Yall R'nt Frum 'Round Hir Air Ya?

I travel a lot and encounter English speakers with many interesting dialects, here is a tool I hope you find to be useful if you travel to the American Southeast but are not from there:

a- A prefix added to the present participle to make it purtier, e.g. "Abe's a-workin in backer t'day; Ma's a-talkin to you, son!" (see also agwine, agonna; acoming, aworking, etc.)

Afore prep. Just as good as "before" in some parts.

Agonna v. aux. Future tense auxiliary, as in "ahm agonna gichew ifn yew don't quit bothern my dawg!"

Aggravatin a. Bothersome. Etymology: Citified English aggravate meaning "make worse".

Agwine a. Heard mostly in the mountains. Variant of "agonna"

Ahere adv. In this direction, as in Yall come ahere; I got sumpn a show yuh.

Ain't Contraction of "am not." Not really a Southern contribution but usually attributed to them. The problem is not the word, but the use of the word to replace "isn't" and "aren't". Dr. Language has much more so say on this topic.

Air adv. Close to the listener, as in "What is that air thang you got air in yore han', Lela May?" Etymology: City-slicker jargon "there" which arrived through normal channels. Not to be confused with what you breathe, err.

Air up v. Put air in, e.g. I stopped at d'fillin station to air up my tars.

Airy pro. Any but only singular. You got airy (a) coon dog? Antonym of nairy.

All n. A petroleum-based lubricant as in Fill up d'all 'n check duh gas in mah pickup. Yankees for some reason drag this meager three letter word out into three syllables (o-ee-yul) for reasons linguists have yet to explain. (For regular all see awl.)

Allus adv. Always. "Does Roscoe allus keep six pickups on cinderblocks in his back yahd?"

Allow v. To concede, grant, suppose, figure, expect. examples: "I allus allowed he'd hafta git mared.

Anglun n. The country that gave us Anglish.

Atter p. After

Awfully adv. Substitute for "very," which can't be used south of the Mason-Dixon line. "Very" is avoided in the South. See also "mighty".

Awl a. Ever damn one. Damyankees spell it "all".

Backer n. A large cultivated weed you can smoke legally. (Southerners don't get all that excited about the syllables in front of the accented one.)

Backer barn n. Where you cure your backer of what ails it (and what don't).

Bag n. A milk container with four spigots that hangs under the rear end of a cow. For example: "Did you hear about Katie Belle? She wuz amilkin the cow when somebody rolled a hangernade under it and it went off!"
"Lord a-mercy! Was she kilt?"
"No, the cow was and Katie Belle was left holdin the bag!"

Bammer n. The state west of Jawjuh. Capitol is Buhminhayum, e.g. "A tore-nader jes tore through Bammer 'n left $20,000,000 in improvements."

Bard v. Past tense of the infinitive "to borrow." Usage: "My brother bard my pickup truck in never brung it back."

Bare (also byer) n. An alcoholic beverage made of barley, hops and yeast. Usage: "Ah thank ah'll have anover one of dem der bares (byers)."

Bait n. A sufficient portion: "He ate a bait a collards and dey tore his stomach up sump'n awful."

Biddy n. Baby chicken or a middle-aged female human, as in "old biddy".

Bidnis n. What you get down to or stay out of other people's, as in That ain't none a yore dad-burned bidnis! (Southerners don't like "s" before "n", do you?).

Bile v. Boil.

Bless Patsy exp. A pleasant expletive phrase expressing surprise. (Patsy is a Southern saint of euphemisms.)

Bless your heart! exp. A nice expletive expressing approval and encouragement.

Boat n. (1) A screw with a nut on it that you tighten with a ranch, as in, "Pass me dat-air munky ranch, Homer Joe, sos'n I can tighten up dis-here head boat." (2) A marine vessal.

Bob war n. A twisted wire studded with barbs. Usage: "Boy, stay away from that-air bob war fence!"

Booger n. Nose stuffing; a rascal, as in "Come here, you little booger!"

Booger man n. Something or somebody that'll gitcha.

Briarberry n. The wild blackberry, so called for the briars that afflict their leaves and stems.

Buzzard n. Horsefly or other variety of large fly. Southerners don't see much of the scavenger bird, so the word was left over and, well, we put it to use.

