Glossary of Regionalisms

The following are words, phrases and pronunciations that strike us as distinctive of the region that we grew up in:

I. Words and phrases I used to hear, but don't much anymore.

casin'.Today it's called car tires; ex.: "Let's roll caison's". Get inside the caisson (tire) and let it roll. The outer cover of an pneumatic tire. We called it "casin's", dropped the "g". (Sherry Nail)

couplins. (Merry Monroe)

Cox's Army. Ex.: "My mom cooked enough to feed Cox's Army." (Merry Monroe)

"don't forget to write." A phrase I don't hear anymore. (Sherry Nail)

drec-ly. Ex: "I'll be there drec-ly" (directly). (Sherry Nail)

going to the dogs. (Russell Wimberly)

ice box and ice tray. People would call the refrigerator "ice box"; and if you wanted ice, you would "be sure to fill the ice tray". I don't hear either word anymore. (Sherry Nail) "I know I am dating myself, but for some reason I still put my milk and eggs in the icebox." (Merry Monroe)

minus well. (Brock Parsons, Chicago?) This is something that my best friend's ex-girlfriend used to say instead of "might as well."

rasslin'. My grandmother would always say 'rassling', instead of 'wrestling', when my brother and I would fight. (Ben Nicolls)

Sam Hill. Ex.: "What in the Sam Hill are you doing?" (Sherry Nail)

tenner shoe. (Russell Wimberly, the Deep South)

tar-nation. Ex.: "What in tar-nation are you doin'?!" (Daphine)

II. Words and phrases I still hear.

A/C. In place of Air Conditioner. (Brock Parsons)

cahoots. This is a word I heard a lot when I was younger. It means to be in league with someone who is not on the up and up. Actually, depending on who I am talking to, I still use this word. (Merry Monroe)

cattywampus. I found both "cattywampus" and "woppy-jawed" in online dictionaries (see below). "cattywampus." 1. (informal) In disarray or disorder; askew. 2. Not directly across from nor adjacent to. Alternative spelling: "catawampus." So now I now these are not just words my in-laws use. (Jim Brockman)

dang nabbit. I don't know if this is regional, but I hear it and use it. (Jaclyn Duvall)

dat. I hear quite a few people say the word "dat" in place of "that". i.e. You want some of dat?" (Daphine Peck)

declare. Pronounced with an emphasis on first syllable. (Justin McDaniel)

deep freeze. This would be the freezers that are used for storing meat. (Justin McDaniel)

dem. My Grandmother & my Mother like to use the phrase - "Now, how you like dem apples?"

foo. I've heard my grandparents say is "foo" instead of "fool." (Brock Parsons)

fixin' ta. I still hear it all the time. (Brock Parsons) (also Caitlyn Stephens)

gonna. (Caitlyn Stephens)

like, pronounced: "lack". (Jim Brockman)

pickup truck. or simply pickup in place of a truck. I hear it on TV quite often still. (Brock Parsons)

plumb. Ex.: "plumb furious" or "plumb tired." (Brock Parsons)

red eye. My mom occasionally says "red-eye" in place of "reddy". For example: "Are you red-eye?" Her accent is not that strong or evident, so I think her saying is either poking fun at southern accents or people with red eyes (maybe both). (Bryson Vann)

stove/oven. Interchanged a lot. My mom always uses the word "stove" to name a heater, oven, and other related words. (Brock Parsons)

whoppy-jawed. 1. not quite right. off-kilter. out of alignment. off balance. See "cattywampus" above. (Jim Brockman)

III. Word and phrases that are not so much distinctive to a region as much as they are distinctive to individuals I know.

"alky-haul." My Grandmother says this when she talks about rubbing alcohol.(Daphine)

buttcrack of dawn. My sister often said this. "The buttcrack of dawn." So, whenever she had to wake up early in the morning she would say. " I gotta wake up at the buttcrack of dawn." (Jaclyn Duvall)
croshit. Instead of "crochet." (Jacyln Duvall)

diescussin. (Ben Nicolls)

"Eighter from Decatur." My great grandfather used to say 'let's geddup' which was later explained to me as 'let's go.'" (Bryson Vann)

government work. My father likes to say "Guess it's good enough for government work." (Daphine Peck)

Grassy ass. Alternative pronunciation of "gracias." (Katie Stephens)

hand. A friend that I used to work with called all of his co-workers "hand" (in place of: friend, dude, homie, bro etc). This reminds me of 'cow-hands' historically. It was also motivation to make a 'hand' in the workplace. (Bryson Vann)

heebie-jeebies. (Caitlyn Stephens.)

"If the good Lord spare me." (Caitlyn Stephens)

"Jackson Brown from way across town." (Bryson Vann)

IV. Category undefined.

"a'comin' or a' goin." When I lived in Sasakwa for a year as a child, my neighbor would always ask her Grandchildren if they were "a'comin' or a'goin'" The "ing" was always gone. (Daphine)

buggie. A shopping cart. (Kaitlin Wallace)

durn it. My grandpa says this one whenever he is confused. (Justin McDaniel)

geddup. (Amy Davis).

heifer. Ex.: "You heifer!" I don’t know if it’s regional but its something that people in my family use. (Caitlyn Stephens)

hoopy. A word that my uncles used in referring to an automobile. Example: We will go as soon as the hoopy warms up. This was back before the Edsel and Hudsons went by the wayside. Of course the first car that I remember was a woody station wagon, so it didn't sound all that strange to me. (Merry Monroe)

hunker. 1. When you were in for a long wait you would hunker down and wait. 2. To hunker over to proect your self from the cold. Ex.: "He walked down the road hunkered over to try and keep warm." (Merry Monroe)

"Get down and come in." This is a phrase that is still used by some of the elders. It is from a time when visitors often arrived in a wagon instead of a car. (Merry Monroe)

jism. A condiment. (Amy Davis)

"Scared the bejesus out of me!"(Caitlyn Stephens)

"They can't see the forest for the trees." My family has always used this to describe an individual carlessly overlooking something. (Bryson Vann).

tump. When I was growing up I was always told to sit in the wagon. If I stood in the wagon it would "tump" me out. (Merry Monroe)

You don't know come here from go sic em. In other words you might not be as smart as the average dog. (Russell Wimberly)