Burke Talk Alphabetical List
[List Alphabetically] [List by Category] [Search:"A" Model - A Ford Model "A" car [modern]
Ex: My first car back in the 30's was an A Model.A cat will kill a baby by sucking its breath - [myth]
Ex: Don't let that cat sleep with the baby. It's suck it breath and kill it!A tall - At all [pronunciation]
Ex: I don't feel good a tall.A ways - A long distance [distance]
Ex: It's a ways to Uncle Joe's house.Absent minded as a goose - Forgetful [forget]
Absotively posilutley - Certain [certainty]
Ex: I promise you, absotively posilutely.Afflicted - Mentally retarded. [mental]
After a while (or after while) - Later, as in "I'll do it after while." [time]
Ex: I'll come over after while.Ain't got a pot to p**s in or a window to throw it out - Destitute [finance] [censored]
Ain't got a row to hoe - Destitute [finance]
Ex: He ain't go a row to hoe.Ain't got two dimes to rub together - Broke, penurious [finance]
Info: A rural person without crops is in dire straits.
Ex: Old Charlie ain't got two dimes to rub together.Ain't nobody come - Just ordinary, everyday people with no pretensions. [attitude] [status]
Ex: Don't worry about your house. We ain't nobody come.All blowed up - Suffering severe intestinal gas attack. [health]
Info: A guest for whom you do not have to worry about appearances.
Ex: I'm all blowed up after eaten' them collard greens.All eat up - Consumed by or extensively damaged. [degree] [health]
Ex: Joe was all eat up with cancer.All she wrote - The end [condition]
Ex: The car's all worn out. That's all she wrote.Allow - State an opinion [conversation]
Ex: Bill, what do you allow?Amount to - Succeed [character]
Ex: That Jones boy never amounted to anything.And them - A group of related people, such as a family. [people]
Ex: We saw Charley and them at Brookshire Brothers last Saturday.Annie over - Game involving throwing a ball over the roof of a building [recreation]
Info: Often pronouncedn"anem"
Another day, another dollar - World-weary comment on routine toil to earn a living. [working]
Antegodlin - Postioned crosswise or severely out of alignment [geometry]
Any and everybody - Everyone [people]
Ex: I don't let just any and everybody come into my house.As all get out - Very [degree]
Ex: He's dumb as all get-out.As good (or bad) as they come - Best (worst) or their kind [character]
Ex: That boy is as good as they come.As happy as if I had good sense - Extremely happy [happiness]
Aunt - A respected older woman not related to you [people]
Back up your ears - Get prepared to do something difficult. Probably refers to the way a dog folds back it ears when getting ready to fight. [working]
Bar ditch - A place from which fill dirt was taken to build a road. Mispronunciation of borrow ditch. [modern]
Barking up the wrong tree - Mistaken [results]
Ex: I don't know anything about it. You are barking up the wrong tree.Barnyard fertilizer - Dried, decomposed cattle or chicken droppings used to fertilize gardens. Chicken droppings were especially strong and had to be used sparingly. [farm]
Ex: Go get me a bucket of barnyard fertilizer for the garden.Bass ackards - Backwards. Spoonerism for "ass backwards." [geometry]
Batching - A man making do without a woman in the house [family]
Ex: Fred's been batching since his wife went to Houston to visit her sister.Be there with bells on - Excited response to an invitation to a social event. [celebration]
Info: Derived from "bachelor"
Info: Comes from the practice of putting bells on horses' harness for special occasions.Beat the fire out of someone - Whip someone severely [conflict]
Ex: He beat the fire out of him!Beat the tar out of someone - Give a severe whipping or beating. "Tar" refers to "tarnation," which is a contraction of "eternal damnation." So to beat the tar out of someone is to beat them sufficiently to put them back on the path to righteousness. [conflict]
Ex: He beat the tar out of him for kicking his dog.Bee tree - A hollow tree in which bees have established a hive. [nature]
Ex: Paw Paw found a bee tree and robbed the hive.Before God and everybody - Done very publicly [behavior]
Ex: He showed his ass before God and everybody.Beggars can't be choosers - One who is dependent on someone else loses the right to make choices about what he is given. [wisdom]
Behind - Buttocks [personal]
Ex: Stop that, or I'll tan your behind.Bellerin' like a bull - Yelling or screaming loudly [behavior]
Ex: He was ballerin' like a bull.Bet your bottom dollar - You can bet you last dollar that it is true [truth]
Between a rock and a hard place - A difficult financial situation [finance]
Ex: Since Ed died, Sarah has been between rock and a hard place.Biddies - Baby chicks [animals] [farm]
Ex: I ordered a dozen biddies by mail today.Big as the side of a barn - Very large, especially a person [appearance]
Ex: Have you seen Suzy lately? She's getting as big as the side of a barn.Big head - An inflated sense of self importance [attitude]
Ex: He inherited a little money and got the big head.Big mama - Grandmother [family]
Big money - High wages [finance]
Ex: Willie is making big money in Houston.Big shot - An important person [people] [status]
Ex: The big shots were in from Chicargo to visit the plant.Big shot - A high ranking person in an organization, as in [working]
Ex: The big shots came down to see the new plant we built.Bird's nest on the ground - An advantageous or easy situation [finance]
Ex: That job Joe found is a bird's nest on the ground.Bit - 1/8 of a Dollar. "Two bits" = a quarter. "Four bits"=a half dollar. "Six bits" = seventy-five cents. [money]
Ex: I wouldn't give six bits for that old gun. Football cheer: "Two bits, four bits, six bits, a dollar. All for the Panthers stand up and holler."Blamed - A polite substitute for "damned" [curse]
Info: Early Spanish coints were cut into eight pieces called "bits."
Ex: That blamed dog chased our cows again today.Bless - Curse [conflict]
Ex: He blessed him out.Bless out - Cure [anger] [conflict]
Ex: He blessed him outBless your heart! - Expression of gratitude [conversation]
Ex: Oh, I love the gift! Bless your heart!Blind as a bat - Poor vision [health]
Blowhard - A braggart [behavior]
Ex: He don't know what he's tailing about. He ain't nothin' but a blowhard.Blowhard - Braggart [people]
Blowin' and goin' - Making rapid progress or doing extremely well [working]
Blue in the face - Exausted [condition]
Ex: I shuckedf corn until I was blue in the face.Boocoos - A large number or amount [number]
Ex: He has boocoos of money.Booger man - A mythical evil man who would "get" children if they were bad. [myth]
Info: Mispronunciation of beaucoup.
Ex: Johnny, if you don't behave, the booger man is gonna get you.Boot - Something given in a sale or exchange to equalize the value of the exchange. [money]
Info: Also "boogie man."
Ex: He traded me a cow and $50 to boot for the mule.Born in a barn - Uncivilized or untrained. [behavior]
Ex: Close that door! Were you born in a barn?Bottom - Fertile, lowlying land near a creek or river [farm]
Ex: I'm breaking the bottom field today.Bow-tee - Bottom. [personal] [pronunciation]
Info: Alternate for "butty"Box someone's ears - Slap [punish]
Ex: Watch your mouth, Jake, or I'll box your ears!Break - Plow land for the first time of the season [farm]
Ex: I'm going to break the bottom field today.Brimmer - A brahma cow [farm] [animals]
Ex: That brimmer bull is the meanest one I ever saw.Broke up - Confused or grieving [mental]
Ex: Aunt Bettie is all broke up over Grandpa's death.Brother - Minister (usually Baptist) [religion]
Ex: Brother Jones is the new preacher.Brung - Past tense of "bring" [pronunciation]
Ex: He brung his shotgun with him.Building air castles - Telling tall tales [truth]
Bumfuzzled - Confused. Probably a corruption of "befuddled." [mental]
Burned up - Angered [conflict] [anger]
Ex: it really burned me up when she said I was a gossip!Bust someone's butt - Spank [punish]
Ex: His momma busted his butt.Busted - Financially destitute [finance]
Ex: The cotton crop failed, and we are pretty well busted.Busy as a cat covering up s**t - Very busy [working] [censored]
Butterbean - A large flat bean similar to a lima bean. [food]
Ex: I can't wait for a mess of butter beans.By and by - 1. Eventually, as in "We'll get there by and by." 2. Eternity, as in the gospel song "in the Sweet By and By" [time] [religion]
By the by - Incidentally, by the way [conversation]
Ex: By the by, did you see Sally at church last week?Cackleberry - Humorous term for egg [farm]
Calling for water - Thirsty from eating salty meat [food]
Ex: That bacon I had for breakfast is calling for waterCampbellite - An early name for the Church of Christ or Christian Church, which was founded by a man named Campbell. [religion]
Ex: Me and Madden Spivey danced in the Campbellite Church at Burke when we were kids -- Arzy Johnson SquyresCan to can't - From dawn to dusk [time]
Ex: Frank worked from can to can't all week.Can't find his butt with both hands - Incompetent [smarts] [competence]
Ex: That old boy couldn't find his but with both hands.Can't tell his a** from a hole in the ground - Incompetent [smarts] [censored] [competence]
Carrying a coal of fire - In a hurry [behavior] [speed]
Ex: Why can't you stay a while? Are you carrying a coal of fire?Cash money - Cash [money]
Info: Refers to day before matches were common when a glowing ember was carried from place to place to start a new fire.