Cackleberry n. Egg. Go figure.

Caint v. aux. Can not.

Carry on v. Overdo your actions or make a lot of fuss, as in, "Yall young'ns stop a-carryin on so; we cain't hear each other talk."

Care v. Take though it sounds more like "carry", as in "I'mon care Mary Sue tooda dance Saerdy night."

Catty-corner(ed) a. Diagonal.

Cattywampus a. Askew, awry; not straight.

Chicken Fried Steak n. A steak fried in gravy until gray and harmless.

Citify v. To take the country out of the boy; said by some to be impossible.

Citified v. Urban or urbane. Takes yuh pick.

City slicker n. Wunna dem smaht fokes whut lives in town.

Co-Cola n. The most famous of the cold dranks.

Collards n. A leafy vegetable high in iron and, when cooking, odors.

Conniption n. A major fit, total loss of control of one's temper; you pitch a conniption (cf. hissy).

Coon n. (Rac)coon. Syllables preceding the accented one seldom catch the attention of people born below the Mason-Dixon line. See also backer, Bammer, gater, Lanner, tater.

Coot n. As in "old coot"; a person over 60 years of age.

Cooter n. Turtle or a general name of affection.

Corn bread A lethal form of bread made from cornmeal fried in pork lard.

Cracker n. A native of Jawjuh.

Creation n. The world: "Where in creation did you git that-air todefrawg from?"

Critter n. Creature, with special preference for animals.

Cuber n. The island surrounding Havaner.

Cut on/off v. Turn on/off.

Cut up v. Show off

Dad burned a. The quality of bringing disappointment or frustration, as in "How'd all them dadburned "D's" git on your report card?."

Dad burn it! exp. A borderline expletive expressing disappointment or frustration. "Dad burn it! Ah hit my finger widda hammer agin!"

Damyankee n. City-slickers from exotic places like New York, Chicago or Philadelphia. (Notice down South it is one word.)

Dang part. Expresses almost anything you want it to.

Dang nabbed a. Characterized by disappointing or frustrating features. (See "dad burned").

Dang nabbit! See "Dawg nabbit".

Dawg n. An animal of the canine persuasion.

Dawg nabbit! exp. A nice expletive expressing disappointment or frustration.

Differnt a. Not the same, different.

Dinner n. The meal et around the middle of the day.

Dissermember v. Antonym of "member," to forget.

Doohickey n. A Southern thingamabob.

Dried apple An extreme kind of "damn" as in "I don't give a dried-apple damn if you do it or not!"

Drink n. Soda, pop.

Druther v. aux. To prefer, as in "I druther watch "The Wheel"; how abou chew?"

Edgy-cation n. Larnin whut gives you a edge in life. "He got lots of smarts but not much edgy-cation."

Err n. A colorless, odorless gas containing oxygen, as in: "He cain't breathe. . . givvim some err!"

Et v. past tense. The past tense of eat, also found in other English dialects, such as Received Pronunciation, as in: "How many dem poke sawssigiz dijoo eat, Caeser Earl?" "Et two, Brutus Bob. That's all."

Ever a. Quicker form of "every"

Everbody pro. Not excluding anyone. (The pronouns "everyone", "someone", etc. with "one" instead of "body" are avoided by real Southerners.)

Eye-talian n. Fokes from Itly.

Far n. A conflagration. For example:"What did the Wise Men do for a livin?" "I don't know what?" "Dey was farmen." "How joo know dat?" "Well, hit sez in duh Bible dat when dey came to see baby Jesus, dey was a-comin from a-far."

Farn a. Not from America, not domestic, as in "I don't unnerstan a wuhd he sed. I reckon he comes from some farn country."

Farner a. Somebody whut done come from a farn country.

Fetch v. Go, get, and bring back. Another example of clever compacting in the Southern dialects.

Fix n. A mess, trouble: "Sally May has really got herself in a fix, now!

Fixin v. aux. Getting ready to: "I'm fixin to leave."

Fixins n. What is needed to prepare a dish.

Fokes n. People (good ol' boys and girls).

For crying out loud! Well, I'll be darned!

Frazzle v. Wear out, fatigue, especially the nerves. "His nerves have been frazzled ever since his finger got caught in the corn sheller."

