Rural dictionary: Southernisms explained by a Southerner
Butter my butt and call me a biscuit
Being one of few students here at Duke that truly comes from the South, people often get confused when I try to explain southernisms.
The first time I tried to explain that “y’all ain’t gonna believe this shit” translated almost directly into the fairytale phrase “once upon a time”, I recognized that my strange dialect might cause some interesting mistranslations.
So for all you people out there that can’t understand half the things I say, here’s a handbook of my favorite phrases and their translations.
Butter my butt and call me a biscuit!
Translation: “No way!”
Use in a context:
“My friend met Beyoncé!”
“Butter my butt and call me a biscuit!!”
Cattywampus
Translation: Chaotic; not lined up or not arranged correctly/diagonally; out of sorts. You can also use it to say “all over the place.”
Use in context:
- “If things get cattywampus, let me know.”
- “The bank is cattywampus from the shopping center.”
- “He was cattywampus last night, I don’t know what was wrong.”
Knee high to a grasshopper
Translation: Back when you were young (or little)
Use in context:
- When you were just knee high to a grasshopper, your grandma and I came to this bakery every Sunday.
All Get Out
Translation: “Hell”
Use in context:
- “He’s hot as all get out.”
- “She’s mad as all get out that you told him she liked him.”
Nuttier than a Fruitcake
Translation: “Really crazy and strange”
Use in context: “My grandmother called me at 3am today to ask if I was sleeping well – that woman is nuttier than a fruitcake!”
That dog won’t hunt
Translation: “That idea or plan won’t work”
Use in a context:
“We could meet for dinner at 6?”
“That dog won’t hunt – I have a work meeting at 6:30.”
Lollygag
Translation: “Messing around, taking too long, not focused on the task at hand, to dawdle, to talk about something for a long time that’s not important”
Use in context:
- “Stop lollygagging around and get in the car! We’re late.”
- “If you hadn’t lollygagged around in the dorm we could have caught that bus.”
- “We were lollygagging all night about the new boy in the dorm.”
He’s got a burr in his saddle
Translation: “He’s agitated and angry”
Use in context:
-“I asked him to pass the peas and he yelled at me.”
-“Don’t worry about it. He’s got a burr in his saddle.”
I feel like a one legged dog in a sandbox
Translation: “I’m really busy/I’m drowning in work.”
Use in context:
-“What do you think about Chemistry?”
-“I feel like a one legged dog in a sandbox.”
Ain’t got the good sense God gave a rock
Translation: “He’s stupid, he lacks any common sense”
Use in context:
-“Why is that man shirtless in twenty degree weather?”
-“Man, he ain’t got the good sense God gave a rock.”
Diddiliy squat
Translation: “Nothing”
Use in context:
- “Why can’t you come to the grocery store with me? You’re not doing diddiliy squat.”
- “You said you were busy but you’re just sitting here doing diddiliy squat!”
Shut the front door
Translation: “No way!” (very excited)
**For emphasis can say “Shut the front door! No way!!”
Use in context:
-“This coat costs $1,000!”
-“Shut the front door!”
You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar
Translation: “You’re being rude and you should stop because you won’t have friends if you’re mean”
**used most often by authority figures, such as a parent or grandparent
Use in context:
-“I don’t know what’s going on. No one has talked to me in a week.”
-“Honey, you catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar.”
Don’t that just fry your taters!
Translation: “Doesn’t that just make you so happy/make your day?”
Use in context: “He bought your dinner last night. Don’t that just fry your taters!”
Guissied Up
Translation: “To get all dressed up, ready for a party or event”
Use in Context:
- “Give me 10 minutes, I need to get guisssied up.”
- “Are you going to guissie up for your date tonight?”
I don’t know him from Adam
Translation: “He/she’s not from around here/I don’t recognize him/her.”
Use in Context:
-“Do you know that guy?”
-“I don’t know him from Adam.”
Who’s pluckin’ this chicken, you or me?
Translation: “Who’s in charge”
**usually said when there’s a conflict over who’s the most qualified/highest ranked
Use in Context:
-“I think we should turn left here.”
-“Who’s pluckin’ this chicken, you or me?”
-“OK OK, I get it. You drive.”
He’s three sheets to the wind
Translation: “He’s really drunk/he’s slammed”
Use in context:
-“Why is Caroline dancing on the table?”
-“She’s three sheets to the wind.”
You’re just beating a dead horse
Translation: “You’re going to get nowhere from here, there’s no point anymore”
Use in context:
-“Should I remind him again to bring me the money?”
-“At this point you’re just beating a dead horse. He’s not going to give it to you.”
The engine’s running but nobodies’ driving
Translation: “He/she’s not very smart or bright”
Use in context:
-“Did he just ask if Nashville is a state?”
-“Yeah, the engine’s running but nobodies’ driving.”
That boy’s two bricks shy of a full load
Translation: “He’s crazy/loopy”
Use in Context:
-“He’s been staring at that pigeon for an hour straight.”
-“That boy’s two bricks shy of a full load.”
Godspeed,
xx Em