Ex: I got $100 cash money for the mule.Cat got your tongue? - Why are you silent? [conversation]
Ex: Why are you silent, Billy? Cat got your tongue?Catch a bird by putting salt on its tail - This is whimsical advice given to small children who would like a bird to play with. []
Info: The idea comes from a folk story which says that you can capture a bird by sneaking up behind it and sprinkling salt on it's tail. This story goes back at least to the 1840s when it was mentioned in a story by Sir Walter Scott. This is equivalent to a "snipe hunt" for small children.Cattywampus - Severly out of alignment [geometry]
Ex: That old house was leaning over, all cattywampus.Caught with his pants down - Discovered in a compromising position. [behavior]
Ex: He was caught with his pants down.Caught with your drawers down - Caught in a compromising or embarrassing situation [behavior] [competence]
Charity begins at home - Help family and those close to you before others. [wisdom]
Chew - Chew tobacco [bad-habit]
Ex: I see that you smoke,but do you chew?Chip fell out of the red oak - Call of the whippoorwill [nature]
Info: The call sounds like "Chip fell out of the red oak."Chittlins, or chitterlings - Fried hog intestines [food]
Ex: I can't wait for some chittlins when we kill a hog this fall.Cistern - An underground or overground tank for holding rain water collected from the roof of the house. [home]
Clabber up - To become threateningly overcast [weather]
Clean - Completely [degree]
Ex: He hit the ball clean out of the parkCleaned his plow - Took advantage in a business deal [finance]
Ex: He really cleaned Joe's plow when he bought fine bull for $100.Coal oil - Kerosene [home]
Ex: Frank, we need some coal oil for the lamp.Coal oil lamp - Kerosene lamp [home]
Ex: Sally, please light the coal oil lamp.Cold as a well digger's tail - Self explanatory [weather]
Colly mobus - A serious, messy illness, involving vomiting and diarrhea. [health]
Info: It probably refers to cholera morbius, or "deadly cholera" which causes a messy lost of body fluids in every way possible.Come again. - (1) Please repeat what you just said. (2) Are you serious? [conversation]
Come down with all four feet - Full ferocity [degree]
Ex: The mill foreman came down on him with all four feet.Come hell or high water - Statement of determination, as in "I [intention]
Ex: I will be there come hell or high water.Common - Plain acting; without pretense [attitude] [status]
Ex: We're just common people.Conniption fit - Tantrum [behavior]
Ex: She got a B on her report card and had a conniption fit.Consuming fish and milk products together will make you ill - [myth]
Cooked someone's goose - Made them look bad [conflict]
Cooking on the front burner - Easy [working]
Cooking with gas - Doing well. []
Ex: Now you are cooking with gas!Coon huntsing - Hunting raccoons at night using dogs and lights. [recreation]
Info: Cooking with gas is far easier than cooking the old fashioned way with wood.
Coon's age - A very long time [time]
Ex: I haven't seen you in a coon's age.Corn crib - A building or barn used to hold corn [farm]
Info: Based on the old time belief that raccoons lived a long time.
Ex: I'm going out to work in the corn crib.Corn dodger - Corn bread [food]
Ex: Pass the corn dodger.Could have crawled in a hole - Deeply embarrassed [behavior] [mental]
Ex: I could have crawled in a hole.Could [mess] up a good train wreck - Incompetent [competence]
Info: Substitute your own word for "mess"Couldn't hit the broad side of a barn - Incompetent [competence]
Couldn't pour p**s out of boot (with directions on the heel) - Incompetent [smarts] [censored] [competence]
Cow pattie - Cattle droppings. Sometimes called "pasture lillies." [farm]
Ex: Watch it! Don't step in that cow pattie!Cracker jack - A very competent or skilled person [competence]
Ex: That boy is a cracker jack.Cracklin' - Fried bits of pork fat resulting from lard rendering, often used to make cracklin' cornbread. [food]
Info: Let's cook up a skillet of crackling' cornbread.Crazy as a bat - Crazy [mental]
Crazy as a bessie bug - Extremely crazy [mental]
Ex: She is as crazy as a bessie bug. You are driving me bessie bug, young'un!Crazy as last year's bird nest. - Insane. [mental]
Info: A bessie bug is a shiny, black beetle that makes a kissing sound when held. Also known as a horn beetle or patent leather beetle.
Creation - A large area [distance]
Ex: The train wreck was scattered all over creation.Crooked as a barrel of snakes - Dishonest [character]
Ex: He's crooked as a barrel of snakes.Crooked as a dog's leg - Dishonest [character]
Cross your heart and hope to die - Swear [truth]
Crosscut saw - A two man saw used for cutting trees [farm]
Crow (bone) to pick with someone - Have a reason to complain or disagree [conflict]
Ex: I have a crow to pick with you.Curl your toenails - Very frightening or disgusting [results]
Ex: It was enough to curl your toenails.Cush - A dish made by frying or boiling cornmeal or crumbled cornbread with grease and often other ingredients such as pieces of meat or onion. [food]
Ex: We're having cush tonight.Cut - Do something [behavior]
Ex: He cut a rusty.Cut a calf - Castrate [farm]
Ex: We need to cut the calves soon.Cut a dido - Take a crooked or unusual path [behavior]
Ex: He run off the road and cut a dido through the corn field.Cut a rusty - Engage in vigorous fun [behavior]
Ex: He went to the dance and really cut a rusty.Cut off his nose to spite his face - Act irrationally revengeful [behavior]
Ex: He's so angry at Bobby that he'd cut off his nose to spite his face.Cut on/off - Switch [modern]
Ex: Cut off the lights!Cut someone's water off - Squelch someone's behavior [punish]
Ex: She found out he was running around on her, and she cut his water off.Cut up - Misbehave, often in a humorous manner [behavior]
Ex: He was out at the store cutting' up. He's just a cut up.Cute as a possum - Attractive [appearance]
Ex: That little gal is as cute as a possum.Cutter - A mischievious person. [behavior]
Ex: That Billy, he's a cutter.Dadgum, or dad blamed - A spoonerism for a well-known curse. [curse]
Dagnabbit - Nce way to say God damn it [curse]
Ex: Dagnabbit! I cut my finger!Damned and determined - Determined beyond all reason [intention]
Ex: He'd damned and determine to kill himself ridin' that bull.Dang - Swear word damn. [curse]
Ex: The dang plow broke!Dark thirty - Just after dark [time]
Ex: I'll be over about dark thirty.Day late and a dollar short - Failure, or an ironic description of the hard life [finance]
Ex: I always seem to be a day late and a dollar short.Dead dog and no hot water! - Teasing phrase said to a sleepy child or pet [conversation] [children] [humor]
Dead to the world - Fast asleep [behavior] [age]
Ex: Billy was dead to the world when I went into his bedroom.Deader than a doornail - Absolutely dead. Refers to old time nails that were unsalvagable when a house was torn down. From Shakespeare [health]
Devil is beating his wife with a frying pan - Explanatory expression used when it is raining while the sun is shining [weather]
Devil's horse or Devil's walking stick - Praying mantis [nature]
Didn't go to do it - Unintentional or accidental [behavior]
Ex: I'm sorry about breaking the vase. I didn't go to do it.Dinner - The mid-day meal. The evening meal is "supper." [food]
Ex: It's soon be noon. Let's go to the house for dinner.Dip - Use snuff [bad-habit]
Ex: Aunt Emma really likes to dip that old snuff, don't she.Dipping vat - A long hole filled with insecticide through which cattle are moved to treat them for pests [farm]
Directly - Soon [time]
Ex: I'll be there directly.Dirt dobber - Mud dauber wasp [nature]
Info: Pronounced "drectly".
Dirty dozen - Large family that live in squalor [people] [status]
Divan - Couch [home]
Ex: Bobby, get your feet off the divan!Doesn't have the sense God gave a goose - Foolish [mental]
Doesn't know which way is up - Confused [mental]
Dog kin - Distantly related [family]
Ex: We are dog kin to the Millers.Dollars to doughnuts - Certainty [certainty]
Ex: I bet you dollars to donuts that he won't work for Old Man Smith more than a month.Don't bite off more than you can chew - Do not be overly ambitious; stay within your limits [wisdom]
Info: Betting something of value against something worthless is the same thing as saying that the bet is a certainty.
Don't count your chickens before they hatch - Be prudent. Don't take action until you are certain. [wisdom]
Doohickey - Something whose name you cannot remember. Comparable to "thingamajig" [things] [forget]
Doomaflotchie - A person whose name you can't remember. Also an unidentified thing. [people] [forget]
Ex: Why don't you call Doomaflotchie and ask him?Dost - Dose, as in "" [pronunciation]
Ex: A dost of whiskey and honey will cure that cough.Double dog dare - The strongest dare. Stronger than a simple double dare. [behavior]
Ex: I double dog dare you to pull that brimmer bull's tail.Dough pop - Hit someone hard [conflict]
Ex: He dough popped me.Down - Bedridden with illness [health]
Ex: She's down with the flu.Down to the nubbins - Consumed all the good ones and down to the scraps. [finance]
Ex: Since the cotton crop failed, we ain't got much left. We are down to the nubbins.Draw - Lift water from a well or cistern using a bucket [home]
Info: Refers to partially matured corn ears.
Ex: Mac, go an draw a bucket of water out of the wellDrawers - Underpants [clothing]
Ex: If that kid of mine don't finish college soon, I'll be wearing tow sack drawers.Dressed fit to kill - Well dressed [clothing]
Ex: She came to church dressed fit to kill.Dried up - Small person with wrinkled skin [appearance]
Ex: She's a dried up little woman.Droopy drawers - Pet name for a person with baggy pants, especially a child. [people] [children]
Ex: Come here, Droopy Drawers, and hug my neck.Drop in the bucket - A small, usually inadequate amount. [degree]
Drove her horses to the wrong stream - Did not marry well [love] [family]
Drunk as a skunk - Severely intoxicated [bad-habit]
Drunk as Cooter Bill - Extremely inebrieated. [bad-habit]
Ex: Old Bill was drunk as Cooter Bill last night at the dance.Dry haircut - Holding someone's head, usually a child, and rubbing their scalp with the knuckles. Usually done as humorous hazing. [behavior]
Info: Variation on drunk as Cooter Brown.
Ex: You keep that up, and Il'' have to give you a dry haircut.Dud'n - Doesn't [pronunciation]
Ex: Morning gets here early, dud'n it?Dudey - Well dressed [clothing]
Ex: I saw that dude woman in town again yesterday.Dull as dishwater - Unexciting [behavior]
Ex: That old boy is dull as dishwater.Dumber than a post - Not very intelligent. [smarts]
Info: Dishwater is gray when dishwashing is complete.
Ex: That old boy is dumber than a post.Dusk dark, or dusky dark - Dusk [time]
Ex: I'll be over about dusk dark.Dust someone's britches - Spank [punish]
Ex: You keep that up, Boy, and I'm gonna dust your britches.Ears are burning - Somene is talking about you [conversation]
Ex: Were your ears burning yesterday? I was talking about you.Easy as falling off a log - Very easy [working]
Easy as pie - Very easy [working]
Eatin' razor soup - Being sarcastic; being a wise guy or smart alec. [attitude]
Ex: Watch your mouth, wise guy! You been eaten' razor soup?Egg someone on - Encourage someone to do something wrong or unwise [behavior]
Info: Metaphor comparing sharp blades to sharp words
Ex: He egged him on to put the cow in the schoolhouse.Egg sucking dog - A despicable person. [character]
Ex: He's an egg sucking dog.Ellum - Elm [nature] [pronunciation]
Info: Refers to dogs who sneak into the chicken house and steal eggs to eat. The habit is hard to break and usually requires the owner to get rid of the dog.
