Answer: I've heard the expression often. Example: Thats too much. Today, our communities and schools are severely under-resourced, widening the achievement gap and hindering many Black Americans chances at getting a good job. Its been a long time. But saying, "no, you do not look like Boo-Boo The Fool" is worse than a wrong answer, because duh, the question is rhetorical. I guess we dont want to make the other person feel like we're no longer interested in their conversation. Example: You made this pecan pie? It's a vivid phrase, and it's an accurate one too. Black is modest and arrogant at the same time. And the tone in this question is without regard to our egregious student loans, deflated wages, high rent, as if it's purely by choice. Black is lazy and easy- but mysterious. It draws a line saying "no matter how much I love you, this relationship ain't equal". This phrase is attributed to Benjamin Franklin. There's a tree stump in a Louisiana swamp with a higher IQ. Meaning: (Verb) A conniption fit is an action in which a person is angry at someone or something which he or she verbally shows. Meaning: (Phrase) The term not the sharpest tool in the shed means a person is not smart enough. 3. For non, Los Angeles residents, that's the same time it would take you to commute from New York City to Philadelphia on the train. Example: Will you cut that out or am I gonna leave you here? It is a quintessential Southern phrase, said by friends and family on porches and in rocking chairs all across the South. You have to admit, this silly imagery definitely gets the point across! I just couldnt take it anymore! No bigger than a minnow in a fishing pond is as tiny as can be. Constantly filling up your gas tank feels like a waste of an expense. Meaning: (Phrase) The South Carolina term hold your horses means to wait and be patient. Example: I will pinch a plug out of you if you dont stop running around as if youre inside an empty house. Don't piss on my leg and tell me it's rainin'! Our mothers and grandmothers have given us so much. Meaning: (Phrase) Hug yer neck is a term used by older people when they want to hug the kids. (Most of these comments are made about women. You're lower than a snake's belly in a wagon rut. Meaning: (Phrase) Like white on rice is an American south saying so old, that nobody knows when it came out. It is used to describe the human anatomy like the heart. beat box. Example: Hi! Meaning: (Phrase) Cotton pickin minute is an intensifier used as a Southern saying that means to move at a speed of how much time it is to pick a basketful of cotton which is around 1.31 minutes. Travel anywhere below the Mason-Dixon Line and you're bound to hear a friendly "Y'all," a cheeky "Bless Your Heart," or any of these other classic Southern sayings. I'm fixin' to fix the porch door after I finish this sweet tea. I love you a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck. Meaning: (Noun) A ding-dong is a person who lacks common sense because he or she is mentally challenged. Example: Hello, little miss priss. If you've just had a big Southern lunch, complete with cornbread, collard greens, and pecan pie, you're definitely full as a tick. You are slow as molasses! The term then was used when there is something odd or unfamiliar in the community. I think the "oh, my hind foot" expression is just a cleaned up version of, "oh, my a**. That's where the phrase "Do I look like Boo-Boo The Fool?" That nonsense came out of a pigs lips! Again, black parents are masters at humbling you. "He's so cheap he wouldn't give a nickel to see Jesus ridin' a bicycle." Advertisement - Continue Reading Below. And really, wouldn't we all druther have our druthers? Meaning: (Hyperbole) The term slap you silly is hyperbole for someone who is mad and can slap another person. Therefore, Southerners call this kind of act from a person madder than a wet hen.. I'm fixin' to tell you that this phrase is as Southern as sweet tea. Meaning: (Expression) Goodness gracious is an expression used when a person is shocked by something he or she learned about. I challenge these people to ask themselves, who exactly owns language and who has the power to assign normative ideals to other forms of expression? Language evolves, grows and is malleable depending on the space one occupies. One expression that I've never been able to find was one used in my family. Come down here with clean hands, okay? In Black American English, this phrase means asking for something in a vague, circuitous way. Don't pee down my back and tell me it's raining. Therefore, people, mostly children, use I suwanne! to emphasize that he or she is telling the truth. It's cold enough to freeze the balls off a pool table. Meaning: (Phrase) The phrase proud as a peacock is a saying about a person who is proud and full of him/herself. It was also once used to warn against saying the devil's name for fear he would appear. (give someone a peice of your mind) Give me some sugar (give me a kiss) Go hog wild. (Translation: A very large bra. It's plain as a pig on a sofa. So it really hurts when a celebrity does something that embarrasses us. Example: Why do you worry so much? If you grew up in the church this one will ring so many bells. So when asking for a childhood luxury such as McDonalds, knowing good and well your parents went out of their way to buy weekly groceries to cook for your ungrateful self, they are going to ask you one simple question to determine if you can in fact have McDonalds: Do you have McDonalds money? From the tone in their voice to the look on their face, the question is extremely condescending. 