Blind Pig & The Acorn

Appalachian Grammar Lesson 16

This Appalachian Grammar Lesson is all about the.. well.. its all about the all!

• We often add the word all to pronouns: "I don't know who all will be there, but I'm going down to that meeting they're having." or "After the food was eat they all got up and left out of there pretty quick like."
• We use all the for only: "That's all the one I seen in the shed. Somebody must have took the others and never brought them back."
• We use the phrase, all fired to describe a state of anger or high emotion: "It made me so all fired mad I may never step through the door of that place again!"
• We use all with the word how: "I don't remember all how she made them, but Momma's tomato pickles were the best you ever eat."
• We use all's in place of all that: "All's I know is I did what she told me to do. And if that ain't good enough then I don't know what else a body could do."

The grammar usages above are all very common in my area of Appalachia-and in my household. When I'm writing there are 2 words that I use way too often and one of them is all. I feel the need to put all in at least every other sentence.

Please let me know if the usage is common in your area too.

Tipper

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Appalachian Vocabulary Test 42

Time for this month's Appalachian Vocabulary Test-take it and see how you do.

1. Turn about
2. Top out
3. Throw down
4. Talk hard
5. Toddick

1. Turn about: to take turns. "Now you kids take it turn about or I'm going to put that thing up!"
2. Top out: to climb to the top of a ridge/mountain. "Just as soon as I topped out above the Robinson Cove I saw the biggest deer I've ever seen!"
3. Throw down: to give something up; to party; to fight. "I throwed it down and left them standing there with their mouths hanging open. I never wanted that job no way and I'll be danged if they're going to treat me like that anymore!" or "You should have come by. Uncle Keith brought a case of beer and we throwed down."
4. Talk hard: to speak harshly. "I hated to do it, but I talked hard to him. He has to get it in his head that we don't act like that around here."
5. Toddick: a small measure. "Mother sent me to the mill to see if they'd let her borrow a toddick of meal till Daddy could take the corn."

I use and hear all this month's words on a regular basis-except the last one, I've never heard the word toddick used. How about you-how did you do on the test?

Tipper

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Appalachian Grammar Lesson 15

Its been a while since we had an Appalachian Grammar lesson-so I thought one would be good for today's post. Only-I couldn't think of an Appalachian grammar usage to point out. Lucky for me-I can always turn to my Dictionary of Smoky Mountain English for ideas.

According to the dictionary, adding a 's' suffix to verbs to indicate agreement with a third-person-plural subject is common in the Smoky Mountain region of Appalachia.

I must admit-its been way to long since I had a grammar teacher, and just thinking about the sentence above makes my brain hurt.

But once I read the examples given by the Dictionary of Smoky Mountain English I at least knew the grammar usage is still very common in my neck of the woods. See if it is around your area:

• 1954 It's where people gathers up and shucks corn, in the fall when they get the corn gathered.
• 1973 That's the way cattle feeds. They feed together.
• 1989 Things changes so much anymore.
• 1999 Me and Tunney Moore and all the Moore Family goes back many years.

The sentences all came from the dictionary-but I can hear myself saying each of them-because that's exactly how I talk.

Hope you'll leave me a comment and let me know if using a 's' suffix in your area is common too.

Tipper

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Appalachian Vocabulary Test 41

It's time for this month's Appalachian Vocabulary Test-take it and see how you do!

1. Talkingest
2. Tad
3. Twicet
4. Tromp
5. Tejus

1. Talkingest: talkative. "I like to not have got away from him. I do believe he is the talkingest man I ever seen!"
2. Tad: a small child; a small portion. "There was only a tad of milk left so I sent him to the store for some."
3. Twicet: twice. "I done told her twicet. She is not going to that party!"
4. Tromp: stomp; to press down. "Somebody has tromped all over my clean floors with their muddy ole boots. And when I find out who it was I'm agonna tan their hide!"
5. Tejus: tedious; nervous; anxious. "Aunt Flo used to do that take home work from Clifton. But it was so tejus it got on her nerves something awful and she had to quit."