English peas - Green peas. Not cowpeas like black-eyed or purple hull. []
Evening - Afternoon [time]
Ex: I see you this evening.Eyes bigger than your stomach - Took more food than you can eat. [food]
Info: Usually pronounced "EEN-in'"
Ex: Your eyes were bigger than your stomach when took that big plate of chicken and dumplins.Fact of the matter - Fundamental truth [certainty]
Ex: The fact of the matter is that ....Fair off - Sky clearing after a rain [weather]
Fair to middlin' - Average. A cotton and tobacco auction rating meaning the product is average. [condition]
Ex: How ya doin'? Fair to middlin'.Fall out, or have a falling out - Have a dispute [conflict]
Ex: They had a falling out over the fence line.Fartin' dust - Thirsty [food]
Ex: I'm fartin' dust. I'm gonna stop at Spradley's for an RC Cola.Fat as a bear (or pig) - Very fat [appearance]
Ex: Old Joe is fat as a bear.Fat, dumb and happy - Dangerously satisfied; oblivious to risks [attitude]
Ex: He had three bumper cotton crops in a row, and he got fat, dumb and happy .Favor - Resemble [appearance]
Ex: She favors her grandmother.Feather bed - A very soft bed stuffed with chicken feathers. [home]
Ex: Remember when we used to sleep in Grandma's feather bed?Feed your face. - Eat [food]
Ex: We were just sitting down to dinner. Grab a plate and feed your face.Feet on the ground - Balanced, wise [attitude]
Ex: Old Billy has his feet on the ground.Female trouble - Medical problems with a woman's reproductive organs [personal]
Info: A wise person lives on the ground and not in the clouds.
Fight like cats and dogs - Loud intense fight or dispute [conflict]
Figure - Speculate [certainty]
Ex: I figure he'll buy the Jones place.Fit to be tied - Very angry [anger]
Info: Usually pronounced "figger".
Fix someone's wagon - Give someone their comeuppance [punish]
Fixing - Getting prepared to do something. [intention]
Ex: I'm fixing to go to town.Flat as a flitter - Very flat. Flat as a fritter. [degree]
Info: Flitter is a mispronunciation of "fritter."Floored - Shocked [mental]
Ex: I was just floored when I heard they got married.Fly off the handle - Get very mad, very quickly. [conflict] [anger]
Ex: Something I must have said made him fly off the handle.For Pete's sake! - Expression of surprise. [conversation]
Info: Probably refers to an axe head separating from the handle.
Forty forevers - A very long time [time]
Frames - Fencelike cage installed on a pickup bed to haul livestock [farm]
Ex: Go put the frames on the truck so we can haul them yearlings to the sale barn.Frigidaire - Refrigerator. From the brand name of a popular early refrigerator. [home]
Frogs are calling for rain - Statement made when frogs are croaking heavily [nature]
Full of s**t - Badly wrong [conversation] [censored]
Ex: You are full of s**t!Funny as a barrel of monkeys - Very funny [humor]
Galavant - Travel or roam,usually ostenatiously or without purpose [travel]
Ex: There goes old Charley galivanting around as usual.Gap - A simple gate in a barbed wire fence in which wires are attached to a stick which is tied to a post with wire hoops top and bottom. [farm] [animals]
Ex: Go open the gap to the bottom pasture to let the cows in.Gee - Command to a mule to go right. Opposite of "haw." [farm]
Info: It creates a temporary break, or gap, in the fence.
Georgia stock - A small, wooden beam plow used for lightly turninng the soil over a wide area. [farm]
Get by - Have resources to cover your needs [finance]
Ex: Man, we barely get by.Get someone's (nanny) goat - Make someone angry. [conflict] [anger]
Info: Said to come from the old Welsh practice of keeping goats with the cows to calm them and thus increase milk supply. To steal someone's goat was very upsetting. A similar story is told about thoroughbred race horses.Get the razor strap - Threaten to spank a child. [punish]
Ex: Do you want me to get the razor strap?Get up and go has got up an gone (went) - Vigor is lost [people] [health]
Info: Refers to the leather strap used to sharpen a straight razor, which als served as a handy means for spanking a child.
Get your britches on! - Hurry! [speed]
Ex: Get your britches on!. We are going to town!Get your ears lowered - Get a haircut [appearance]
Ex: I went to the barber and got my ears lowered today.Give him a talking to - Have a stern conversation with someone; criticize someone about their behavior. [conversation] [conflict]
Ex: He gave gave Billy a serious talking to about his behavior.Give out - Extremely tired [working]
Ex: I'm plumb give out!Give someone a run for his money - A strong contest [working]
Ex: Burke's got the better ball team, but Hoshall will give them a run for their money.Go across the river - To get drunk. [bad-habit]
Ex: Look like old George is going across the river again tonight.Go haywire - To fail in a puzzling way; to lost ones senses; to go insane [mental] [condition]
Info: Refers to the beer joints located just across the Neches River in Trinity County.
Ex: Tht old boy's gone haywire.Go on! - Tell tall tales. Also and expression of skepticism. [truth]
Info: Refers to a ball of wire used to bale hay.
Ex: (1) Grandpa would always go on about being a war hero. (2) Oh, go on! Are you sure about that?Go outdoors (out of doors, or outa doors) or Go out - Go to to the toilet [call-of-nature]
Ex: I had to go out of doors in the middle of the night.Go to the dogs - Deteriorate [condition]
Info: Most rural residents had outdoor toilets.
Go to town - Tackle a job very efficiently or successfully [working]
Ex: He really went to town on that pile of wood!Go whole hog - Pursue something to the maximum [working]
God knows! - A mild expletive form of "God only knows." [curse] [religion]
Ex: God knows! I hit my finger with the hammer.Going on - Continuing to talk about something or talking about something that others do not want to hear. [conversation] [degree]
Ex: He kept going on about his boss at the sawmill.Goober - Male organ [personal]
Goobers - Peanuts [food] [farm]
Ex: I've got a tow sack full of goobers here.Good for nothin' - Lazy or dishonest [character]
Info: Derived from an African word brought by slaves to America
Ex: That Billy is a good for nothing lout.Goofy - Silly [mental]
Goozle - Throat [personal]
Ex: That coffee is so hot I nearly 'bout burnt my goozle when I took a swallow.Gospel truth - Absolutely true. As true as the Bible. [truth]
Ex: And that's the Gospel truth!Got a loose screw - A bit crazy [mental]
Got it made - Successful [finance]
Ex: Old Ken has got it made!Got the bull by the tail on a downhill drag - Has an extremely advantageous situation [working]
Grab the bull by the horns - Meet a problem head on [working]
Grandma gear - Low-low (lower than normal low) gear in a truck [modern]
Ex: We'll never pull that stun out unless you but the truck i grandma.Green as a gourd - Inexperienced [condition]
Info: It's slow like grandma.
Ex: That kid is green as a gourd.Grinning like a possum - A big smile [happiness]
Ex: He was grinning like a possum after he won the door prize at the school carnival.Grinning like a s**t eating dog - A strained grin, for obvious reasons. [happiness] [censored]
Info: A possum appears to have a smile on its face.
Grocery buggy - Grocery cart [modern]
Gully washer - Heavy rain [weather]
Gumption - Common sense [smarts]
Ex: He's got a lot of gumption.Hair up ass - Angrey, irritated [anger]
Ex: He's got a hair up his ass.Half a mind - Notion [certainty]
Ex: I have half a mind to go tell her off.Halvers - A split between a landowner and sharecropper to split a crop evenly. [farm]
Ex: He's farming the Jones land on halvers.Hammock - A low hill in a pasture or field. [farm]
Ex: I'm going to plant peanuts up on the hammock.Hankering - A desire [food]
Ex: I got a hankerin' for pork sausage."Hard as a rock - Extremely hard [degree]
Hard row to hoe - Difficult [working] [finance]
Ex: He's got a hard row to hoe to get back on his feet.Hard up - Lacking essential economic resources [finance]
Ex: Lester lost job, and they are hard up.Haul off - Draw back or get ready for (usually violent) action [conflict]
Ex: He just hauled off and hit him.Haw - Command to a mule to go left. Opposite of "gee." [farm]
He made his bed. Now let him lie (sleep) in it. - Let someone suffer the consequences of their foolish actions. [wisdom]
Head full of sense - Smart [smarts]
Ex: That boy's got a head full of senseHead is swimming - Dizzy [health]
Head screwed on straight - Has good judgment [smarts]
Ex: That old boy don't have his head screwed on straight.Hear tell - Heard a rumor [conversation]
Ex: I hear tell that he went to the pen years ago for making moonshine.Heifer - A young female cow [farm] [animals]
Heifer - A belligerent or difficult woman [people] [conflict]
Hen scratch - Chicken feed comprising mixed grains. [farm]
Hen scratches - Poor handwriting [behavior] [competence]
Ex: I can't read my own hen scratches.Hickornut - A hickory nut [nature] [pronunciation]
Info: Alludes to chickens scratching the ground to uncover insects.
Hide and go seat - Hide and seek [recreation]
Hide or hair - Presence, as in "" [people]
Ex: We haven't seen hide nor hair of him in two years.Hidey - How do you do? The East Texas way of saying "Howdy." [greeting]
Ex: Hidey, Mister.High as a cat's back - Expensive. [finance]
Info: Alludes to a cat's arching its back when frightened.High heaven - The greatest degree [degree]
Ex: That dead possum stinks to high heaven.High horse - Stubborn or haughty [attitude]
Ex: Get off your high horse!High on the hog - Living well. [finance]
Info: A person on a horse traditionally has more status than one on foot.
Ex: Since Zeke went to work at the paper mill, he's been eating high on the hog.Higher than a kite - Drunk [bad-habit]
Info: The choice cuts of meat on a hog are high on the body.