Frizzly a. Messed up, uncontrollable, as the her on y'haid.

Fur piece n. A long way, a great distance

Gallivant v. Travel widely, ignoring one's responsibilities, cf. "Emma Mae, whir've yew been a-gallivantin around all day?"

Galluses n. Suspenders, probably derived from gallows.

Gator n. The larval stage of alligator boots and pocketbooks. (Initial syllables often elude detection in the South. See also backer, Bammer, possum, Lanner, tater.)

Goober pea n. Peanut

Gol darn (it)! exp. An expression of surprise or frustration.

Gol darned exp. Yet another expression of surprise or frustration.

Gosh dang exp. Southerners are easily surprised and frustrated .

Gosh dang it! exp. Yet another expression of surprise or frustration.

Goodness gracious! exp. An expression of surprise you can use in front of your mother.

Gracious me! exp. Another expression of surprise you can use in front of your mother.

Grits n. Do you have to ask?

Gubmint n. A bureaucratic institution. Usage: "Them gubmint boys shore is ignert."

Gwine v. aux. Mountain variant for "on" ("I'm on whup you!) or "agonna" (I'm agonna whip you!).

Hafta v. aux. Modal auxiliary indicating obligation. (Must is a word not found in most Southern dialects).

Haid n. The uppermost part of a human or animal body. Etymology: Early High-Falutin head.

Haint n. (1) A supernatural spirit that means living fokes no good; (2) a variant of ain't.

Hawg n. An animal of the porcine persuation, as in That's my hawg a-wawkin over yonder. Southerners like to separate the lip-rounding from the "ah" sound in words like dog, hog, thought, walk, ought, and pronounce it after the "ah". Yankees do it all at one time.

Hayseed n. Somebody without much larnin, that is, edgy-cation; usually from the sticks. In other words, fokes rednecks look down on. (We all have to have someone, don't we?)

Heap quan. A lot. "But dahlin, don't hit me; I loves you a whole heap."

Heidi greet. As in "Heidi doo!" Simpler (and faster) way to put "How do you do". Exact date when the Germans borrowed it from the South remains obscure.

Her n. The frizzly stuff growing on yore haid and elsewhir round yore body.

Her'n poss. pro. Belonging to her: "The pickup ain't her'n but everthang else is." Etymology: either morphological analogy from "mine" or the Southern suffix "-n" found elsewhere in "young'n", etc.

High-falutin a. Extremely fancy.

Hire yew greet. Variant of "Heidi doo!" used divine the current state of the listener. In fact the two phrases may be combined as in, "Heidi, hire yew?

His'n poss. pro. Belonging to him, as in "Are them-air boots mine, yourn or his'n." (See "her'n" for more.)

Hissy n. A minor fit, slight loss of control of one's temper (cf. conniption); you pitch a hissy or hissy fit.

Hit pro. (3rd person neuter). "I was a-tawkin to him when hit hit me dat he warn't a-movin his lips."

Hoe cake n. Not what's left on your hoe after weeding but bread made from corn meal. Sorta like cornbread.

Hope (holp) v. Past tense of help. All English-speaking people used to use it. Helped is a recent innovation.

Holler n. A small valley ("They live down there in Coon Holler"). v. Talk at the top of your voice ("You young'ns stop yore whoopin anna hollerin for a minit sos'n we can unnerstan what we're a-sayin").

Hoot 'na holler n. A short distance: "Why he lives just a hoot 'na holler from hyere."

Hot damn exp. An especial damn, as in a hot sale or a hot deal.

Huckleberry n. Blueberries found in the woods.

Ice n. A bad word we can't use here. For example: how to you ketch a polar bar? Well, fust you digs a hole in the ice. Then you sprankle peas awl round it. Now, when the polar bar stops to take a pea, you kicks him in the ice hole.

Idear n. Idea with overcompensation.

Idnit? Same problem as with bidnis—them "s's" before "n" again.

If that don't beat all! A phrase expressing surprise.

If'n conj. Variation of "if". (Southerners love their new suffix, -n, so much, they stick it everywhere. See "young'n" and "his'n".

Ignert a. Not smart, as in "Dem Bammer boys sure are ignert!"