I hear all of this month's words on a regular basis in my area of Appalachia. I use all of them myself except twicet. It's still fairly common to hear folks add a 't' to the end of their words here. Oncet for once is another one I hear often.

Hope you'll leave me a comment and tell me how you did on the test.

Tipper

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Appalachian Vocabulary Test - The Garden Edition

Since most folks are either itching to get their garden planted-or have already started-I thought it'd be a good time for a special edition vocabulary test. Take it and see how familiar you are with the words below.

1. Boy dixie
2. Chalk
3. Dropper
4. Hew out land
5. Lay off

1. Boy Dixie: a single plowshare. "My Grandpa said he had no use for today's modern contraptions-give him his team of mules and boy dixie and he'd be just fine."
2. Chalk: to cut weeds from a crop. "After I caught them fighting I give both of them a hoe and told them to get out there and chalk the corn. That ought to keep them out of trouble for a while."
3. Dropper: machine that drops tobacco plants down the length of the field. "With my back out I could barely keep up with the dropper. Mommy had to come out and spell me a while after dinner."
4. Hew out land: to clear land for a field, garden, pasture, etc. "All those fields between Murphy and Andrews used to be a thick forest before the first settlers hew out the land."
5. Lay off: to mark off rows for planting with a plow or hoe. "I couldn't lay off a straight row to save my life."

I failed my own test. I had never heard of boy dixie, chalk, or dropper till I read the words in my Dictionary of Smoky Mountain English.

As for the other 2 words:

*I don't know how you'd make a row without laying it off first. In other words-we all use lay off around here.

*Hew out land reminded me of an old song-Hewn Out Of The Mountainside-its going round and round in my head now. I tried to find a version of it on youtube so you could have it in your head-but couldn't. If you've ever been to an old timey church-you might remember it-usually the people or person who sings it-acts it out as well.

So how did you do on the test?

Tipper

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Appalachian Vocabulary Test 40

It's time for this month's Appalachian Vocabulary Test-take it and see how you do.

1. Shirt-tail boy
2. Shed of
3. Sideling
4. Sight
5. Skiff

 

1. Shirt-tail boy: a small boy. "Paul was just a shirt-tail boy when we moved into the house Pap built." or "He's been playing the fiddle since he was just a shirt-tail boy. I reckon thats why hes so good."
2. Shed of: to get rid of something. "I told you Irene I just want to get shed of the whole mess. And I'll never get mixed up in a deal like this again!"
3. Sideling: land that has a slope to it. "She was walking down that sideling part of the yard when she fell and broke her wrist."
4. Sight: a large amount. "My blueberry bushes have a sight of blooms on them already. I hope this warm weather stays cause I sure don't want them to get bit by a late frost.
5. Skiff: a small amount; a thin layer. "We never did get a big snow this winter. We got a skiff of snow once or twice but not enough to fill a washtub like I wanted.

I'm familiar with all this months words and I use all of them myself-except #1-but I still hear 'shirt-tail boy' on a regular basis.

Hope you'll leave me a comment and let me know how you did on the test.

Tipper

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Appalachian Grammar Lesson 14

A comment left sometime during the last few weeks got me to thinking about the word 'put' and how it's used in Appalachia.

We use it in the following ways:

• as a verb meaning to propose or to start: "I put in for the job down at the store I'll have to wait and see if I get it." or "He put in the boat down below the high bridge and we started fishing down the river from there."
• as a substitute for the word 'remind': "She put me in mind of Aunt Susie cause she sure was a talker!"
• as a substitute for the word 'delegate': "Last night at the meeting they put it on me to find someone to fix the roof."
• as a way of shifting blame: "Now they put that off on me but I swear I didn't do it! I wasn't within 10 miles of here that night and I got the people to prove it too!"
• in refernece to what we've planted in the garden: "I heard on the radio a few people has done put out their lettuce and onions."