Ex: I saw old Fred at the store this morning, and he was higher than a kite.Highfalutin' - Elegant; snooty [attitude] [status]
Ex: She's a highfalutin' woman.His'n, Her'n, Your'n - His, hers, yours [people] [pronunciation]
Ex: The horse is his'n. Is that horse your'n.Hissy, hissy fit, or shi****g hissy - A major fit as in "". [conflict] [censored]
Info: Contraction of his own
Ex: She threw a real hissy fit.Hit - Old fashioned way to say "it". [pronunciation]
Hit a lick - Work a small amount [working]
Ex: He came to the barn raising, but he never hit a lick.Hitch in your gitalong - A limp. Not doing well [health]
Hits the nail on the head - Correct [truth]
Hits the spot - Good, referring to food or drink [food]
Ex: Man, that iced tea hits the spot!Hog heaven - A state of extreme happiness. [happiness]
Info: No creature is happier than a hog wallowing in mud--and other things.Hog killing time - The time in the cool fall weather when hogs were slaughtered to make bacon, ham and sausage. [farm]
Hog's head cheese - Food made from hog brains. Also called souse. [food]
Hold on for dear life - Hold tightly to something [degree]
Ex: When that horse spooked and started running, I held on for dear life.Hold onto your drawers - Calm down [behavior]
Info: Drawers are underpantsHold your horses! - Injunction to stop or slow down whatever is happening. Also calm down Also a statement of disagreement. [behavior] [conflict] [conversation]
Ex: Hold your horses! I never said that! Hold your horses, young'un. We have plenty of time to get to town.Hold your mouth right - THe way to catch sish. [humor] [myth] [recreation]
Ex: THe fish are not biting. Must not be holding my mouthright.Holp - Old fashioned past tense of "help," i.e., helped. [pronunciation]
Ex: He holp him cut firewood.Homemade soap - Lye soap [home]
Ex: That gal's as ugly as homemade soap.Honest as the day is long - Unquestionably honest [character]
Info: Lye soap is made from rendered hog fat and lye, made from wood ashes.
Ex: He's one fine fellow. He's as honest as the day is long.Honest to God truth - Absolutely true [truth]
Hoopy - An old car. Probably derived from Hupmobile, an early car brand. [modern]
Hoot nor holler - Something of little value [degree]
Ex: He don't give a hoot nor holler about farmingHoot owl - An owl [nature]
Ex: That old hoot owl was really calling last night.Hootsie dootsie - A person whose name you can't remember [people] [forget]
Hop, skip and a jump - A short distance [distance]
Ex: It's just a hop, skip and a jump from Burketo my place.Horse apples - Horse droppings [farm]
Ex: Don't step in those horse apples!Horse pills - Large pills [health]
Ex: The doctor gave me a bunch of horse pills to take.Horse sense - Common sense [smarts]
Ex: All it takes is a little horse sense.Horse's ass - A disagreeable person [people] [conflict]
Ex: He's being a horses ass about it.Horsewhipped - Given a severe beating [conflict]
Ex: He ought to horsewhipped for that.Hot dang - A swear word invoking God's name in anindirecdt way. [curse] [pronunciation]
Ex: Hot dang! I broke my plow!Hot water - Trouble. [conflict]
Ex: He got in hot water over what he said to the constable.Hotter than the Fourth of July - Very hot [weather]
How I'm made - My moral code or ethics [character]
Ex: I won't lie to you because that's how I'm made.Hubbin' a row of stumps, or nubbin' it - Experiencing hard times. [finance]
Ex: The Allens are nubbin' a row of stumps.Hug someone's neck - Hug [love]
Info: From early roads that still had stumps high enough to hit a wagon's hub.
Ex: Come over here and hug my neck, young'un.Hunky dory - Excellent [happiness]
Ex: Everything is hunky dory!Hurrah - Tease. [conversation] [humor]
Ex: Yeah, I was hoorawin' him.Hussy - A shameless or promiscuous woman [people]
Info: Pronounced "hoo-raw".
Ex: I saw you talking to that hussy.I declare! - Expression of wonder or surprise [conversation]
Info: Short for "hustler"
I see, said the blind man - I understand [mental]
I'd be lying if I told you that ... - I'm telling you the truth. [truth]
I'll swan! (or I'll swanee) - An exclamation of surprise or recognition [conversation]
Ex: I'll swanee! You don't say?I'm like a goose. I wake up in a new world every day. - Forgetful [forget]
I've always heard... - Opening for a pearl of wisdom [wisdom]
Ex: I've always heard that the early bird catches the worm.Ice box - Refrigerator. Derived from original coolers, which were cooled by blocks of ice [home]
If it had been a snake, it would have bit me - Remark upon overlooking something obvious or close by [smarts]
If the Good Lord's willing and the creeks don't rise - Strong intentions to do something if possible. Often said in parting. [greeting] [intention]
Ex: We'll be at Homecoming if the Good Lord's willing and the creeks don't rise.Iffen - If [certainty]
Ex: Iffen you'll mow my pasture, I;ll help you build your fence.Iron bedstead - A bed with head and foot board made of cast iron. [home]
It - The seeker in a game of hide and seek or tag [recreation]
It don't make no nevermind, - It doesn't matter, or I don'tcare. [conversation]
Jabber - Speak incomprehensively [conversation]
Ex: Them foreigners was just a jabberin' away.Jake leg - Amateurish worker [working] [competence]
Ex: Jake leg carpenterJubilous - Doubtful [certainty]
Info: Refers to someone who consumes lead tained moonshine ("jake") and developed muscular problems ("jake leg") from lead poisoning. Some say jake leg was caused by denatured jamaican ginger.
Ex: That salesman told me it would save us a lot of money, but I was jubilees of him.Junk house - Storage building [farm] [home]
Ex: I put the extra straight chair in the junk house.Just about - Nearly [degree]
Ex: I just about fell over laughing.Keep your britches (or drawers) on! - Calm down! Be patient! [behavior]
Ex: I'm working as fast as I can. Keep your britches on!Kick the traces - Threw off all constraints.. [behavior]
Info: Refers to the trace chains used to pull a plow with a mule. The mule would sometimes object to the trace chains rubbing his back legs and try to kick them awayKick up your heels - Celebrate or live a suddenly lively existence [behavior]
Ex: The old man really kicked up his heels after his wife died.Knock down, drag out - A ferocious fight. [conflict]
Info: Alludes to a horse running an kicking its real feet in apparent joy
Ex: The had a knock down, drag out after the football game.Knock on wood - Expression accompanied by knocking on something made of wood to invoke good luck. [myth]
Ex: We'll be out of debt next fall, knock on wood.Knot on a log - Useless [character]
Ex: He useless as a knot on a log.Laid up - Sick in bed. [health]
Ex: He is laid up with the flu.Larupin - Lip smacking good. Ex: "That pie was larupin." [food]
Ex: Man, that cocoanut pie is larupin.Lay a corpse - The period between death and burial [health]
Info: Derived from slurping
Ex: It snowed when Uncle Bill lay a corpse.Lay by - The last cultivation of a crop before harvesting. [farm]
Leave well enough alone - Be satisfied with a good though not perfect result. [wisdom]
Ex: It ain't perfect, but I'd leave well enough alone.Let bygones be bygones - Forgive and forget [conflict]
Ex: It time to make up and let bygones be bygones.Let on - State or give an indication of [conversation]
Ex: The mule kicked Ed in the leg, but he never let on that he was in pain.Let sleeping dogs lie - Don't stir up trouble unnecessarily [wisdom]
Levi Garrett - A brand of snuff [bad-habit]
Ex: Aunt Emma dips three dot Levi Garrett.Liable to - May. [certainty]
Info: Each bottle of Levi Garrett has raised dots on the bottom that many though designated strength.
Ex: We'd better get the clothes in off the line 'cause it labble to rain.Lick - A small amount [degree]
Info: Often pronounced "labble".
Ex: That boy ain't got a lick of sense.Lick of sense - Intelligence [smarts]
Ex: That old boy ain't got a lick of sense.Life of Riley - Easy life [finance]
Ex: He's living the life of Riley.Light a shuck - Motivate [behavior]
Ex: If you want Billy to that hay in today, you better light a shuck under him.Light bill - Electric bill [modern]
Info: Corn shuck were used as tinder to start fires.
Ex: The light bill is the highest it's ever been!Light bread - Store-bought sliced white bread, as in " [food]
Info: Electric power was used primarily in rural areas for lighting.
Ex: We farm kids had a biscuit and bacon for lunch, but the town kids had sandwiches made with light bread."Light under the hat - Mentally deficient or lacking intelligence [mental] [smarts]
Info: Commercially baked bread is much lighter than cornbread or other homemade breads.
Like a bat out of hell - Very fast [speed]
Ex: He drives that truck like a bat out of hell.Like a blind dog in a meat house - Happily confused [mental]
Like a dog on a bone - Fierce, determined [degree]
Info: A dog is very reluctant to part with a bone and holds on fiercely.Like a dose of salts through a widow woman - Fast. [speed]
Info: Epson salts was used as a laxative. The reference to a "widow woman" is unclear.Like a hen building a nest - Indecisive. Jumps from one thing to another. [behavior]
Like putting money down a crawfish hole - Wasteful [finance]
Like to - Almost [certainty]
Ex: I like to fell down.Like two peas in a pod - Very close friends [friends]
Line - Clothes line [home]
Ex: Mac, go get the clothes off the line before it rains.Lit - Landed, as in "" or "The bird lit on the power line." [travel] [pronunciation]
Ex: (1) The plane lit in the field behind the school. (2) The bird lit on the power line.Lit out - Left in a hurry [travel]
Info: Past tense of light. Correct is "lighted."
Ex: He lit out across the field on his way to Burke.Loaded for bear - Prepared for a major fight [conflict]
Ex: He went over to the neighbor's place loaded for bear.Long handles (or long handle drawers) - Long underwear [clothing]
Ex: I had to get out my long handles after that cold snap last week.Look down on - Pity [status]
Ex: Before they struck oil, they were so poor we looked down on them.Look what the dogs drug up! - Friendly greeting among close friends. [greeting]
Info: Refers to the disgusting things that dogs find in the woods and bring home, such as animal caracasses.Looks natural - Compliment to a deceased person lying in a casket. [appearance] [age]
Ex: Sally sure looks natural.Looky here - Look here. Or pay attention, this is important. [conversation]
Ex: Looky here, Ray. You won't believe this.Looney - Crazy [mental]
Info: Probably from look you here, or look ya' here.