Jawjuh n. Southen state that gave us Martin Luther King, Jr. and Jimmy Carter. (Thanks.) The capitol is Lanner. Usage:"My bruvver from Jawjuh runs duh biggis junkyard in Lanner."

Jawl subj-pred. Contraction of "Did yall...?", as in "Jawl know whir I can git some cornbread 'n grits this time a night?"

Kick up a ruckus verb phrase. Cause a commotion.

Kin to a. Related to (someone)

Kissin kin n. Kith and kin as pernounced by fokes what don't lithp. Them "th's" again.

Lanner n. Capitol of Jawjuh. Uptown pronunciation: Lana.

Lawg n. What you cut trees up into.

Light bread n. Store-bought white bread, as opposed to corn bread and biscuits (real bread).

Liver puddin n. Sausage made from highly peppered pig liver.

Looky exp. What you say when you hear they're putting liver puddin on the table.

Looky hyeer! v. Emphatic variant of "Looky." "Looky hyeer" and "Look a-here" are purt near the same.

Lord a'mercy! inter. What you say when thangs get out of control.

Lordy, lordy! exp. Something else that works in a bad situation.

Lot n. Enclosure for the cows and mules by the barn.

Mash v. (1) Push (a button). (2) Squush up, as in "mash potatoes".

Mawnin n. The early part of the day.

Member v. Remember. (See also backer, Bammer, possum, Lanner, tater.) Antonym: dissermember.

Meer n. A looking glass.

Mess n. A peck a'trouble or a serving, as in "He et a big mess of greens afore they let him eat any pie."

Might could v. aux. Might be able to. Auxiliaries don't scare Southerners they way they scare Northerners; we string them together fearlessly, "I might coulda finished choppin the wood if'n hit hadn't rained."

Mighty adv. Substitute for "very", which can't be used south of the Mason-Dixon line. "Very" is avoided in the South. See also "awfully".

Moo juice n. Milk. You figure it out.

Munt n. A calendar division. Usage: "My brother from Jawjuh bard my pickup truck, 'n I ain't heard from him in munts."

Murry n. (1) Marry; n. prop. (2) Mary; (3) Murray; a. (4) merry As in "Did Murry murry Murry, mama?" or "Murray Crismus, Murry!"

-n Suffix for creating nouns from adjectives: young-n, little-n, big-n, that-n over yonder. However, Southerners are so proud of it, they stick it on a lot of other words: "if'n", "his'n", "her'n", "sos'n," etc.

Nairy quan. Not one, none: "They ain't nairy (a) one in the house." Antonym of airy.

Nearbout adv. About, nearly.

No 'count a. Worthless

Okry n. A poddy vegetable that cooks up slimy but delicious if you put a slice of fatback in with it.

On v. aux. Future tense marker, as in "I'm on gichu!" Etymology: Uptown English "going to" (believe it or not!)

Ornery a. Mean, hard to get along with.

Orshter n. A nasty marine bivalve whose looks belie its edibility.

Orta v. aux. Ought to, as in "You orta not tawk wif yore mouf full."

Outta kilter a. (1) Crooked; (2) not working properly. "My frigerator's outta kilter and won't keep the bare cold."

Overcompensation In many dialects speakers try to compensate for characteristic features that are ridiculed by others. Since Southerners are accused of dropping their r's, they compensate by adding this sound to the end of words. Problem is, they don't know where the r's go, since they have never pronounced them, so they often put them where they are not supposed to go, e.g. "Cuber," (At)lanter," "(Ala)bammer," and so forth.

Part n. (Usually plural) Region, area. "Ain't there no udder rednecks in these parts?"

Pastry n. Flat dumplings boiled in chicken fat with chunks of chicken. The PA Dutch call it "chicken pot pie".

Pea can n. The correct pronunciation of pecan (not pee-KAHN!—I can't help what it sounds like correctly pronounced.)

Pester v. Annoy, persistently bother.

Pitcher n. (1) a vessal for holding and pouring water; (2) a visual representation of something, as a photograph. The "t" is silent.

Pick on v. Pester someone in particular.

Pile (a) quan. A lot (of), as in "Everthang you sed is a pile a crap, Lonnie Sue!"

Pistol n. (1) Someone who is really good (She's a pistol when it comes to churnin butter); (2) Someone who is unpredictable (Got married last night? She's a pistol, I'm atellin you!) Etymology: Old Yankee term referring to a small firearm.

