Southerners and "the rest of us"

[Yooper]

My momma's family was from New Orleans. They were all lovely people. But a couple of things that I learned from my mom I've brought up north

For example, any southerner could say "Well isn't that special?" in just the right tone. And it meant FU, bitch.

Or better, you could insult someone in a terrible way, but finish it with "bless her heart!" so you weren't a gossip. As in "Poor Maria is having her fifth baby, and I sure wish she'd find a way to tell those men to put their weiners back in their pants, bless her heart". You were forgiven the snipe, because you said "bless her heart".

I decided I would use those expressions of my grandma's up north.

All I've done is confuse people greatly.

 

[45_70sharps]

Back in the stone age practically, when I got out of basic training, I stayed with some old family friends in South Carolina for a week before going on to my army school.

I learned two things.

The people are great even and it's a whole different world down there!

 

[cheesehed007]

Just like I confused the bartender in NOLA when I asked for an "Old Fashion". So, do you say water fountain? Or bubbler? Couch Or sofa? Bath robe Or house coat? ....

 

[Zuljin]

Did you see Billy lagering in garage last summer?
Yeah. Bless his heart.

"Fixin to get ready", because you don't want to get in a rush now.

"Don't eat the dead ones." If a crawfish comes out the pot with a straight tail, it was probably dead before it went in.

Cold beer. In Texas they say it like it's a brand of beer.

 

[Yooper]

Just like I confused the bartender in NOLA when I asked for an "Old Fashion". So, do you say water fountain? Or bubbler? Couch Or sofa? Bath robe Or house coat? ....

Did you see Billy lagering in garage last summer?
Yeah. Bless his heart.

"Fixin to get ready", because you don't want to get in a rush now.

"Don't eat the dead ones." If a crawfish comes out the pot with a straight tail, it was probably dead before it went in.

Cold beer. In Texas they say it like it's a brand of beer.

It's a water fountain here. But a few miles south, in Wisconsin, it's a bubbler.

I dunno about bathrobes/house coat. My momma had a house coat, but those seem to be different that what people call bath robes. (My dad was born in West Virginia, and I grew up in east/southern Ohio).

My Dad still says, "Fixin' to", and "Red up". I don't know if "red up" is a Southern thing, a West Virginia thing, or just maybe a family thing. but "red up" means to get ready, as in to clean up. The expression might be, "Pastor's stopping over, help me red up the livin' room. He's fixing to be here soon".

When we winter in Texas, they have three kinds of beer, not just "cold beer". Shiner Bock, Zwiegenbock, and Corona/Dos Equis. If you try to order anything else, you get a blank stare until you mention one of those three things. Bob is all excited because a new BBQ/Beer Garden place opened this month, and he's hoping for good beer. They advertised 14 taps. So, I'm thinking maybe one beer might be drinkable.

 

[cheesehed007]

Here in the west side of Wisconsin it's a water fountain on the east side (Millwaukee) it's a bubbler. They also "fry out" while we grill. When I worked at a GM dealer we had a guy in the body shop from Georgia. He'd offer to buy me a pop (soda if you wish) by saying "what kind of Coke do you what?" Evidently they call all pop is called "Coke" down there... So, sofa or davenport?

 

[Zuljin]

14 taps of Shiner, it you're lucky. Bock, blonde, black, hefe, kosmos, wild hare, cheer, light blonde, dort, ruby, frost, Oktoberfest, prickly pear... There's more. I'm sure you could get 14 different Shiners.

Of course, I'd understand if you've had enough shiners for now.

 

[nukebrewer]

I'm originally from southeast Texas and it was a pretty big culture shock moving here to Connecticut. I still get a person every now and then who will give me a weird look when I say "y'all" or "fixin'." I don't, however, call all soda Coke, though my mom continues to "correct" me every time I refer to any soda by name (except Coke, of course).

 

[Tex]

14 taps of Shiner, it you're lucky. Bock, blonde, black, hefe, kosmos, wild hare, cheer, light blonde, dort, ruby, frost, Oktoberfest, prickly pear... There's more. I'm sure you could get 14 different Shiners.