Loose as a goose - Has diarrhea [health]
Ex: I'm loose as a goose today.Lordy! Or Lordy Mercy! - Short version of "Lordy mercy!" Often used multiple times as a statment of resignation, as in "Lordy! Lordy! Lordy!" [religion] [curse]
Lost his marbles - Went insane [mental]
Lost his shirt - Lost a large amount of money [finance]
Ex: He lost his shirt on that cattle deal.Lousehead - A lazy person [character]
Ex: He's a louse head. Won't hit a lick or work.Lye soap - Home made soap made from hog fat and ashes. [home]
Lying like a dog - Clearly lying [truth]
Ma'am - Madam. Respectful way to address a woman. [people]
Ex: Yes, Ma'am.Mad as an old wet hen - Very angry [anger]
Ex: She was mad as an old wet hen.Made - Became a member of a profession [working]
Ex: Lee made a lawyer.Make hay while the sun shines - Take advantage of an opportunity [working]
Make it - Have resources to cover your needs [finance]
Ex: We are barely makin' it.Make you slap your pappy down - Insanely good. [food]
Ex: That cocoanut will make you slap your pappy down.Makes my butt want to dip snuff - Makes me angry [anger]
Info: So good that it could make you lose your head and do the unthinkable.
Mammy cat - A female cat [farm] [animals]
Mark a calf - Castrate a calf [farm]
Mayhaw jelly - A delicioius, tangy jelly made from the fruit of the mayhaw, a wild apple-like fruit that grows only in river bottoms that frequently flood. [food]
Ex: We need to go to the river bottom and get some mayhaws to make some jelly.Mean as a snake - Very mean [behavior]
Ex: That old man Woods is mean as a snake.Meetin' - A church service, often a revival [religion]
Ex: Y'all goin' to the camp meeting'?Mess - To defacate, especially an animal [call-of-nature]
Ex: That blamed rooster messed on the porch!Mess - An amount of food necessary for a meal. [food]
Ex: I picked a mess of butterbeans for supper.Messin' and gummin' - [working] [competence]
Middlebuster - A large plow that turns soil to both sides. A double turning plow. [farm]
Might as well - Decision to do something. [intention]
Ex: I might as well go on down to the bottom and fix that fence.Mighty - Very [degree]
Ex: It's a mighty fine day.Mischeevious - Mischievous [behavior]
Ex: That's one mischeevous little boy.Money burns a hole in his pocket - He's a spendthrift [money] [behavior]
Money don't grow on trees - Money is scarce and has to be earned [money]
Monkeyshine - Stunt, often humorous [behavior]
Ex: Johnny cut a monkeyshine.Month of Sundays - A long time [time]
Ex: I ain't seen you in a month of Sundays!More than Carter's got pills - A very large number [number]
Info: Alludes to Carter's Little Liver Pills, a patent common medicine.More than you could shake a stick at - Many [number]
Mosquito bar - Mosquito net, commonly made from cheese cloth and used to cover a bed for sleeping mosquito-free. Necessary before screened windows were common and often used on camping trips. [home]
Info: So called because it bars mosquitos from the sleeping area.Mosquito hawk - A dragon fly [nature]
Muley - A cow with no horns. Also "muley cow." [farm] [animals]
Ex: Go bring up that old muley cow from the bottom pasture.Mumbly peg, or Mumblety Peg - Game involving flipping a two-bladed knife and attempting to stick it in the ground [recreation]
Naked as a jaybird - Completely naked [behavior]
Ex: He walked out of the house naked as a jaybird!Nary - None [pronunciation]
Ex: Nary one of them eggs hatched.Naw - No [pronunciation]
Nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs, or Nervous as a cat - Extremely nervous [mental]
Nigh onto - Nearly [certainty]
Ex: I ain't see Joe in nigh onto 30 years.Ninety to nothing - Very fast [speed]
Ex: He came around the bend going ninety to nothing.No account - Worthless [character]
Ex: He ain't no account.No bigger than a bar of soap - Tiny [appearance]
Info: Often pronounced "no count."
Ex: She's no bigger than a bar of soap.No ifs, ands or buts about it - Without any doubt [certainty]
Ex: I gotta go to town to pay the bank note, no ifs and or buts about it.No way on God's green earth - Impossible [certainty]
Ex: There's no way on God's green earth that I can afford a new truck.Nose in the air - Possessing an attitude of superiority [attitude]
Ex: She walks around with her nose in the airNot all there - Slightly mentally deficient [mental]
Not enough room to cuss a cat - Small [geometry]
Ex: There ain't enough room to cuss a cat in this kitchen.Not right/Not right in the head - Slightly mentally deficient [mental]
Not worth a hill of beans - Worthless [finance]
Ex: That land's not worth a hill of beans.Not worth killing - Worthless [character]
Ex: That old boy ain't worth killin'.Nothing to write home about - Unremarkable [condition]
Nubbin - An undermatured ear of corn. Sometimes used as an affectionate name for a small child. [farm]
Nutty as a fruit cake - Crazy [mental]
Nyelly 'bout (Nearly about) - Almost [degree] [pronunciation]
Ex: I nyelly 'bout broke my neck when I fell off the barn.Odd duck - Someone who behaves in a peculiar or unusual way. [behavior]
Ex: He;s an odd duck alright.Of a mind to - Intend [certainty]
Ex: I'm of a mind to go to town.Off - Not mentally normal [mental]
Ex: He's a little off.Off his rocker - Mentally ill [mental]
Ex: That old man is off his rocker!Oh, foot! - Expression of dismay or disappointment. [conversation]
Okey doke (Okey Dokey) - O. K. [conversation]
Ex: Okey, dokey. I'll be there on Saturday.Old as Methuslah - Very old [appearance] [age]
Ex: I feel old as MethuslahOld Timey - From an earlier era [time]
Ex: I love old Tumey ribbon cane syrup.Once in grace, always in grace - Statement about Calvinist predestination as interpreted by Baptists [religion]
Once-st - Once [pronunciation]
One - Adds emphasis to an adjective [degree]
Ex: He is one smart kid.Ort - Ought [pronunciation]
Out and out - Total or complete [certainty]
Ex: That's an out and out lie.P**s ellum club - A mythical elm switch or stick for administering punishment. Usually used as a threat [punish] [censored]
Ex: If you don't stop that, I'm gonna take a p*** ellum club to you."P.O. - Veto a sale at an auction barn [farm]
Ex: Cattle auction barn sign: No POs after cattle leave ring.Painted up - Uses heavy make-up [appearance]
Info: Acronym for "pull out"
Ex: She got all painted up and went to town.Pass and repass - Have a formal but not friendly relationship [behavior] [conflict]
Ex: Since we had the falling out, we just pass and repass with them.Pasture lilly - Cow droppings [farm]
Ex: Don't step in the pasture lilly!Paw Paw, or Pappaw - Grandfather [family]
Peaked - Pale or drawn [health]
Ex: Sally looked a little peaked today.Peas - Cowpeas, such as purple hulls, blackeyes, crowder, cream, and whippoorwills. Not green peas as grown up north. [food]
Info: Pronounced "peak-ed".
Peck's bad boy - A mischievous child. [behavior] [children]
Ex: That little Johnny is Peck's bad boy.Peckerwood - A woodpecker. A rogue, but sometimes used as an endearment for a child [nature] [children] [character]
Info: Derived for a series of "Bad Boy" books by an author named Peck.
Ex: You little peckerwood!Peckerwood sawmill - A small sawmill [modern]
Ex: Jack's been working down at that peckerwood sawmill.Peediddley - Small or insignificant [degree]
Pen - Prison [behavior]
Ex: Old Joe's boy Bill went to the pen for two years for making moonshine.Pert - Right. In good spirits or health. [health]
Info: Short for "pentitentiary.
Ex: I'm not feeling pert today.Petticoat government - Domiantion of a household by the woman of the house. []
Info: Pronounced "PYEE-urt"
Pick off peanuts - Remove dried peanuts from the dried vines. [farm]
Ex: You'll have to pick off some peanuts if we are going to make peanut candy for Christmas.Piece - Distance. Ex: " [distance]
Ex: They live down the road a piece.Piles - Hemarrhoids [personal]
Pillar to post - Erratic, unreliable behavior [behavior]
Ex: He moves from pillow to post.Piney Woods rooter - Feral hog, wild descendants of domestic hogs. A razorback [nature]
Info: Refers to pillars of a house and the post of a fence
Ex: The Piney Woods rooters really tore up the bottom field last night.Piroot around - to go about idly or aimlessly, or to nose around or snoop [behavior]
Pistol - A spunky person [people]
Ex: That gal's a pistol.Pitch (throw) a fit - Show extreme anger [behavior] [anger]
Ex: When I told me I could loan him any money, he pitched a fit.Place - Someone's farm or property [location]
Ex: We live on the Fairchild place.Play pretty - Toy [recreation]
Ex: That's a nice play pretty you have there, Son.Plumb - Completely [certainty]
Ex: I'm plumb tired out.Poke salad - A wild green, also known as poke week, that is picked and eaten. It is available when there are no greens in the garden. Must be parboiled to remove toxins. [food]
Ex: We need to go to bottom and pick a mess of poke salad.Polecat - Skunk [nature]
Polly pop - Kool Aid. [food]
Ex: I'm gonna get a big old glass of that grape polly pop.Poor as a snake - Poverty stricken [finance]
Info: Apparently from a bottled drink called Polly's Soda Pop probably from the fact that it was made in fruit flavors like Kool Aid.
Ex: He's poor as a snake.Poor as Job's turkey - Very poor [finance]
Info: Probably refers to the thinness of a snake's body.
Info: Alludes to the trials and tribulations of Job in the Bible, who lost everything.Poor excuse - Not very good. Bad. [character] [behavior]
Ex: He is a poor excuse for a human being.Poot - Pass gas [call-of-nature]
Ex: Jimmy, did you poot?Pop off - Boast or make a rude comment. [conversation]
Ex: He popped off about his new job.Popping Johnny - A small 2 cylinder John Deere tractor with a distinctive popping engine sound. Called a "Johnny popper" in the Midwest. [farm]
Pore - Poor, meaning either in ill health or very thin. [appearance] [health] [pronunciation]
Ex: Sally sure does look pore.Postolic - Apostolic (Pentecostal) church [religion]
Info: Mispronunciation of "poor"
Ex: He was as excited as a apostolic preacherPot liquor - The liquid left after boiling greens or other vegetable. [food]
Info: Apostolic churches are charismatic, and their minters are very physically active behind the pulpit.
