated me like I was a person, not an object of their prejudice. You maybe get 2 out of 10 people like that where I live now. It's like everything is a race, a competition, to see who can be the most beautiful, trendy, rich, have the nicest car or house. People here are so aloof, and even haughty. Not that it isn't somewhat that way in TN, too, but I really don't think it's as concentrated.

Thanks for the smile, everyone.

PS: I like "fixin'," too When my friend from Arkansas first wrote a few years ago that she was "fixin' to go to town," I thought it was the funniest thing.

[hiknapster]

My husband was born in Chicago and lived there for 12 years. He lived the next 25 years in southwest Florida, which is decidedly mid-western Yankee. His family is pretty self-contained and he was brought up to not assimilate.

Last night, he said he was "fixin'" to do something. I almost fell over!