Southern Slang: 11 Words and Phrases You Hear in the South, Explained

[MULTIZ321]

Southern Slang: 11 Words and Phrases You Hear in the South, Explained

Southern Slang: 11 Terms You Hear in the South, Explained

We’re fixin’ to break it down for y’all.

www.mentalfloss.com

Richard

 

[geist1223]

Having lived in the South (Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida) all the phrases are familiar and understood. I find when I visit the South my speech patterns and phrases quickly adjust.

 

[jpsmit]

When we lived in Florida we were told that the first thing added to your vocabulary was

1. Big Ole
2. Fixin To
and Y'all was third.

 

[x3 skier]

All y’all git out of here.

 

[pittle]

Well, I grew up in Memphis and have used every single one of those words or phrases most of my life and I am not young! I still do use quite a few. My husband grew up on a farm about 40 miles north of Little Rock, so he used them too! If I go somewhere that does not have Coke or Diet Coke, I drink water!

 

[Ralph Sir Edward]

There's some other way to talk? I declare!

 

[TheHolleys87]

Y’all might could’ve noticed I talk like that, too.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

My freshman year of college I dated a woman from Alabama. She often used "y'all" as singular. Speaking to me, and me alone, she might ask, "What time are y'all going to pick me up tonight?" "Y'all have studied hard and are going to do just fine on that test tomorrow." But then she would also use y'all in the plural to refer to a group of people.

One time I asked her if was in a group, how I could tell if "y'all" meant she was talking just to me or to the whole group. She said that in that case, if she was referring to the group, she would say "all y'all". That cleared up some confusion.

 

[Ralph Sir Edward]

View attachment 90370
My freshman year of college I dated a woman from Alabama. She often used "y'all" as singular. Speaking to me, and me alone, she might ask, "What time are y'all going to pick me up tonight?" "Y'all have studied hard and are going to do just fine on that test tomorrow." But then she would also use y'all in the plural to refer to a group of people.

One time I asked her if was in a group, how I could tell if "y'all" meant she was talking just to me or to the whole group. She said that in that case, if she was referring to the group, she would say "all y'all". That cleared up some confusion.

Y'all is flexible. The plural of y'all is used for a particular group, which can be everybody, or just a subset group of a larger group.

Example of a partial group. You are workin' on a car. "Cooter, Billy Bob, y'all get yure tools and help me with this heah motor." The ladies, of course, should just stand around and talk about what sort of cock-up the "boys" are gonna make of the motor - bless their hearts. . . .

An example of the overall y'all. You wave your arm and say, "We got the keg tapped! Y'all get your mugs." That is a call for everybody to come - guys and ladies both. You could say "all y'all" but the arm wave is an acceptable substitute for the "all".

(To be a grammar Nazi. Y'all can be used as a second person singular or a second person plural, that same as the word you can. Similar confusion over singular/plural only you has it opposite than y'all.)

 

[Ralph Sir Edward]

They left out yes'm. (Short for yes ma'am. and no there is no no'm. Always said as no ma'am. One must show extra respect for a lady when having to tell her no. Otherwise she might take offence. . .)

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Example of a partial group. You are workin' on a car. "Cooter, Billy Bob, y'all get yure tools and help me with this heah motor." The ladies, of course, should just stand around and talk about what sort of cock-up the "boys" are gonna make of the motor - bless their hearts. . . .

And that's where girl friend would say all y'all if you wanted both the men and the ladies to come over.

 

[GetawaysRus]

I lived in New Orleans for a few years. Most southern slang is quite contagious and the people were very gracious. But one word that I could never get used to was "aks." That's as in: "Let's go down to the Audubon Zoo, where the animals aks for you."

Certain verb conjugations were also different. Here's an example with the verb to see: "I can sees ways down the road."

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Y'all is flexible. The plural of y'all is used for a particular group, which can be everybody, or just a subset group of a larger group.

I grew up speaking Minnesotan, so "y'all" wasn't part of my native lexicon*. As I was became introduced to it later in life, I came to know it as flexible, exactly as you described it.

*I do know rubber binders and bubblers, though.

 

[PcflEZFlng]

Some northern Minnesotans say "youse" (their version of "y'all"). I never heard it in the Twin Cities but would hear it when I was up on da Range. And you can always order pop with your hotdish.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Some northern Minnesotans say "youse" (their version of "y'all"). I never heard it in the Twin Cities but would hear it when I was up on da Range. And you can always order pop with your hotdish.

Yeah, but that's a different thing altogether.

 

[x3 skier]

I always liked when a friend for Louisiana would tell me “That’s a true fact”. Until recently, I never knew there was an untrue fact but they seem to be proliferating.

 

[Brett]

14 words and phrases you'll only hear in the Northeast​

https://www.businessinsider.com/words-and-phrases-northeast-2018-10