Ex: I love to crumble corn bread in pot liquor from the turnip greens.Presactly - Exactly and precisely [certainty]
Ex: Presactly! I agree completely.Pretty - Somewhat, as in "pretty good," "pretty near," "pretty sure". Usually pronounce "purr-ty [degree]
Ex: I'm pretty much out of corn to feed the cows the rest of the winter.Pretty as a little red wagon - Pretty or cute, as a child [appearance]
Ex: She's pretty as a little red wagon.Prince Albert (in the can) - A brand of loose tobacco for rolling cigarettes [bad-habit]
Info: Refers to small, red Radio Flyer wagons that were common childhood toys in the mid-20th Century.
Ex: A favorite juvenile prank was to call a merchant and ask whether he has Prince Albert in the can. When he answers in the affirmative, the prankster responds, "Why don't you let him out?"Private(s) - Sex organ [personal]
Prize pole - A pry pole [farm]
Ex: I think we can lift that wagon up with a prize pole.Puddle jumper - Small car [modern]
Pull someone's leg - Tease someone by stating an untruth [conversation] [humor]
Ex: I don't believe that! You are pulling my leg!Pulley bone - Wishbone from a chicken or turkey, or the cut of meat containing the wishbone when cut separately from the remainder of the breast meat. [food]
Ex: I want the pulley bone!Pulling your leg - Putting you on [truth]
Info: The wishbone resembles part of a pulley.
Pump - Give someone a ride on the back of a bicycle. [children] [recreation] [personal]
Puny - Sick [health]
Ex: Poppa is feeling puny.Pure-dee - Completely, as in " [degree]
Ex: That youngun' is pure-dee rottenPurty near,or pert near - Almost [certainty]
Ex: It's purty near time to leave.Push and grits. - Nothing to eat [food]
Ex: Push yourself away from the table and grit your teeth.Put a quietus - Stop a behavior. Pronounced "qui-ee-tus". [behavior]
Ex: He put a quietus to that teenage romance.Put on airs - Act important or superior [attitude]
Ex: Since Grace moved to town, she has been putting on airs.Put on the dog - Do things in a showy way [behavior]
Ex: The always put on the dog for Christmas.Put on your thinking cap - Concentrate. Think hard. [smarts]
Info: Possibly refers to the stiff stand-up shirt collars that were the height of male fashion in the 1890s and were sometimes called dog collars.
Put one foot in front of the other - When things are hard, keep going [behavior]
Ex: After Pa died, I'm just putting one foot in front of the other.Put that in your pipe and smoke it - The truth [truth]
Put two and two together - Figure something out. Reason by inference. [smarts]
Put up - Can or preserve [food]
Ex: I put up 50 quarts of butterbeans this year.Quit - Desert or divorce [love]
Ex: Sally quit her husband.Rag - A cloth, such as a "wash rag" or a "dish rag." [home]
Ex: Throw me the dish rag, Sally.Raise cain - Complain or cause trouble [behavior]
Ex: She came to the school board meeting raising Cain.Raise Old Billy Hell - "Raise hell" means to protest or reprimand someone angrily. To "raise Old Billy Hell" is to raise hell of the intensity of the devil (Old Billy). [conflict]
Info: Refers to the Biblical story of Cain killing his brother Abel.
Ex: He came over here raising Old Billy Hell about out cows getting in his corn patch.Raise sand - Complain []
Info: May allude to a bull's slinging dirt with his front foot when angry.Raise the devil - Complain loudly [conflict]
Raise the roof - Make a lot of noise [behavior]
Ex: They sure were raising the roof down at the Pentecostal Church last night.Ran it into the ground - Abused or overdid [working] [competence]
Ran like a scalded dog - Fast. [speed]
Rat - A rat or a mouse [nature] [home]
Rat cheese - Low quality cheddar cheese often used for bait in a mouse or rat trap [food]
Ex: I love crackers and rat cheese!Rat killing - Routine work [working]
Ex: I need to get back to my rat killing.Rat pills - Mouse droppings [nature]
Reckon - Guess [certainty]
Ex: I reckon.Red ass - anger [conflict] [anger]
Ex: He's got the red ass.Ribbon cane syrup - Syrup made from ribbon cane, a type of sugar cane. Delicious with butter on a hot biscuit on a cold winter morning. [food]
Ex: We are goon the the sugar cane to Grady to make us some sugar cane syrupRich lightered pine - Heartwood from a rotted pine tree that contains resin and burns very easily. It was chopped into splinters and used to start fires [home]
Ex: Probably should to "rich lighter pine," i.e., rich pine used to light a fireRight and left - In large number. Everywhere [degree]
Ex: We had problems right and left.Right as rain - Absolutely correct [truth]
Info: Nothing is more critical, or "right", to a farmer than rain.Ring - The semi-circular pen inside an auction barn in which livestock are held during sale. [farm]
Ring-tailed tooter - A wildly energetic person, or a person out of control [behavior]
Ex: That boy is always on the move. He's a ring-talked tooter.Rip your britches - Fail stupidly [finance]
Ripped his britches - (1) Passed gas.(2) Got into trouble [call-of-nature] [behavior]
Ex: (1) Oops! I ripped my britches. (2) He ripped his britches with me when he yelled at me.Risin - A boil [health]
Info: Probably a mispronunciation of "rising," or raised place on the skin.River coffee - Coffee made with muddy river water. [food]
Ex: River coffee is foul tasting and is barrely drinkable.Riz La - A brand of paper for hand rolling cigarettes [bad-habit]
Rock along - Bide time [time]
Ex: We'll just rock along until cotton prices improve.Roll - Make a cigarette using loose tobacco and cigarette paper [bad-habit]
Ex: Frank rolls his own cigarettes with Prince Albert tobacco and Riz La paper.Rolling stone gathers no moss - Jumping from one thing to another is not productive [wisdom]
Root, hog, or die - Ones must work or face the consequences [working]
Rotten - Spoiled [attitude]
Ex: His grandma spoiled him rotten.Rough as a cob - Very rough [degree]
Rough customer - A mean person [people]
Ex: Old Joe is one tough customer.Run around - Cheat on your spouse [family] [love]
Ex: Jimmy's running around on his wife.Run someone ragged - Tired you out with activity or aggravation [behavior]
Ex: You boys go outside and play. You are running me raged.Run with - Spend time together [friends]
Ex: He runs with Paul a lot.Running around like a chicken with its head cut off - Aimless or confused action. Refers to the actions of a chicken whose head has been severed with an axe to prepare for Sunday chicken and dressing or dumplings. [working] [competence]
S**t on - Treat badly [behavior]
Ex: The foreman just s**ts all over him, and he takes it.Sack - Bag, as in "feed sack," "grocery sack," or "tow sack". [home]
Sah! - Command to a milk cow to calm down or stop moving. [farm]
Ex: The phrase "Sah! Back your leg!" tells a milk cow to settle down and move her leg to provide access to the udder.Sale barn - An auction building with pens for holding cattle for sale. [farm]
Same old six and seven - Response to an inquiry about health or affairs of a person. []
Ex: "How are things going?" Oh, the same on six and seven."Sass - Speak to someone, especially a parent, with disrespect [attitude]
Info: The original phrase was, "the same old seven and six," and it originated in England during the 19th century. The phrase refers to the prevailiing weekly wage among workmen at the time being seven shillings and six pence. It implies that "things" have gone as usual with nothing extraordinary having occured.
Ex: Don't you sass me, young man!Saunter - to walk about in an idle or leisurely manner, stroll [travel]
Ex: Think I'll saunter on over to the post office.Sawing logs - Snoring [behavior]
Scarce as hens' teeth - Extremely rare [number]
Scared the cush out of me - Very scared. Probably refers ot the food dish cush. [degree]
Ex: That bull scared the cush out of me!Scared to death - Very scared, as in "" [degree]
Ex: His driving just about scared me to death.Scat! - Statement made when someone sneezes. Equivalent to "geshundheit!" Also warning to a cat to leave the area. [conversation]
Scorched - Angered [conflict] [anger]
Ex: What she said really scorched me.Scovill hoe - A heavy duty hoe also called a "planter's hoe". Named for the maufacturer D. & H. Scovil Company. [farm]
Scrape by - Barely make ends meet [finance]
Ex: We're barely scraping by.Scrunch up - Squeeze together [geometry]
Ex: Scrunch up, or we won't get everyone in the truck.Second childhood - When a middle aged person starts kicking up his heels. Now commonly called "middle age crazy." [attitude]
Ex: Since his wife died, he has been in his second childhood.See further down the road - Wait for better information [certainty]
Ex: We'd better not buy the land until we can see further on down the road.See you in the funny papers - Goodbye []
Info: The funny papers is the newspaper comics section.Set her cap for - Pursue romantically [love]
Ex: She set er cap for EarlSettin' hen - A hen who is sitting on a nest of eggs to hatch them. [farm] [animals]
Settle down - Get married and start a family [love] [family]
Ex: Isn't about time It's time settled down, Jim?Sh***ing in high cotton - Prosperous [finance] [censored]
Info: Cotton that grows high and thick provides plenty of shelter for someone's doing their "business."Sh**ass - A treacherous or disagreeable person [person]
Sh**ting over a ten foot rail - Diarrhea [health] [censored]
Shack up - Live together without benefit of marriage [family] [love]
Ex: He shacked up with that old gal.Shade tree mechanic - An amateur mechanic who often worked on his car under a shade tree. [people]
Shade tree mechanic - Amateur mechanic [working] [competence]
Info: Amateur mechanics often worked in the shade of a large treeShake a leg - Hurry [speed]
Ex: We're late already. Shake a leg!Shed, shed, or shut - Rid [pronunciation]
Ex: We need to get shet of that dog.Shivalay - Chevrolet [modern] [pronunciation]
Ex: I shore do love my Shivalay truck.Shoot a big gun - Boast or do things in an ostentatious way [attitude]
Ex: He ain't got a dime, but he shoots a big gun.Shoot the breeze - Talk casually [conversation]
Ex: Come on by tomorrow and shoot the breeze with me.Shore - Sure [certainty]
Ex: You shore are right.Shorts - A flour-like wheat feed mixed with slop and fed to hogs. [farm]
Show - Movie or movie theater [modern]
Ex: Y'all wanna go to the show tonight?Show out - Engage in unusual behavior to draw attention to oneself. [behavior]
Ex: Billy, stop showing out!Show your a** - Misbehave in an embarrassing way [behavior] [censored]
Ex: He came to the school board meeting and showed his a**.Shuckins! - Expletive of regret or frustration [conversation]
Ex: Aw, shuckins! I dropped the bucket into the well.Sick as a dog (or horse) - Very sick [health]
Ex: I was sick as a dog with the flu.Side dress - Fertilize a crop on the side after it has started to grow. [farm]
Sight - Outrageous in appearance [appearance]
Ex: You are a sight in that soot suit.Singing - A church service, usually at night, devoted to congregational singing. [religion]
Ex: Y'all going to the singing' at the church tomorrow night?Sireen - Siren [modern] [pronunciation]
Sit up with - Stay all night with someone who is ill. [health]
Ex: Mama sat up with Granny at the hospital last night.Sitting on easy street - In very good condition [finance]
Sitting pretty - In very good condition [finance]
Ex: He's sitting pretty after selling that land for the new highway.Slap out of his mind, or slap crazy - Nonsensical as if addled from a blow to the head [mental state]
Info: A person who has been slapped will be addled.Sleeping in a feather bed - Well off [finance]
Info: Refers to a time when most people slept on beds stuffed with straw.Sleeping porch - A screeed portch used for sleeping during the hot part of the year [home]
Ex: We need to move the beds to the sleeping porch before it gets too hot.Slicker than owl s**t - Very slick [condition] [censored]
Ex: That road is slicker than owl s**t.Slop - A mixture of table scraps and dishwater that was fed to hogs. Often kept in a large "slop bucket." [farm] [home]
Slop bucket - A large bucket in the kitchen for scraps and dish water [home]
Slop jar - Chamber pot. [call-of-nature]
Ex: Billy, you need to empty the slop jar.Slough - A small, naturally occurring body of water, usually in a creek or river bottom. Pronounced "slew." [nature]
Info: It's a long way to the outhouse in the dark, especially in the winter.