Of course, I'd understand if you've had enough shiners for now.

Shiner is so 2000, it's all about Rahr beers everywhere I go now. Remember the Shiner mesquite smoked beer? Terrible stuff...

 

[Tex]

Oh and yeah...it's all coke down here. No "pop" or "soda"

 

[Airborneguy]

I can use the F word with about 30 different inflections meaning 30 different things. On a good day, I can do a few different ones in a single sentence.

 

[TrainSafe]

Just like I confused the bartender in NOLA when I asked for an "Old Fashion". ....

Have you ever read the label on a bottle of Jero old fashioned mix? While it is made upstate NY they specifically call out Wisconsin folks.

 

[Obliviousbrew]

HBT helped me a lot in beer so far, never tougth it will help me with vocabulary great thread

 

[GrogNerd]

I live in Virginia and have lived in SC & GA, but what knocked me out was when I went to my navy buddy's (from Alabama) house, pulled open the screen door and it wobbled kind of funny.

me: hey, Quince... something wrong with your screen door?
Quince: yeah... it's fixin' t' break

I'm still trying to wrap my noodle around something "fixing to break"

 

[cheesehed007]

Have you ever read the label on a bottle of Jero old fashioned mix? While it is made upstate NY they specifically call out Wisconsin folks.

See, it's not all beer and cheese curds up here. ps great thread.

 

[Darwin18]

When we moved from NY to NC back in 2008 it was definitely an adjustment. In the northeast everything seems to move so much faster and more efficiently but here people take their time with everything. It's great for us because we've been able to apply that northeast mentality to work. Our supervisors have asked us how we get so much completed...It isn't hard if you don't sit around talking about Bojangles and Scotty McCreery all day.

Going back to visit the family in NY and MA for Christmas has turned into a culture shock for us. The difference in things like the nightly news programs is noticeable. In NY there is no banter. It's all business. In NC they take their sweet time from story to story.

The people here in NC are much more "civilized" than those we knew back in NY, and that's all I'll say about that.

 

[Zuljin]

Shiner is so 2000, it's all about Rahr beers everywhere I go now. Remember the Shiner mesquite smoked beer? Terrible stuff...

I try to forget that one. Not every one's a winner, I suppose.

Or Southern Star and Real Ale. Saint Arnold's.

Oh and yeah...it's all coke down here. No "pop" or "soda"

Or soft drinks.

I live in Virginia and have lived in SC & GA, but what knocked me out was when I went to my navy buddy's (from Alabama) house, pulled open the screen door and it wobbled kind of funny.

me: hey, Quince... something wrong with your screen door?
Quince: yeah... it's fixin' t' break

I'm still trying to wrap my noodle around something "fixing to break"

It's still on the hinges and doing its door job, right? Then it aint broke yet.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

I wanna try!!

That m*ther*#cking pr*ck is a waste of skin. If that a##hole had half a brain, he'd have twice the brain he has now. I'd like to tear off his head and sh#t down his neck.....Bless his heart.

Yep! It works!!!

 

[Airborneguy]

The f!ck? You f!ckers better f?ucking get the f!ck out of here. Who the f$ck do you think you are f$cking around like that. Motherf&cker, I can't f$ucking believe you'd try that **** with me.

 

[DromJohn]

All y'all just need to know that "bless your heart" is southern for "uff da." They are universal phrases that mean whatever fits the context and tone of voice, except "bless your heart" has extra poisonous barbs if cooed as if talking to a baby.

OTOH, "bless" and "heart" are more than four letters and I'm not sure the Imperial E** Brewmistress is permitted to use insults with more than four letters.

 

[TrainSafe]

Somebody help refresh my memory.... Is calling somebody an EAC a southern thing or northern thing?

 

[jrodskreet]

Just like I confused the bartender in NOLA when I asked for an "Old Fashion". So, do you say water fountain? Or bubbler? Couch Or sofa? Bath robe Or house coat? ....

Correctly phrased in the south it would be "fountain" (not water fountain), "Couch", and "robe" (not bath robe).

Just a little education for the "rest of yall"

And BTW cokes are pretty much non-existant in homes, it's all tea (sweet tea, and not hot tea).