Plain(a) a. Somewhat ugly, e.g. "She's a plain girl, ain't she, a-wearin that air tow-sack dress a her'n?"

Plane (a) adv. Downright, as in "That's plane ignert, whut you jes sed."

Play possum v. Act like you're asleepin or pretend in general.

Plumb adv. Completely: "Are you plumb crazy?"

Plunder v. Rummage around, as in "Who's been plunderin around in my underwear drawer 'n mixed up the dirty stuff with the clean stuff?"

Poach n. A place on the front of your house where you sit in the swing of a Sunday afternoon and watch the cars go by. Forerunner of the "deck".

Pocketbook n. A woman's purse (a bag is something different).

Poke n. (1) A sack, as in a pig in a poke; (2) pork, as in "Gimme wunna dem poke chops, hunny."

Polecat n. (1) Skunk; (2) a really bad person.

Pooch (out) v. Stick out: Why are your lips pooched out like that?

Possum n. Opossum. Southerners are characteristically uninterested in what comes before the accented syllable of a word. See also backer, Bammer, gater, Lanner, member, tater.

Puny a. Weak, sickly, as in "Thank ah'll stay home; ah feel a little puny today."

Purdy, Purt a. Attractive, as in She's downright purdy. Fairly, Hey, that came purt near hittin me!

Purt near adv. Nearly, close to.

Ranch n. A tool used for tight'nin boats. Usage: "I thank I left my ranch in the back of that pickup Ise tighnin duh boats on."

Rascal a. Mischievous person. That rascal

Reckon v. Think, figger. "I reckon he done got too big fer his britches, thinkin he's a lawyer."

Recollect v. Remember

Retard v. Past tense of retar. To have stopped working due to age "Paw retard when he hit 95."

Rye-cheer adv. Very close to the speaker, as in Why's you build yore still rye-chere under the porch, Donnie Lou?

Rile v. Stir something or someone up. Etymology: From Early High-Falutin roil (see also bile.)

Ruckus n. A loud noise or anything that makes one. Etymology: Early High-Falutin raucus, where it was bard from Latin.

-s Present tense suffix. "I knows, you knows, he/she/it knows; we knows, yall knows, they knows."

Saerdy n. The sixth day of the week.

Scalawag n. "a white Southerner acting in support of the reconstruction governments after the American Civil War often for private gain." -Merriam-Webster, 10th ed. (The reference of this word has become must broader lately.)

Scannel n. A mean person: "What a sorry scannel he is!" Etymology: damyankee scoundrel.

Seed v. past tense of "to see." Variant of "seen" (I ain't seen him in a coon's age).

Seen v. Some people use this as the past tense of "to see" (I seen 'im over yonder this mawnin).

Septin prep. With the exception of, as in, "Everbody ate his collards septin Rachael Ann."

Shore a. Positive, as in "Are you shore you know whir we are?"

Shore doo Definitely: "Do you luv orshters?" "Shore doo!"

Show n. Short for "picher show", a motion picture.

Smack (dab) a. Precisely, as in "smack dab in the middle."

Smart a. Diligent, enjoys working. "Ain's she smart; she's already cleaned up the mess Uncle Billy made!"

Smarts n. A kind of intelligence found down South. Etymology: derived via the suffix -s from the adjective "smart".

Someone pro. Doesn't exist in real Southern. You can only say somebody, anybody.)

Sorry a. No good, as in Ain't he a sorry scannel?!

Sos'n conj. So that.

Sot (down) Past tense of sit, as in Jis as soon as I sot down, them fokes started makin fun of my hercut.

Spell (1) A while, a stretch of time. (2) Trying to get the letters of a word in the right order. (It hain't easy.)

Stob Accidentally hit your toe on something sticking up from the ground. Etymology: Middle High-Falutin stub (your toe), which arrived through normal channels.

Sticks, the n. Far from civilization; way out in the backwoods.

Still (1) Yet; (2) distillery. (Again, all them unaccented syllables don't catch the attention of people born below the Mason-Dixon line.)
Story (tell a) Well, sorta, you know, tell a lie. For example: That's a story, mama! I never told his girlfriend he et snails!