I checked my Dictionary of Smoky Mountain English to see if I missed any uses of 'put' and I found 2 more:

• put to-to start or cause to: "He was put to milking the cows as soon as he was big enough." (I've heard this one-but just didn't think of it)
• put up the bar-mind the gap; meaning to replace the rails of a fence that had been let down for passage through a pasture. (I've never heard this one-and it seems to me it fits in with my first list-but since it sounded interesting I thought I'd mention it too)

I'm sure I didn't find all the uses of 'put' so if you think of one-leave a comment and tell me-and as always I'd love to know if the uses I did mentioned are common in your area.

Tipper

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Appalachian Vocabulary Test 39 & A Request

It's time for this month's Appalachian Vocabulary Test-but before you take it-Don Casada has something to share with you.

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I got word today (Thursday) while I was back in the mountains on a bushwhacking trip looking for home sites that Pearl Cable had fallen and broken her hip this morning. Pearl’s parents, Miles and Sarah Crisp, knew what they were doing when they named her Pearl - she is a beautiful gem of a mountain woman. This is a picture I took of her last year holding her mother’s kraut-making pan, which Pearl both treasures and still uses.

The details are still being worked out as I write this, but surgery is in the offing. I’d encourage the Blind Pig readers to offer up a prayer for darlin’ Pearl.

Don Casada

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Maybe you're wondering why I'm telling you about Pearl and her fall. A few reasons come to mind: Don has been working on a guest post for you-about Pearl-so you'll soon know more about her; Mountain folk like Pearl are the very reason the Blind Pig exists; and lastly because of people like Pearl-the rich language of Appalachia that I celebrate with these monthly tests-still springs forth from my mouth.

Now for the test-take it and see how you do.

1. Scotch
2. Screak
3. Scrooch
4. Sell out
5. Shine

1. Scotch: to stop something from moving by placing an object under it. "His old truck was bad to jump out of gear. Every time he had to park on a hill he had to scotch the tire with a piece of wood he carried in the back."
2. Screak: to squeak or squeal. "The old wood floor screaked so bad you couldn't hear yourself think in that place!"
3. Scrooch: to sit closer together; to move over to make more room. "I'm freezing to death. Scrooch over here and keep me warm."
4. Sell out: to move out of an area. "People are selling out right and left. I reckon they're a hoping to find work somewhere else."
5. Shine: to like. "I took a shine to The Deer Hunter the first time I ever laid eyes on him."

Not only am I familiar with all of this month's words-I use each of them on a regular basis.

How about you?

Tipper

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Appalachian Grammar Lesson 13

Have you ever been around someone who puts an 'a' before certain words? If you have-you've probably heard phrases like:

• I've been a-working at this all day long and ain't got it done yet!
• Granny's a-keeping that little girl who lives down the road today.
• There was ice on the back porch this morning and as soon as I stepped on it I started a-falling and a-stumbling all over the place.

I've heard folks add an 'a' before words all my life. I would tell you that I don't add the prefix of 'a' to words-but my family has informed me I do. There was a vote taken-and it was unanimous-apparently on a regular basis I say "I'm a-going down to Granny's I'll be back in a little while."

I consulted my Dictionary of Smoky Mountain English to see what it had to say on the subject of adding an 'a' to words. According to the Dictionary using 'a' as a prefix to other words is derived from the Old English preposition an/on.

I'm a-hoping you'll leave me a comment and tell me if using the prefix of 'a' before words is common in your area.

Tipper

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Say What - Colorful Language From Yesterday

I so enjoyed reading all of your wonderful comments on yesterday's Say What? post. As Kris pointed out-every region of the world-Australia in his case-has their own unique sayings. Whatever the area-I believe people ought to hold on to them and use them-so they'll be passed on to the coming generations.

Jim's point about old sayings being common in Appalachia was a good one-and he even used a saying to say it!