 

[Tex]

I try to forget that one. Not every one's a winner, I suppose.

Or Southern Star and Real Ale. Saint Arnold's.

Or soft drinks.

It's still on the hinges and doing its door job, right? Then it aint broke yet.

Yeah I forgot about soft drinks. Southern Star Buried Hatchet is a damn good beer, local pub got it on tap a few weeks ago.

 

[Bedlam]

I was born and raised in the South...the "traditional" South, with cotton and river delta and all that. I agree with most of the observations here, except that soft drinks were all "Co-cola", not "Coke". And what we called little creme-filled chocolate drops you find in the produce section isn't presentable for publication (and contains a word I won't allow in my household.)

All was well, until I moved to Appalachia. Wow! What a learning curve. What do you call a grocery sack? It's a "poke". What do you call ACTUAL Coca-Cola? It's "dope". A shopping cart? That would be a "buggy". Took me a few tries to understand what "you'uns" was.

The very best: "I don't care to." Jeebus, that will turn your neurons into a twist. Lemme give you some context:

Me: "Hey, do you mind helping me with these packages?"
Friend: "I don't care to."

It sounds like "no", but it means "yes", as in "I don't mind."

 

[gratus fermentatio]

Just like I confused the bartender in NOLA when I asked for an "Old Fashion". So, do you say water fountain? Or bubbler? Couch Or sofa? Bath robe Or house coat? ....

Hhhmmmm; I thought you meant one of these:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Fashioned
You'd think a bartender would think along those same lines.

A water fountain is something that sprays water up in the air, usually in large volumes, under great pressure & out of some sort of sculpture; a DRINKING fountain usually hangs on the wall & dispenses water (usually cold) to thirsty passersby.

I always thought a housecoat was a little different from a bathrobe in that the bathrobe was always thick & fluffy/fuzzy & had a sah style tie for a closure. The housecoat was usually buttoned & made from some sort of quilted, smooth cloth, often with a floral print.

I don't recall ever hearing the term "bubbler" growing up & I've lived in 16 different states.
Regards, GF.

 

[gratus fermentatio]

I'm originally from southeast Texas and it was a pretty big culture shock moving here to Connecticut. I still get a person every now and then who will give me a weird look when I say "y'all" or "fixin'." I don't, however, call all soda Coke, though my mom continues to "correct" me every time I refer to any soda by name (except Coke, of course).

Ya, "What kinda cokes ya got?" used to be funnier when there was only 1 kind of Coke; now there are at least 7 different types of Coke & they're all Coke.

 

[cheesehed007]

Hhhmmmm; I thought you meant one of these:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Fashioned

Yep, that's it... Brandy Old Fashioned sour ... Some times I'll mix it up with Southern Comfort.

 

[jgln]

I hear people up here say "Right quick" every so often, cracks me up. You know they aren't from around here.

 

[cluckk]

Growing up in Texas, everything in a can without alcohol was Coke. Often leading to the following exchange:
A: "Do you want a coke?"
B: "Yes, please."
A: "What kind of coke do you want?"
B: "A Dr. Pepper."

I thought this was normal until I went in the Army. It took forever to get a soda and it was usually the wrong one:
Me: "Miss, you brought me the wrong coke."
Waitress: "What?"

Once when an elderly aunt was visiting our house she asked me to go to the store and get her a soda water. The whole way to the store I was asking myself, "What's a soda water?" When I got there nothing in the store had soda water on the label. So I walked back home to ask mom:
Me: "Mom, Aunt Louise asked me to get her a soda water at the store. What's a soda water?"
Mom: "Oh, she wants a coke."
Me: "Ok, what kind?"

 

[user 30639]

I'm from the midwest, my wife is from the south, and we live in Texas. It should be noted, Texas is not the south. At least not all of it. East Texas is still the south, but we don't like to talk about East Texas. It's a strange place.

I will say "y'all" since it's a useful word. I don't say fixin' to. And it's pop, not soda. And Coke is a specific type of pop. I've tried to explain to my midwestern friends how "bless his/her heart" is about the greatest insult ever, they don't get it.