Small towns are notorious for it. It can spread faster than a pat of butter on a hot biscuit. It can be funny or hurtful, friendly or mean, true as true can be or bald-faced lies. It’s repercussions can last for just a hot minute or for years and years and years. What is this … Continue reading Between You, Me, and the Fence Post
Tag: linguistics
From Snoot to Tail: Here are all the idioms about pigs!
Pigs are popular in the South, both on our farms and on our plates. The poor vegetarian is hard pressed to find so much as a collard leaf that hasn’t been seasoned with salt pork or a sliver of green tomato that hasn’t been fried in lard. And all manner of swine flesh appears on … Continue reading From Snoot to Tail: Here are all the idioms about pigs!
Going to Hell in a Handbasket
It’s time we had a frank discussion about hell. You know … down there, the hot place, Hades. Anyone who’s ever sat through a Baptist sermon knows that if you don’t get right, you’re gonna get left (thank you to my friend Phil Proctor for giving me that saying many years ago). I have to … Continue reading Going to Hell in a Handbasket
Am I in Hell or is it just summertime?
It's not the heat it’s the damned humidity! You hear that plenty down here in the South. And it’s true! Our close proximity to the Gulf of Mexico means that the air is pretty well waterlogged with tropical moisture. And while this muggy climate is great for your skin, it’s bad for your health. You … Continue reading Am I in Hell or is it just summertime?
The Devil’s Beating His Wife
Come late spring, early summer we in the South, at least here in Alabama, enter a strange weather period. It could be 90 degrees one day, but it might be 70 the next. One minute it’s dead calm and you think you’ll drown in the humidity, then all of a sudden a nice breeze will … Continue reading The Devil’s Beating His Wife
Where is “yonder”?
The question of the day is just where is “yonder”? Or should the question be how far away is “yonder”? Or maybe it’s what the hell is a “yonder”? If you already know the answer, you're a card-carrying Southerner but you should still read on for fun. If you don't know the answer, today's your … Continue reading Where is “yonder”?
Some days peanuts…
Some days an idea hits me. Ker-BLAAAP!!! I don’t know where it comes from. It just appears, all of a sudden like, in my mind. And before I can hardly get to my keyboard, the words come rushing out, in pretty much the right order, and line up across the page like little soldiers in … Continue reading Some days peanuts…
If it was a snake…
I am notoriously absent-minded. I leave the lights on. I leave the oven on. I misplace things. I forget things. I’ve even been known to get out of the shower without rinsing the conditioner out of my hair. Once I left the house with only one eyebrow drawn on because I got distracted while I … Continue reading If it was a snake…
Up a creek without a pot, a window, or a dog
I love to use idioms in my everyday speech. It livens things up. Makes the things you say more interesting. Catches dull people off guard. Gets an occasional laugh. And y’all know I’m all about a laugh. A few idioms that I especially like are multi-parters — you can add on to them for emphasis. … Continue reading Up a creek without a pot, a window, or a dog
Sick as a dog and other Southern sayings for when you feel like poo
A bout with a sinus infection, fever, bronchitis, and all the yuck that goes along with being sick has me thinking about Southern sayings again. I’ve definitely used several over the last few days. And as I sit here under my favorite afghan surrounded by a pile of Kleenexes (both used and not) sipping on … Continue reading Sick as a dog and other Southern sayings for when you feel like poo