A few other things that jumped out at me from yesterday's comments:

• John-who lives over the big pond said this in reference to my "If you're going to dance you'll have to pay the fiddler" saying: "He who pays the fiddler calls the tune" may well be the original saying, that's what I used to hear when I was small, in other words "when you start to pay your way around here you can have things how you want them!" Since so much of our language came from the British Isles-I bet John is right.
• Brian Blake said: "For the love of Pete probably refers discreetly to Saint Peter, without taking the Lord's name in vain." A few of you mentioned the saying For Pete's Sake-bet that one is in reference to Saint Peter too.
• Pam Moore told about a saying I've never heard-one with a very interesting story behind it: "My mom would always say that we had "enough food to feed Cox's army". I asked her who Cox was and she said she didn't know, it was just something that her parents said. I did some research and found out that there were two Coxs. During the Depression, in 1932, a priest named Cox led a march on Washington, DC consisting of unemployed men from Pennsylvania. In 1894, another depression year, Jacob Coxey led a protest march into Washington, DC to ask that jobs be created. I thought it was interesting that there were two "Cox's armies". 
• Ethelene Dyer Jones gave a wonderful explanation for the old saying-its raining cats and dogs (which happens to be what it's doing right now in Brasstown): "How about this one: "It's raining cats and dogs!" By researching this old saying, I found that it dates back to thatched-roofed houses, when straw was piled high to keep out the elements from the crudely-built dwelling. The cats and dogs (and other creatures) would sometimes crawl upon the thatch and sleep. When a heavy rainstorm came, the weight of the rain on the straw, plus the added weight of the poor animals (that were surely getting wet!) made the animals fall through the roof and land inside the hut. Therefore, "It's raining cats and dogs!" We still say it. But who has ever lived in a thatched-roof house?"
• Ed Ammons chimed in with several sayings. But the list from the gentleman he works with-made me wish I worked there too-or at least that I could meet the man and hang out with him for a while!
• Bill Burnett shared a saying he had just heard and his thoughts on it:  "I heard one yesterday that was new to me "I'll be the son of a Motherless Goat". just what does that mean? A lot of these are used in place of some vulgar swearing but why do they catch on and pass from generation to generation?"
• Rachelle had a cute comment: "We are forever more telling Landon we are gonna jerk a knot in his tail, and he says "Nannie, I not have a tail"."
• PinnacleCreek shared one I've never heard but loved:  "I learned a new one from a lady I once worked with. She used to say to coworkers "Don't sit there like Ned in the Primer!" I sure hope these are forever preserved."
• Ron Banks had one I have heard in the past but had forgotten: "In regard to a good church sermon: Now, if that don't light your fire son, your woods wet!"
• Bradley had this one: "The one that used to make all the young boys mad was when he would act like he was trying to cheer someone up. He would put his hand on their shoulder and say, "Now son don't worry its always darkest right before it turns pitch black, besides it could be worse it could have happened to me."
• Martina had some good ones: "Grandma said of her grandson, an extreme procrastinator: "He doesn't ride the horse the day he puts the saddle on" Mom used to have comments while driving of "great grandmother's corset stays" and "stars and garters". I don't know if they were substitutes for naughty words or were just vintage expressions."

 I shared your comments with The Deer Hunter-who believes strongly in using sayings to spice up his conversations. A few of his favorites:

• deader than 4 o'clock
• happy as a pig in slop
• drunker than a 9 eyed spider

One of my very favorite sayings came from one of you. Back in February Linda left this comment on one of my Appalachian Vocabulary Tests: My mother used to say: "Your milk of human kindness has turned to bonnie clabber."

That saying has stuck with me ever since she left the comment. I'm not sure why-if its because it sounds like its really old or if its the firm sound it has-or because its so descriptive-but I love it.

Thanks again for all the great comments-you guys really do make the Blind Pig a better place to visit!

Tipper

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