New to Nashville

Three Southern Sayings I’ve Learned Since Moving to Nashville

(Image courtesy of Brent and MariLynn via Flickr)

1. “Might Could”

Pronounced: (mīt kood) - v.

Defined: Could.

Redundancy aside, this is by far my favorite Southern-ism. Almost always used in a helpful, constructive context. For example:

“I’m experiencing difficulty slicing onions.”

“Hmm...well, you might could try wearing glasses. Always works for me!”

2. “Used to could”

Pronounced: (yOOzd tu kood) - v.

Defined: was once able.

A slight variation on “might could” (see above) and normally used to lament a lost skill, or inability, such as:

“I can’t dunk a basketball, but I used to could.”

3. “Bless your heart.”

Pronounced: (bles yur härt)

Defined: You’re so stupid.

Used primarily to soften the blow in polite company when someone has, through a question or statement, revealed their ignorance on a certain matter. Especially appropriate when giving “out-of-towners” directions, such as:

“Excuse me, do you happen to know where the Ryman Theater is?”

”Bless your heart, it’s right around the corner from here up on 5th Avenue.”

Bonus - “Ornery as a cat turd”

Pronounced: (ôr’nu-rē az uh kat tûrd)

Defined: ???

Ok, I actually have no idea what this means, and, to be fair, I heard this one down in Florida. But hey, I’ll never forget it, and it’s a chance to tell the story.

While working on a volunteer trip near Arcadia, Florida, a few friends and I stopped by an orange grove to ask if we could buy some oranges. We were met by your stereotypical, grizzled, old, overalls-wearing farmer-type. As I approached the front gate, his dog ran out toward out group, barking wildly. He then quickly yelled out, “Oh, don’t worry about him. He’s as ornery as a cat turd.”

In any case, not only did he give us more oranges then we knew what to do with, he refused to charge us a penny, and we got quite the tour of his land. I’ll never forget that saying though…

Any more to add to my list?

Ha - great list, Matt! 

My favorite southern expression of all time is “bless your heart.” But I don’t think it’s meaning as *quite* as harsh as you suggest (or maybe I’ve just been using it incorrectly all my life?).  I always viewed it as more of a “I just feel so bad for your unfortunate situation/helplessness/ignorance and I don’t know what else to say and still come off as a compassionate person”.  Either way, I think most southern expression are open to interpretation.

I could add many more to your list, but must go earn my living now.  Glad to see you embracing southern culture

Thanks!

Good point on the “bless your heart.” “You’re so stupid” does sound a bit harsh, but I’ve always interpreted it with a kind, gentle tone of voice - a loving “you’re so stupid,” if you will.

A friend pointed out to me (off comments) that I left off a great one - “fixin’ to.” That’s one of my favorites too.

I was just about to say “fixin’ to"… I pride myself on having a decent vocabulary for a born-and-raised Tennessean, but that one I didn’t even realize was a Southern expression until I went to college and some guy from Maryland asked what I was trying to repair.

I hate hate hate “ain’t got no"… and “used to could” is on up there, sorry. Love “bless your heart,” though, but I agree with Megan’s definition.

Hey Matt! As I mentioned via gchat, one of my favorites is “give out,” meaning really exhausted. I’ve heard this one many times at home, as it became part of the family lexicon back in our South Carolina days. I guess my brother (now 28, but in kindergarten at the time) had refused to take part in his class’s kickball game, and his teacher expressed concern to my mom. I believe she said something along the lines of, “I thought he was bein’ ornery, but I guess he was just plain give out!”

Wow. I reckon (hey, there’s one) there are enough of these to make your head spin. If I were to even attempt to rank them, “fixin’ to” and “bless your heart” would definitely be near the top.

Personally, I’ve always been a big fan of “yonder,” though it generally comes in the form of “over yonder” or “ouchonder (out yonder).”

May be a little late to the game on this one, but welcome to Nashville, Matt. Looking forward to future blog posts.

Speaking of yonder, I love the word holler, which has two definitions:
1. holler (n.): a wooded area. My parents’ nearest neighbor is on the other side of the holler. [The word “hollow” in that sense is simply not in my vocabulary.]
2. holler (v.): to yell, shout, cry out. We were hootin’ and hollerin’ after Obama won the election.