Study Pay attention to, as in Lula Mae, you might as well stop amakin faces 'cause I ain't studin a thang you do!

Sump'n Something.

Sump'n teet Food.

Sugar n. As in "Gimme some sugar": affection, a chance to snuggle your neck, huggin' or kissin' or both.

Supper The meal (supposed to be) et around 5 o'clock.

Swaller What you do after you chew sump'n up. (Overcompensating "r")

Tar n. A rubber wheel, as in "Hot damn, I hope that brother o' mine from Jawjuh don't git a flat tar in my pickup truck."

Tarnation An acceptable substitute in the presence of ladies for "damnation".

Tater n. The potatoe. (See comment under "coon" and "possum")

Tawk v. To communicate using language.

Tell the news Scream bloody murder. Boy, ain't that young'n tellin the news?

Thang Any object, concrete or otherwise. Etymology: City-slicker "thing".

Thank v. The ability to cognitively process. Usage: "Ah thank ah'll have a bare."

Their'n poss. pro. Predicate possessive pronoun for "their", for exampe: "Theys always atakin thangs that ain't their'n." Etymology: The other Southern suffix -n that is added to all possessive pronouns to make the predicate form (mine, yourn, his'n, our'n, their'n).

Them pro. Those. "Jimmy John, where in the world did you git them pants?"

Them-air pro. Variant of "them": "Jimmy John, where in the world did you git them-air pants?"

Them-air yonder pro. Those not near by. "An by the way, whose is them-air pants (over) yonder?"

They pro. (1) There. (2) They. "Whirs them air nails I bawt, Willy Earl?" "Why, they's rye-cheer, Uncle Bubba. If'n they'd abeen a snake, hit wood abicha."

Tire n. A tall construction, often found in Europe. Usage: "If'n the Lord's willin' and the creek don't rise, I shore plan to see that Eiffel Tire when I go to Paris (Texas, that is)."

Toad v. Past tense of "tell", as in "I toad you so!"

Todefrawg n. Either a toad or a frog. Southerners don't worry about the differnce since if either one pees on you, you gits warts!

Tore-down a. In less than optimal condition.

Tore Nader n. No relation to Ralph: a strong, spinning wind that stirs things up considerably.

Tote v. Carry.

Tow sack a. Burlap bag.

Tune up v. Start crying. "When Ginny Mae didn't git any candy, she tuned up and gave out a squall they heard in Kalamazoo."

Turn loose v. Release oneself to wild abandon. "He turned loose and cut a jig right air in d'livin room!" (Notice the French influence.)

Udder a. Not this/these. "Ain't you got no udder kind a veggie-tables septin deeze?"

Uppin v. aux. (probably) To do something suddently or unexpectedly: "I toad him we's havin liver puddin fer dinner and he uppin died."

Up side adv. On the side of, as in "Hit somebody upside the haid."

Veggie-table n. Not the salad bar but edible plants like field peas, butterbeans, collards, okry, snap beans, and the like.

Vetern n. Somebody who fought in a war and came back home.

View v. cont. A phrase used to find out it someone else has done something, as in "I hain't never seed New York City, view?"

Vittles n. Anything worth eating.

Wadn't it? That pesky little "s" before "n". (See "bidnis", "idnit").

Waller Wallow

Warnt (1) Negative of "were", as in Hit warnt his fault. (2) A piece of paper that gives somebody the right to tear up your still, as in Billy Joe I got a warnt rye-cheer to tear up yore still.

Wawk v. The opposite of "run".

Whir pro. The interrogative place pronoun, as in "Whirred yew put my galluses, mama?"

Whup v. Inflict physical pain on someone younger and/or smaller than you using a leather strap or switch.

Whoaman n. An adult of the female persuasion. Etymology: commonly thought to come from the response of many Southern women to the advances of pesky males.

Wuhd n. Things that make up sentences.

Yahoo n. A ignert hayseed from the sticks. (Antonym: "city slicker")

Yall pro. The plural of "you".

Yankee n. See "damyankee."

Yonder adv. (over here, over there, over yonder)

Young'n (See -n) A young thing, a baby.

Yousta v. aux. indicating past frequentative activity, as in "I yousta smoke but now I druther chaw." (Speading to the North even as you waste your time reading this.)