Ex: Let's go fishing over on Bobby Slough.Slow as Christmas - Very slow. [speed]
Info: It seems forever for Christmas to arrive.Slow as grandma - Very slow [speed]
Slow as molasses - Very slow [speed]
Info: Molasses flows very slowlySlow as the seven year itch - Extremely slow [speed]
Smack dab - Exactly [location]
Ex: There's a tree smack dab in the middle of the road.Smart as a whip - Very intelligent. [smarts]
Info: Probably refers to the sharp crack of a whip.Smart duck - An intelligent person [smarts]
Ex: That kid is one smart duck.Smellumgood - Perfume or cologne [personal]
Ex: What kind of smellumgood are you wearing.Smidgen - A small amount [degree]
Ex: Would you please give me just a smidgen on that pie?Smoke follows beauty - Humorous campfire saying [conversation]
Snake in the grass - Dishonest or untrustworthy person [character]
Ex: He's a snake in the grass.Snipe hunt - A coming of age hunting ritual usually played on naive young men. The older men take the youngster to the woods and ask him to hold a tow sack open on a cow trail while they go drive the snipe into the sack. The older men, of course, go home leaving the youngster "holding the bag" until he realizes he has been tricked and sheepishly sneaks home to face the laughing tricksters. [myth] [humor]
Snooty - Haughty [attitude]
Ex: That new woman at church sure is snooty.Snotty - Rude [attitude]
Ex: That woman is really snotty!So far back in the woods that we don't get the Grand Ole Opry until Wednesday night - Way back in the woods. [distance]
Info: The Grand Ole Opry is broadcast on Saturday night -- Marcus BurrousSoda water - A carbonated drink, such as Coca Cola. What people call "pop" or "soda" in other parts of the country. Often pronounced "sody water." [food]
Ex: I'm going to Uncle Bob's store and get me a sody water/Something stuck in your craw - The reason for anger [anger]
Ex: What do you have stuck in your craw? You haven't spoken to me in a week.Sook, or sook cow - A call used to lure cows to the barn. as in "Sook, sook, sook" or "Sook, cow, sook, cow." [farm]
Info: Something that you cannot swallow. The craw is the throat of a bird or chicken.
Info: Of Scots and English origin and probably derived from "suck."Sooner - Rather [conversation]
Ex: I'd sooner have a Ford than a Chivalay.Sooner (or just as soon) - Rather [conversation]
Ex: i'd sooner haul hay than dig post holes. I'd just as soon haul hay as dig post holes.Soppin' wet - Soaked [condition]
Ex: Come on in out of the rain. You are soppin' wet.Sorry - Worthless [character]
Ex: Old Mac is as sorry as they come.Souse - Hog's head cheese, which is made from hog brains. [food]
South end of a northbound mule - The mule's rear end [location] [farm]
Ex: I been in the field following the south end of a northbound mule all day long.Sow wild oats - Live a wild single lifestyle, especially sexually. [love]
Ex: He's sowing wild oats and praying for crop failure.Spark - Court [love]
Ex: Bill is sparking Sally.Speak of he devil and his imps appears - Someone you have been talking about unexpectedly appears. [conversation]
Info: An imp is an attendant to the devil.Speck so - Probably [conversation]
Ex: Uh, huh, speck so. -- Uncle Bob WeisingerSpell - (1) An indeterminate period of time. (2) A brief illness [time] [health]
Ex: We planted the garden just after the last cold spell. It's been quite a spell since we've seen Jim. I had one of my sick spells yesterday.Spitting image - Identical or strongly resembles [family]
Ex: Gertie is the spittin' image of her grandmother.Split the sheet - Divorce [love] [family]
Ex: Jill and Ed split the sheet.Spring chicken - Young [appearance] [age]
Ex: She ain't no spring chicken.Springing - To show that a cow is carrying a calf . A cow that is showing strongly is said to be "spinging heavy." Probably refers to spring when calves are usually born. [farm]
Ex: That cow is springing heavy.Squeaks when he walks - Frugal. [money]
Info: Squeaks because he is "tight."Squealed like a stuck pig - Complained loudly or made a lot of noise [conversation]
Stand good for - Be responsible for someone else's debt [money]
Ex: Don't worry about your money. I'll stand good for it.Stepped in a cow patty - Made an embarrassing mistake [behavior]
Ex: He stepped in the cow patty on that one.Still wet behind the ears - young or inexperienced [age]
Info: Refers to the distasteful mistake of stepping in fresh cow manure.
Stomping ground - Home territory [location]
Ex: Jack moved back to his old stomping grounds at Pine Valley.Store bought, or store boughten - Not homemade [modern]
Ex: Poppa gonna get Maw a store bought dress for Christmas.Story - A child's lie [truth] [children]
Ex: Are you telling me a story, Billy? Are you storying to me?Stove up - Stiff or immobile [health]
Ex: He is all stove up after falling off the barn.Straight chair - A simple ladderback wooden chair, often with a cowhide seat. [home]
Info: It is "straight" compared to a rocking chair.Strong as an ox - Very stong [degree]
Ex: Joe is strong as an ox.Strut like a bantee rooster - To hold a higher opinion of yourself than warranted. [attitude]
Info: Ox were used in the early days as draft animals because of their great strength.
Ex: After he got elected to the school board, he strutted around town like a bantee rooster.Stubborn as a mule - Extremely stubborn [attitude]
Info: A bantam rooster struts around as if it were much larger than it is.
Ex: That boy is stubborn as a mule!Stuck - Fined for a legal infraction [behavior]
Ex: The Justice of the Peace stuck him $20 for speeding.Sucking hind teat - In a disadvantageous position. [finance]
Info: Refers the last, and least proctive, teat on a sow, which is usually all that is available to the runt of the litter.Sugar - A kiss [love]
Ex: Come here, Sweetie, and give me some sugar.Sukey - Old fashioned nickname for Susan or Susannah, but often as a generic name when addressng a girl. [people]
Ex: How's your mama doing, Sukey?Summers - Somewhere [location] [pronunciation]
Summers - Somewhere [pronunciation]
Ex: That cat is here summers.Sunday best - Your nicest clothes [clothing]
Ex: You need to wear your Sunday beth to the wedding.Sunday go to meetin' clothes - Best clothes, the kind you would wear to church (meetin') [clothing]
Ex: I have to get out my Sunday go to meetin' clothes for the wedding.Supper - The evening meal [food]
Ex: What are we having for supper, Mama?Sure as I'm standing here - Totally certain [certainty]
Ex: He said it sure as I'm standing here.Sure as shootin' - Certain [certainty]
Ex: He fit it, sure as shootin'Suzy Q - Pet name for a woman [people]
Ex: What are you doing, Suzy Q?Sweat like a hog - Heavy perspiration [behavior]
Ex: When I was working in the barn, I was sweating like a hog.Sweet milk - Regular milk, so called to distinguish from the sour taste of buttermilk. [food]
Ex: I love corn bread crumbled in a goblet of sweet milk.Swig - A drink or sip of anything [food]
Ex: Gimme a swig of that RCSwitch - A small, flexible tree branch used to spank someone [punish]
Ex: If you don't stop that, I gonna get me a switch and wear you out!Switch cane - Small cane suitable for making a switch to spank a child. [nature]
Take a notion - Decided [intention]
Take after - Resemble in appearance or behavior [family]
Ex: Jack takes after his daddy.Take up with - Cohabitate without the benefit of marriage. Also refers to a cow adopting an orphan calf. [love] [family]
Taken - Took [occurence] [pronunciation]
Ex: He taken the fever and died.Taken - Took [pronunciation]
Ex: He taken the mule over to the Treadwell place.Talk up a storm - Talk a lot [conversation]
Ex: She just talked up a storm.Tallywhacker - Male organ [personal] [censored]
Tan someone's hide or behind - Spank or whip someone [punish]
Ex: If you don't stop that, I gonna get me a switch and tan your hide!Tank - A pond for watering cattle [farm]
Ex: I'm going crawfishing at the cattle tank.Tanked up - drunk [bad-habit]
Ex: Sam was all tanked up last night at the dance.Tee-totally - Totally certain [certainty]
Ex: I'm tee-totally broke.Tell 'em how the cow ate the cabbage - To forcefully tell someone an unpleasant truth [conversation]
Ex: They did not want to hear the truth, but I told 'em how the cow ate the cabbage.Test phrase 2 - Test definition 2 [none]
Info: It comes from a joke in which a circus elephant escapes and gets into an old woman's cabbage patch. The woman, whose eyesight is very bad, calls the sheriff and tell him there is a huge cow in her garden pulling up the cabbages with its tail. When the sheriff asks what the cow is doing with the cabbages, the old lady says, "You would not believe me if I told you!"