2023 The Arena Media Brands, LLC and respective content providers on this website. Example: Hes like a bull in a China shop. (Translation: That's as good as it gets! A multipurpose Southernism. She was so ugly when she was born that her momma used to borrow a baby to take to church on Sunday. Bless your heart. If you just heard your mama come home and you haven't finished your chores, she will definitely be "madder than a wet hen." Meaning: (Phrase) The phrase wound tighter than a clock refers to a person so stressed out that its beyond healthy measures. He wont stop! I've looked all over hell and half of Georgia to find the best and funniest Southern sayings for all y'all, and I sure hope they tickled you as much as they tickled me. Yet, this is exactly why you cleaned the whole house, massaged your moms back, told her you loved her and put a smile on your face before quietly entering her room to ask for a Happy Meal. One of the most recent times is when he dyed his hair several colors trying to look like a rainbow sherbet push-pop. ", "You don't watch out, I'm gonna cream yo' corn. Does that mean a Southern accent? Example: Heavens to Betsy! Meaning: (Phrase) This phrase is used when a person cant see what hes looking for even when its right in front of him. Made famous by Forrest Gump, this phrase reminds us to look a little deeper. Question: What does "Wake with the South In My Mouth" mean? Perhaps it's a term carried over from wartime when soldiers hid in foxholes to avoid enemy fire? This is the couth Southerner's way of insulting your intelligence without using so many words. Don't underestimate the power of a good friend's ear. I called the house phone, but it rang busy and I forgot your cell phone number. Bless your heart Meaning: (Expression) The expression "bless your heart" is a Southern-style slang that women use when speaking ill about somebody. Well butter my butt and call me a biscuit. Example: She keeps playin possum even though we know the things she has done. Scenario: your parent storms into your room unannounced, without knocking, because why would they knock in their own house? It is a physical and mental state a few degrees past weary and just this side of dog-tired. Don't pee down my back and tell me it's raining. That means whatever you're talking about is worth less than very little. "Excuse me? That makes about as much sense as tits on a bull. Also, do you have any good comebacks when someone asks you, "What do you know?". I have yet to see a reparation check for the work my ancestors did. And of course, there's nothing prettier than a warm summer day picking peaches in the sunshine. Also called June beetles. Grinnin' like a possum eatin' a sweet tater. Meaning: (Phrase) The Southern words take your own sweet time means to not rush when doing something. Cows aren't known for their speed, and they are usually out and about, wandering until feeding time. Meaning: (Onomatopoeia) These Southern words mean that a person should keep quiet or stop talking. So ugly shed make a freight train take a dirt road. Who wouldnt be that way when your life is on the line? Answer: I believe that the expression is "Happy as a lark", a bird noted for it's cheerful, happy song. One Time: Police Slang Words And How Cops Got Their Nicknames, The History Of Black People With Blue Eyes, Prominent Black Professionals Sue Hulu Over 94 Freaknik Documentary Release, Halle Berry's Nude Photo Sparks Hateful Tweet About 'Aging With Dignity', Video Shows Racist Coach Mark Taylor Driving Around Atlanta Complaining About All The Black People, Candace Owens Cries About Designer Who Refused To Work With Her Or Her Husband, Suggests It's Like 'Jim Crow', Tennessee Republican Who Led Charge To Expel Black Dems Might Be In Violation Of State Constitution: Report, Jonathan Majors Has Already Been Found Guilty In The Court Of Public Opinion, Why Did tWitch Kill Himself? "What do you know?" ", she asks. (And, of course, we have too.) Maybe you've heard that "still waters run deep." She taught us this, and we took it to heart. Example: Come on! Example: I am tickled pink to see my new picket fence! Hunted prey such as raccoons or bears would escape the dogs by climbing up trees. However, if you're from the South, you know that sometimes there's just no other way to get your point across. Rather, when this phrase is used, we'd like you to mind your manners and stop acting inappropriately. There's only so much you can do (but do what you can anyway). We care about your data. It is an empathetic phrase that is usually uttered when the speaker believes the recipient to be sweet, but misguided or stupid. This phrase deserves a whole post alone. All Rights Reserved. They say youll find the sweetest and most hospitable people in the south. Black people built this country for free and were the backbone of the economy during slavery. Meaning: (Phrase) Over yonder means over there in Southern slang. For Black Americans in particular, our heritage and native tongue were taken during the transatlantic slave trade. Got it? This phrase is usually followed by an adjective or a descriptive noun. This occurs when someone feels too comfortable with you and has taken your demeanor as an indicator that anything can be said or done. Maybe you do look like boo-boo the fool". Collaboration is one thing. He's so cheap he wouldn't give a nickel to see Jesus ridin' a bicycle. No Bigger Than a Minnow in a Fishing Pond, A Rooster One Day and A Feather Duster the Next. Growing up in a black household, nothing is really yours; your parents are simply kind enough to let you temporarily and carefully use something. If his brains were dynamite, he couldnt blow his nose. Example: Im heading out to get a coke. Blessed and highly favored a positive affirmative that black folks use to say that they have been blessed throughout life. For example, let's say a kid comes home past their curfew and the parent asks the child why they are late. Updated. Here are a few famous Black people sayings that you may or may not know. Black folks, most likely from the South of the Midwest, took it a step further and completely got rid of the second consonant sound, creating bae. You know you overheard those church ladys at the Sunday potluck saying, "Bless her heart" or would catch the tail end of "I'll knock you into the middle of next week looking both ways for Sunday!" Meaning: (Expression) The expression bless your heart is a Southern-style slang that women use when speaking ill about somebody. Answer: "Speak of the devil" is part of the expression, "Speak of the devil and he shall appear." Of course you don't have McDonald's money, you could be as young as young as five or six years old. Stop right there! : I am tickled pink to see my new picket fence: am. 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