You have to be determined if you want to learn a new language—and enter a playful experiment. Review the 25 Southern dictionary words listed earlier and pick out four or five favorites to jot on a 3 X 5. Look over your list several times so you will have them in mind when talking with a Bud. Select a spot in your conversation when you can speak Southern to your friend. Just randomly pick a time to say, “Well, you know as they (or we) say in the South. . . “Bicuspid means having the ability to cuss in two languages—Regular and Southern.” (Or, pick any other listing you choose.)
That is a form of “double-speak!” (The conversation is going one way, and suddenly—just for fun—OUT OF THE BLUE you divert it to go a different way.) You may expect to get any number of replies from your friend . . . “Where did that come from?” A chuckle! Or a full-blown laugh, etc.
Be prepared to go again out of the blue with this: “One of my favorite Southern definitions is for the word Balance: “The ability to stand up when you need to.” (Be silent—and wait for the response!)
DO YOU GET THE IDEA? IT MAY NOT BE LONG BEFORE YOUR FRIEND LAUGHS HIS/HER WAY INTO SPEAKING THE LANGUAGE OF THE SOUTH!
Begin your playful experiment. As a bonus here are the next 10 dictionary words that you may also select from.
Eat up with (v) Totally beset with something. “You can be plumb eat up with jealousy.”
Enemee bag (n) A hot water bottle. What a rock-ribbed Southerner sounds like when saying “enema bag.”
Epilogue (n) Stuff left over from the main book.
Fixin’ (v) From the root word fix; to prepare; same as a-fixin’. (I’m a-fixin’ to go to town!) Translation: “I am doing whatever is necessary to get myself fully prepared to go into the city.”
Fixin’s (n) Mainly food stuffs, such as biscuits with sawmill gravy, cane surp, jelly, jam, and fig preserves, grits, butter, and real coffee, with real sugar and real cream.
Gall (n) 1. Substance contained in gallstones. 2. Grit. 3. Courage. “The old boy sure has a lota gall going to her house.” 4) (v) Rub the wrong way, only more so! “Don‘t that just gall you to find out he won all that money?” (It actually stirs something deep within, as deep as your gallstones or your gallbladder—if you still have either, or both.)
Gatekeeper (n) Usually assumed to be Gabriel—but don’t count on it!
Hillbilly (n) Male (-billy) or female (-billie), who grew up on land they claim is a mountain; they clog (dance) and sing indigenous songs; some go barefooted, but lots of us now have shoes. (adj) Having the qualities of a hillbilly.
Hog (n) 1) A four-legged barnyard animal written up several times in the Bible. 2) (v) To act in a greedy way. “Don’t hog the stage or someone will take you down!”
Hot dog (n) 1. A funny-looking food—that looks like it was put together by a committee—goes best with mustard, mayo, ketchup, onions, and hot stuff! They can be bought at county fairs, carnivals, and airports. 2. To behave impetuously: ”He’s always hot-dogging around town.” Myth: that you can eat a hot dog in a cold bun. When buns are steamed, hot dogs are about as good eatin’ as you can get, unless you go to a weddin’ reception where they have them little chicken wangs. 3) Home-made proverb: “A good hot dog in a steamed bun and the right stuff on it is as good as mother-love!”