Ex: Test example 2The bottom dropped out - It rained very hard [weather]
Info: Test explanation
The signs - The signs of the zodiac [myth] [farm]
Ex: The signs are right to mark the calves.Thick - Maintain a very close friendship [friends]
Info: Farmers needed all the help they could get, and they often timed their activities by the "signs". These are the astrological signs of the zodiac, and it was customary to plant gardens and "work on" calves, for example, only when the "signs are right." On calendars targeted at farmers, the signs were expressed as parts of the body since the signs of the zodiac are said to influence specific parts of the body. Each of the twelve sign usually dominate one or more days of the month. So you might not "work on" calves unless the signs were "in the knees," for example.
Ex: The Smiths and Jones shore are thick.Thick as hair on a dog's back. - Very thick [degree]
Thingamajig (or thingamabob) - An unidentified thing [things] [forget]
Thinks her s**t don't stink - Arrogant [attitude]
Ex: She thinks her s**t don't stink.Thirds and fourths - A crop split between a landwowner and a sharecropper in payment of rent [farm]
Ex: I'm working the Smith farm on thirds and fourths.Three sheets to the wind - Drunk [bad-habit]
Ex: He hit the whiskey pretty hard and was three sheets to the wind.Throw it up to - Reproachfully remind someone of a mistake [conversation]
Thumb up his a** - Stupid [smarts] [censored] [competence]
Tickled, or Tickled to death - Pleased. "Ticked to death" means extremely pleased. [happiness]
Ex: I'd be tickled to have you visit us.Tight - Frugal [money]
Tight - Very close friends [friends]
Ex: They are tight with the Joneses.Tight as a drum - Extremely frugal. [degree]
Tight as Dick's hat band. - Very tight [degree]
Til the water gets hot - short time [time]
Ex: They're in love, but it won't last until the water gets hot.Tired little merchant - A sleepy child [children]
tired, pronounced "tard" - tired [condition]
Ex: I'm plumb tard.Titty baby - An immature person. Used as a taunt by children. [people] [children]
To death - Completely, or very [degree]
Ex: I'd be tickled to death to see you.Toad stringer - Heavy rain. Mispronunciation of "toad strangler." [weather]
Tolerable - OK [condition]
Ex: "How ya' doin'? Tolerable.Tom walkers - Stilts [recreation]
Too big for his britches - Arrogant; inflated sense of self importance [attitude]
Ex: That boy is getting too big for his britches.Too old to cut the mustard - Physically diminished by age [people]
Took - Caught or became infected by an illness [health]
Ex: He took pneumonia and died.Took [food] and had [food]. Somebody's coming hungry - Said when someone takes a food item when they already had it on their plate. [food]
Tote - Carry [working]
Touched in the head - Mentally deficient [mental]
Tow sack - Burlap bag. probably derives from "tote sack." [farm]
Ex: Go get me a tow sac from the barn for these potatoes.Trade - Purchase from a commercial establishment [money]
Ex: We trade at Uncle Bob's store.Traipse - Walk aimlessly or carelessly [travel]
Trash, or Trashy - Dissolute. People who do no care about themselves or their property. [people] [status]
Info: Variation on "white trash."Tree - In hunting, when a dog locates a squirrel or raccoon in a tree. Dogs make a characteristic yelp when they have treed an animal. [recreation]
Ex: Old Blue has treed a squirrel. Indicated by a distinctive bark.Trots - Diarrhea [health]
Ex: I've had the trots all day.Tuckered out - Tired [working]
Info: Refers to frequent trips to the outhouse.
Tumblebug - Pet name for a child. [people] [children]
Info: Alludes to bugs that roll balls of cow manure and use them to lay their eggs.Turn a hand - Work [working]
Ex: She did not turn a hand to help with the dishes after dinner.Turn loose of money - Spend [money]
Turn your damper down - Calm down! [anger]
Info: This refers to the damper on a wood stove or heater, which controls the stove burn rate and thus temperature.Turning plow - A plow that cuts a deep furrow and moves the soil to one side, in contrast to a middle buster plow which turns the soild to both sides. [farm]
Ex: Let's hook up the turning plow to the mule.Turtle hull - Automobile trunk [modern]
Ex: Put the box in the turtle hull.Ugly as homemade soap - Really unattarctive. Refers to lumpy, unattractive homemade lye soap. [appearance]
Ex: That old gal is ugly as homemade soap.Uncle - A respected older man not related to you [people]
Ex: Uncle Bob WeisingerUp against it - Destitute [finance]
Ex: We have been up against it since Roy lost his job.Up and ... - Did something unexpectedly or abruptly [behavior]
Ex: He up and joined the army.Up to it - Capable, not healthy enough [health] [condition]
Ex: I was going to put in another crop this year, but I'm not up to it.Up to snuff - Meet acceptable standards [certainty]
Ex: This building is not up to snuff.Useless as a teat on a boar hog - Useless [character]
Ex: He's useless as a teat on a boar hog.Vigorous ("v-eye-gorous" - Mean or aggressive [attitude] [animals]
Info: Teats on boars are not functional
Ex: That's a vigorous dog.Wagon wheel dollars - Big money. Often used to mock someone who boasts of making big money on a job. [money]
Info: Pronounced VEYE-gor-us (long first "i")
Ex: Joe's working construction down in Houston makin' them wagon wheel dollars.Wakes up in a new world every day. - Absent-minded [smarts]
Ex: I'm like an old goose. I wake up in a new world every day.Wash your mouth out with lye soap - Warning to a child who is sassy or says a naughty word [attitude]
Ex: You say that one more time, and I'll wash your mouth out with lye soap.Watched pot never boils - Too much attention seems to slow the passage of time. [wisdom] [speed]
Info: Lye soap is distatesful.
Wear someone out - Spank or whip someone [punish]
Ex: If you don't stop that, I gonna get me a switch and wear you out!Went and ... - Emphatic way of saying that someone did something [behavior]
Ex: He went and hit him.Went under - Failed [finance]
Ex: That new store in Burke went under/Wet - Urinate [call-of-nature]
Ex: I have to go wet.Wet your plow - Punish [punish]
Ex: You keep doing that, and I'll wet your plow.What in the Sam Hill? - Expression of surprise [conversation]
Info: Probably refers to the fact that a wet plow cuts through the soil with difficulty.
Ex: What in the Sam Hill are you talking about?Whatnot - A small decorative object. [home]
Ex: She needs to dust the whatnots in her living room.When all is said and done - The essence of the matter. The result. [certainty]
Ex: Whena all is said and done, we still won't have enough money to pay the bank note this fall.When all is said and done - At the end or conclusion of anything [time]
Ex: When all is said and done, I don't think it will make any difference.When push comes to shove - When action must be taken, as in "When push comes to shove, we'll have to buy a new truck." [condition] [time]
When the wind comes whistling through the peach orchard - Cold [weather]
Whippersnapper - A young person [appearance] [age]
Ex: Come here, you young whippersnapper!Whistlebritches - Whimsical name for a young male [people] [children]
Whole shebang - Everything [degree]
Ex: They sold the whole shebang--farm, eauipment and cattlep.Whomperjawed - Severly out of alignment [geometry]
Widow woman - widow [people]
Info: Have you been sparking that widow woman?Wiggle tails - Mosquito larvae [nature]
Info: These would often appear in a cistern. The cure was a tablespoon of kerosene, which would cut off air and kill them.Windy, or windy as a bird dog - To talk excessively, especially telling stories that are not true. [truth] [conversation]
Info: The reference to bird dog is unclear.Woods colt - A child born of wedlock [family]
Work on calves - Castrate calves [farm]
Ex: The signs are right to work on calves today.Worry the horns off a billy goat - Extremely annoying [behavior]
Ex: That kid would worry the horns off a billy goat!Wouldn't put it past him - Capable of something. Wouldn't be surprised if he did. [certainty]
Info: Male goats are know for being especially incorrigible.
Ex: He may not be lying, but I would not put it past him.Wouldn't touch him with a ten foot pole. - Have nothing to do with someone [behavior]
Wouldn't trust him as far as I can throw him - Not trustworthy [character]
Ex: I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him.Wring someone's neck - Expression of anger [punish] [anger]
Ex: I'm so mad at you that I could wring your neck.Wrong side out'ards - Inside out [clothing]
Info: Alludes to the common way of killing a chicken.
Ex: You have your shirt on wrong side outwards.Y'all come, or Y'all come to see us - Invitation to visit, usually upon parting. [greeting]
Info: Wrong side outward
Y'all, or You all - Third person plural of you, but sometimes singular [conversation]
Ex: How y'all coin'? You all come to see us.Y'all, or you all - The plural of you. The definitive Texas word. [pronunciation]
Info: The defining Texas word.
Ex: Are y'all coming over on Sunday afternoon?Yard broom - A leaf rake [home]
Yearling ("yurlin'") - A year old cow. Older than a calf but not full grown. [animals] [farm]
Yesiree, Bob! - Enthusiastic agreement [conversation]
Ex: Yesiree, Bob. I'll be there!Yonder - A place removed from here [location]
Info: "Bob" is a substitute for God.
You make your own happiness - No one else can make you happy. You have to do it yourself -- Gertride Johnson Murrah [happiness] [wisdom]
You're sh**ting me - You are joking! [conversation] [censored]
Young 'un - A child [children] [age] [people]
Ex: Them young 'uns are driving me crazy.Young buck - A young man [age]
Info: Alludes to Indian bucksYoung colt - A young boy [age] [people]
Youngun' - A child [children]
Ex: Where are the younguns.
Sources:
- M. Lee Murrah, Personal Recollections