70+ Words and Phrases to Have You Speaking Southern

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Dig into the rich and vibrant culture of the South
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Hey y'all! If you're interested in the culture of the Southern United States and want to learn some colorful and funny Southern slang, you've come to the right place. Southern American English (SAE) is one of the most recognized English dialects in the world, and this article has more Southern slang than you could shake a stick at. Even better, we got advice from speech and accent coaches on improving your accent so you sound more Southern.

Southern American English Slang

  • Contractions: y'all, ain't
  • Love and affection: honey, sug, gimme some sugar
  • Feelings: bless your heart, hissy fit, madder than a wet hen
  • Surprise: I do declare, I'll tell you what, hold your horses
  • Looks and character: ugly, haint, gussied up
Section 1 of 12:

Southern Contractions

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  1. If you know nothing about SAE, you still probably know the word y'all —it's one of the most famous words in the Southern dialect. Technically a contraction of ye or you and all , this contraction plays an important role as a plural form or the pronoun you —for all those times when you find yourself addressing a group of people. [1]
    • In a sentence: "Y'all come back now, hear?" ("I hope you all return to this place soon, do you understand?")
    • If a Southerner addresses you as y'all and there's no one else with you, they're typically including your significant other or your family, such as to extend an invitation. For example, if a Southern friend says to you, "Did y'all go to church last week," they mean you and your family or whoever you normally go to church with.
  2. 2
    Ain't Another pretty famous SAE word, ain't stands in as a contraction for a form of to be or to have and the word not . [2] Ain't is frequently used in a double-negative sentence along with another negative word. Southerners do this intentionally for emphasis—"I don't have any" just doesn't carry the same weight as "I ain't got none."
    • In a sentence: "I ain't doin' no laundry today." ("I am not doing any laundry today.")
    • Related: You might also hear hain't , as in "We hain't got no time to be lolly-gagging around." There's no real difference between hain't and ain't —the h is typically just added for ease of pronunciation.
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  3. 3
    Cain't You might think of this weird little contraction as a combination of can and ain't , or just a more colorful way to say cannot or can't . No one knows why some Southerners decided to pronounce can like rain if and only if it's followed by n't , but it's definitely a thing.
    • In a sentence: "Can y'all help me out? I cain't get this door open." ("Can you all help me out? I can't get this door open.")
    • Cain't also appears in the Southern aphorism "cain't never could," a motivational phrase that reminds you that believing in yourself is essential to success.
  4. 4
    Useta This word is a contraction of sorts, a blend of the words use or used and to . A Southerner uses this word to indicate that at some point in the past, they did whatever they're talking about more or less habitually. Unique to SAE, useta can also be combined with a conditional sort of word that better indicates the possibility of the thing. [3]
    • In a sentence: "I ain't played the fiddle in ages but I useta could play real good." ("I haven't played the violin in a long time, but at one point in the past I was able to play quite well.")
  5. 5
    Liketa This word follows basically the same rules as useta . It's something like a contraction of the words like or liked and to , but it isn't really used in the same way. Rather, this word comes after a pronoun and before an exaggerated reaction or figure of speech, so it's basically used in the place of a verb, although that's not really its function.
    • In a sentence: "Did you see the dress she wore to Carol Ann's engagement party? I liketa died!" ("Did you see the dress she wore to Carol Ann's engagement party? I found it so shocking that I thought I would never recover from the shock.")
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Section 2 of 12:

Southern Love and Affection

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  1. 1
    Honey If you spend any time at all in the South, chances are a stranger will call you honey or sweetie . For a lot of people, this is a much too intimate way to address someone you don't know, but they don't mean anything by it. Southerners, especially women, use these terms to show that they're friendly and mean you know harm. [4]
    • In a sentence: "Here's your sweet tea, honey. Come back and see us!"
    • Related: Nearly any sweet or sugary can become a term of endearment (and form of address) in the South—including sweetie and sugar themselves.
  2. 2
    Gimme some sugar It might sound like a neighbor asking for a favor, but when a Southerner uses this phrase, they're not baking a cake—they want you to give them a kiss (usually on the cheek, but sometimes also on the lips). The sugar in this case is the kisses themselves.
    • In a sentence: "Lord, I ain't seen you in ages! Get in here and gimme some sugar!" ("Lord, I haven't seen you in ages! Come in here and kiss me on the cheek!")
  3. 3
    Sug (pronounced shoog) Since sometimes the word sugar is just too long, Southerners lop off the second syllable and only use the first. This is solely used as a term of endearment when referring to another person—never for the food item.
    • In a sentence: "Thank you, sug, you sure are a sweetheart."
  4. 4
    Hug your neck No, the person who says this doesn't want to choke you—on the contrary, they probably love you very much and want to show you affection. While people don't typically hug each other directly around the neck, this is the way Southerners express it.
    • In a sentence: "Leeroy, go over yonder and see Grandma, she wants to hug your neck." ("Leeroy, go over there and see your grandmother, she wants to give you a hug.")
  5. 5
    Take a shine to If you take a shine to someone, that means that you really like them romantically. Southerners typically use this phrase to refer to the feelings you might have when you've just started dating someone and it's too soon to know for sure, but you really like them.
    • In a sentence: "Did you see Mara taking pics of Ally during practice? They've really taken a shine to her."
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Section 3 of 12:

Southern Ways to Talk about Family

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  1. 1
    Bubba and sissy These are affectionate terms for brother and sister , respectively. Usually when you hear a Southern person refer to "bubba" or "sissy," they're talking about their sibling, not someone with one of those names.
    • In a sentence: "Sissy went down to the store to pick up some snacks." ("My sister went down to the store to pick up some snacks.")
  2. 2
    Your mom 'n 'em When you're meeting up with a Southerner, it's common for them to mention your mom 'n 'em , even if they don't actually know your mother. This is because Southerners tend to be deeply connected with their family and it's considered polite to ask after someone's family when you see them.
    • In a sentence: "It's good to see you again, and how's your mom 'n 'em?"
  3. 3
    Memaw and papaw These affectionate terms for grandmother and grandfather have traveled through the South courtesy of the Cajuns in Louisiana ( mamere is Cajun French for "grandmother"). You might be familiar with Sheldon Cooper, the Texas-born character on "The Big Bang Theory," who refers to his grandmother as "Memaw."
    • In a sentence: "Memaw lived through the Great Depression. She don't worry herself none about the price of eggs."
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Section 4 of 12:

Southern Ways to Express Your Feelings

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  1. This is an iconic Southern phrase that's often misunderstood. Typically, when a Southerner says bless your heart , they mean it in a kinda sarcastic way. They might use it in reference to someone else as well—usually when they're telling you about something silly or stupid that person did. [5]
    • In a sentence: "It's like he don't even have a mirror, bless his heart." ("It's like he doesn't even have a mirror, bless his heart"—the speaker is evidently talking about someone who is unkempt or sloppily dressed.)
    • Bless your heart can also be used sincerely. If you tell your Southern friend something awful that happened to you and they respond by saying, "Oh, bless your heart," they mean it.
  2. 2
    Tore up If you imagine someone being so dramatically upset that they tear at their hair or clothing, you understand the sentiment behind this phrase. Southerners use it when they want to talk about being really sad or upset about something.
    • In a sentence: "I was real tore up to hear about Coach Grady's retirement." ("I was really upset to hear about Coach Grady's retirement." Note that in the South, it's likely Coach Grady is a football coach—probably at the local high school.)
    • The past tense of tore up is tore up —that is, there's no difference in the term whether you're talking about being upset in the past or in the present.
    • If you're anticipating being tore up in the future, though, you might say "I'm gonna be tore up" or, if it's more imminent, "I'm about to be tore up."
  3. 3
    Tarnation Southerners tend to be pretty religious, so a lot of Southern slang is a euphemism, and tarnation is a euphemism of a euphemism, which might just be the most Southern thing of all. First you had damnation , but that was a little too harsh for some folks, who wanted to soften it to darnation . That d sound tends to harden a bit because it's easier to say that way and you end up with tarnation —best expressed as "what in the…" [6]
    • In a sentence: "What in tarnation is going on here? This place is a pig sty!"
  4. 4
    Hissy fit A Southerner who's all tore up might get in a rage about it, in which case you would say that they "threw a hissy fit." Note that hissy fits are only ever pitched or thrown—you don't just have a hissy fit, you thrust it out into the world.
    • In a sentence: "Ol' Mrs. Martin is throwin' a hissy fit coz her paper ain't on her porch." ("The elderly Mrs. Martin is clearly dramatically upset because her newspaper hadn't been delivered.")
    • Related : Southerners will also talk about somebody having a conniption fit . This is pretty much the same thing as a hissy fit, but it's used more often with women than with men. Also like a hissy fit, conniption fits are typically either pitched or thrown.
    • Both hissy fit and conniption fit are frequently used to describe an outburst seen as out of line or over the top. If someone loses it over a minor inconvenience, a Southerner might say that they threw a hissy fit over it.
  5. 5
    I don't have a dog in this fight No one will think that you actually engage in dogfighting if you use this phrase—it's well-understood throughout the South to mean that you don't have a strong preference because the outcome doesn't affect you. For example, if your friends are debating getting lunch somewhere but you just got done eating, you might decline to weigh in on where to go because you don't have a dog in that fight (wherever they go, you won't be eating).
    • In a sentence: "I'll root for Bama but to be honest, I don't have a dog in this fight." (The speaker doesn't care which team wins because they don't have a particularly strong alliance to either of them, but they'll root for Alabama anyway.)
    • Related: If you do have a dog in the fight, but your opponent has a terrible argument, you might say that dog won't hunt , which means that you believe their argument doesn't hold water or won't stand up to scrutiny.
  6. 6
    Pot calling the kettle black A lot of folks worry this phrase is racist, but it's referring to the fact that cast iron is typically black—the idea is that the pot and the kettle are the same color. Southerners use this phrase when someone is criticizing someone else for something they also do.
    • In a sentence: "Suzanne had the nerve to tell me I shouldn't have any more wine while she herself was pouring her fourth glass, so if that ain't the pot calling the kettle black!" (The speaker relates how a third person, Suzanne, had the audacity to criticize the speaker's drinking habits while she herself was drinking excessively and notes the hypocrisy.)
  7. 7
    Preaching to the choir If someone's talking about something and you wholeheartedly agree with whatever they're saying, you might say that they're preaching to the choir . This phrase is best used when someone's really passionate about whatever they're talking about and they seem to be getting a little heated. It's your way of saying they can calm down, you're on their side.
    • In a sentence: "Eddie was throwin' a hissy fit about the state of that chicken coop down yonder but I told him he was preachin' to the choir." (The speaker relates how a third person, Eddie, was upset about the state of the chicken coop located some distance away. The speaker told Eddie that they agreed with him, implying there was no reason to make such a fuss about it.)
  8. 8
    Carry on Southerners use this phrase to talk about someone making a big deal out of nothing or complaining excessively about something. It can be confusing if you're used to hearing these words in the context of the popular "keep calm and carry on" meme because it means basically the opposite!
    • In a sentence: "You'da thought she'd found a live varmint in her soup the way she was carryin' on—it was just a sprig of parsley!" (The speaker is discussing someone who complained about an errant sprig of parsley in her soup so dramatically and excessively that, if you hadn't known any better, you would have assumed she had found a live rat or other vermin.)
  9. 9
    Madder than a wet hen A good portion of the South is fairly rural, which explains why many of the most common Southern expressions relate back to the farm in some way. If you haven't spent much time around chickens, all you really need to know is that they don't much enjoy getting wet (and if they do get wet, they're likely to make a fuss about it, because making a fuss about things is something chickens do enjoy). [7]
    • In a sentence: "Miss Lucille was madder than a wet hen when she found out Bubba wasn't gonna be around to mow her yard this weekend. He didn't mow it last weekend either!"
  10. 10
    If I had my druthers This is a rather poetic phrase, when you think about it. Druthers is a shortened version of would rathers —so your druthers is literally whatever you'd rather have (or be doing). [8] In keeping with the construction of the phrase, this is typically used when whatever you actually have (or are doing) is something different.
    • In a sentence: "This is a beautiful venue and I'm having a great time but if I had my druthers, I'd be home in bed in my pjs right now."
  11. 11
    God willing and the creek don't rise This phrase is a rather colorful Southern way of letting someone know that you're committed to something no matter what. Unfortunately, many areas of the South are fairly flood-prone, so this isn't always quite as much of a guarantee as you might hope.
    • In a sentence: "I'll have those cupcakes finished and in your hands before the field trip, God willing and the creek don't rise!"
  12. 12
    Finer than frog's hair This is a fun little response if someone asks how you're doing and you're feeling alright. If you're thinking that frogs don't have hair, that's basically the point—it is, in fact, so fine that it's nonexistent, and you're even finer than that.
    • In a sentence: "Ain't you a sight for sore eyes! Why I'm finer than frog's hair, thanks for askin'. How's your mama n' 'em?" (The speaker is responding to a greeting from someone they've evidently not seen in a while. They express that they're doing well, then inquire after the person's family.)
    • Given that fine can also be used to describe someone who is physically attractive, this phrase might also be used by a Southerner paying someone a compliment.
    • If you want to be extra, the phrase is finer than frog's hair split four ways .
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Section 5 of 12:

Southern Slang for Looks and Character

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  1. Grasshoppers can get up to a good size for insects, but they're still tiny compared to people. Southerners typically use this phrase when they're talking about how the last time they saw someone, they were a small child.
    • In a sentence: "Look at you driving a car! Last time I saw you, you were knee high to a grasshopper!"
  2. 2
    Pretty as a peach Are peaches really that much more attractive than other fruits? Apparently Southerners think they are! You're likely to hear this phrase from Southern ladies and gentlemen of a certain age who want to compliment your appearance.
    • In a sentence: "What a stunning dress! I do declare, you are as pretty as a peach!"
  3. 3
    Gussied up Someone who's gussied up is dressed up in their finest, fanciest attire—and likely headed out for an exciting evening. Southerners might also use this phrase if they feel like you're overdressed, regardless of what you're actually wearing.
    • In a sentence: "The invitation said casual, darlin'. What are you so gussied up for?"
  4. 4
    No-count Southerners do like to shorten their phrases, and this is a Southern shortening of the phrase "no account," which in American English came to mean someone who was worthless or up to no good. The original phrase simply meant that the person didn't have any money. [9]
    • In a sentence: "You better tell Sarah Lee she don't need to be hangin' around that no-count Williams boy—he ain't nothin' but trouble."
  5. 5
    Too big for your britches Britches are pants, but this phrase isn't talking about growing taller or gaining weight. When a Southerner says this about someone, they're telling you that they're arrogant or boastful. Just like someone might be full of hot air, someone who's too big for their britches is usually due for a reality check.
    • In a sentence: "He's getting too big for his britches if he thinks he can make me come in on Sunday after working 6 days in a row."
  6. 6
    Gumption This is a lovely old-fashioned word that the South has held onto long after it fell out of favor in the rest of the country. If someone has gumption , they're driven and motivated—they have what it takes to succeed. The word has its origins in 18th-century Scotland, where it also meant that someone had a lot of common sense and practical understanding. [10]
    • In a sentence: "It took a lot of gumption for you to stand up to that bully. I'm glad you didn't back down!"
  7. 7
    Ugly When a Southerner tells you to not to be ugly, they're not talking about your physical appearance. Rather, they're referring to your behavior—and more specifically to your manners. This is something Southern mothers frequently tell their daughters. [11]
    • In a sentence: "Don't be ugly, go introduce yourself and invite that little girl over to play with you."
    • Related: Another Southern expression, pretty is as pretty does , reinforces this very Southern concept that your physical attractiveness depends on how nice you are to other people.
  8. 8
    Ain't got the sense God gave a goose Southerners have quite a few idioms related to someone being stupid. This one also assumes that geese aren't very smart—or at least that they're way less intelligent than humans. When you use this phrase, always follow it up with a "bless their heart" so people know you're not mean.
    • In a sentence: "Look at that child over there trying to open the cellar door while he's standing on it. I swear that boy ain't got the sense God gave a goose, bless his heart."
  9. 9
    High-falutin' This word generally means fancy, but it's a special kind of fancy. Southerners reserve high-falutin' for people who are fancy or ostentatious when there's no reason to be. It might also refer to someone who's overqualified (suggesting that because of this, they're likely expensive as well).
    • In a sentence: "We don't need all these high-falutin' chefs, we have the best home cooking anybody could ask for."
    • ' Related: If someone's high-falutin , a Southerner might also say that they're putting on airs . For example, you might say, "She was really puttin' on airs up at the bake sale, acting all high-falutin' just because her cupcakes won first place."
  10. 10
    Haint Not to be confused with the contraction hain't , this word refers to a ghost or spirit, and comes from the word "haunt" or "to haunt." When you use it in connection with a person, you're usually saying that they look sick or really awful.
    • In a sentence: "Have you seen Suzanne since she had the flu? My heavens, she looks like a haint, bless her heart."
  11. 11
    Trouble looking for a place to happen This phrase is most frequently uttered to describe someone who is extremely physically attractive and also clearly not a good relationship option. They're charming and thrive in chaos—if you get caught up in their web, you better watch out.
    • In a sentence: "That cowboy walked into the bar like trouble looking for a place to happen."
  12. 12
    Rode hard and put up wet As much as it might sound like it, this phrase is not a sexual euphemism. Rather, it refers to horse grooming. A horse that's ridden hard will sweat profusely—to be put up wet means the horse is returned to its stable without drying out. The phrase means you look disheveled, unkempt, or otherwise rough. [12]
    • In a sentence: "Long day at work? You look like you've been rode hard and put up wet."
  13. 13
    The porch light's on but no one's home Southerners who use this phrase aren't talking about literally going to someone's house. Rather, they're letting you know that the person they're talking about is not all there in some way. It might be that they're stupid, or incurious, or they're just a little spacey and don't really pay attention to what's going on around them.
    • In a sentence: "Don't try talking any sense into them. The porch light's on but no one's home."
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Section 6 of 12:

Southern Expressions of Surprise or Shock

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  1. 1
    I do declare If you're familiar with Gone with the Wind , you're likely familiar with this phrase. While it was definitely more common in older generations, you might still hear it occasionally in the Deep South. This is just an interjection used to emphasize or draw attention to something.
    • In a sentence: "I do declare! There's a buy one, get one free sale going on right now at that little boutique over on Main Street!"
  2. 2
    Hold your horses If you want someone to wait or slow down for whatever reason, this is a great phrase to use. Southerners also tend to use it if someone is getting a little ahead of themselves, like in an argument. And just like you'd say "wait a second" if someone said something shocking or surprising, "hold your horses" can also serve as an alert that you need some time to process what someone just said.
    • In a sentence: "Now hold your horses—your daughter hasn't even started kindergarten yet, there's no need to be planning her wedding."
  3. 3
    Heavens to Betsy Like "I do declare," this is another interjection that's not as common as it once was, but it definitely hung around in the South longer than in other parts of the country. While it's definitely an American phrase, scholars today aren't entirely sure who Betsy might've been and what she had to do with heaven. [13] When Southerners use this interjection, they're expressing surprise or shock at something.
    • In a sentence: "Heavens to Betsy! I forgot to close the gate when y'all drove up."
  4. 4
    Hush your mouth When a Southern mama gets tired of her children yapping, she's likely to pull out this interjection. You also might hear it when you say something surprising or scandalous. It's often said in a dramatic or flirtatious way, which means the person doesn't actually want you to stop talking. Southerners might also use this to feign humility if you compliment them.
    • In a sentence: "Did you just say you saw Taylor Swift in Atlanta? Hush your mouth!"
  5. 5
    I'll tell you what It seems like a basic throat-clearing sort of phrase, but if a Southerner is telling you what , they're telling you something important. It's usually some form of ultimatum that will happen if something else happens first.
    • In a sentence: "I'll tell you what, if we don't beat West High this Friday, Coach Johnson's gonna be looking for a new job." (The speaker is speculating that if the local high school doesn't win the game on Friday, the football coach will be fired.)
  6. 6
    Born days When you talk about your born days, you're talking about your life. It's really just an interesting way to talk about how something is so rare or surprising that you've never seen anything like it in your life. [14] While the phrase is considered archaic, you'll still hear it in parts of the South—especially from older people in more rural areas.
    • In a sentence: "In all my born days, I ain't ever seen a cat and a dog be friends like that."
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Section 7 of 12:

Southern Expressions About Food and Eating

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  1. This little inquiry is often smushed into a single syllable (yeet) and is actually just another way to ask how you're doing in the South. In fact, it can sometimes be hard to figure out when someone means this literally and when they're just using it as a generic greeting.
    • In a sentence: "I haven't seen you in months, what you been up to? You eat yet?"
  2. 2
    Hankering When a Southerner has a strong craving for something, they might say they have a hankering for it. You'll hear this most commonly when Southerners are talking about food, but just like with cravings, you can have a hankering for pretty much anything.
    • In a sentence: "I don't know about you, but I've got a hankering for some crawfish."
  3. 3
    Slap your mama It sounds like a terrible thing, but if a Southerner is talking about something that made them want to slap their mama, they're usually talking about something that tastes incredible. The implication is that this food is so good, you're angry at your mother for having fed you a subpar version.
    • In a sentence: "Be careful when you go over there—Sam's ribs are so good they'll make you wanna slap your mama."
  4. 4
    Cooked to a poultice Southern cooking often features fried or otherwise overdone food compared to other cuisines. A poultice is a mixture about the consistency of peanut butter, typically applied to injuries to relieve soreness. If someone likes their food cooked to a poultice , you can be assured that they like it very well done indeed.
    • In a sentence: "You might as well give him baby food, he wants his vegetables cooked to a poultice."
  5. 5
    About to pop Southern meals are often about eating as much as you possibly can. After you've finished cleaning your plate for the third time, you might push your chair back from the table, rub your stomach, and throw out this phrase. Everyone will know that you couldn't possibly eat another bite—unless, of course, there's some banana pudding or peach cobbler for dessert.
    • In a sentence: "Whew! That catfish was so tasty I'm about to pop. Why'd you talk me into that third piece?"
    • Related: Southerners also say they're full as a tick on a hound dog , which presents another potentially graphic image of being full to the point of bursting.
  6. 6
    Dinner The South is traditionally a rural region, and farmers need the bulk of their energy during the day. This explains why Southerners (as well as Midwesterners) tend to consider "dinner" to be a midday meal. The evening meal is more commonly called "supper" and is traditionally much lighter—more along the lines of what most modern Americans would eat for lunch. [15]
    • In a sentence: "Don't go eating a lot for breakfast, now, Marsha's fixin' up a big dinner."
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Section 8 of 12:

Southern Phrases Related to Work and Money

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  1. 1
    High cotton Cotton has traditionally been a major crop in the South, and when cotton's high, that means the planter can expect a lot of money. So if you hear a Southerner talking about walking in high cotton, that means they're successful.
    • In a sentence: "After they leased that field for a cell phone tower they were walking in high cotton."
  2. 2
    So poor you can't pay attention Southerners unfortunately know poverty, and this common expression has some sad truth to it—if you really were so poor that you couldn't afford adequate food, you'd probably have problems paying attention as well. But this phrase is usually used as hyperbole and not meant literally.
    • In a sentence: "Ever since my landlord raised the rent, I'm so poor I can't pay attention."
  3. 3
    Busy as a cat on a hot tin roof Cat's little paw pads are very sensitive, so they're definitely not going to be standing in the same place for too long on a hot tin roof. If a Southerner is extremely busy, they might use this colorful expression to let you know about it.
    • In a sentence: "My partner is on maternity leave and since I took over her workload, I've been as busy as a cat on a hot tin roof."
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Section 9 of 12:

Southern Slang for Time and Place

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  1. Chances are you won't be anywhere in the South for very long before you hear how someone is fixin' to do something. This little phrase means that you're just about to do something or you're getting prepared to do it. [16]
    • In a sentence: "I'm fixin' to run to the store. Y'all need anything?" ("I'm going to the store momentarily. Does anyone here need anything that I could pick up for you there?")
    • Related: In some Southern dialects, the phrase fixin' to is blended all the way down to finna , as in "I'm finna run to the store."
  2. 2
    Til the cows come home Rural life influences how Southerners think about time as well, and any good farmer knows that cows don't tend to do anything in a hurry. If a Southerner tells you that you'll be waiting until the cows come home, expect to be waiting for a really long time—possibly forever. [17]
    • In a sentence: "Ricky loves the guitar so much, he could play 'til the cows come home."
  3. 3
    Might could The word might tells you that there's a potential for something to happen—and also a potential for it not to happen. Likewise, the word could indicates there's a possibility of something. Put them together and you've got a sort of double possibility. Sometimes it implies that there's more than one reason the thing could go sideways. Usually it just indicates extreme hesitation, often for a reason that's spelled out. [18]
    • In a sentence: "I confess I don't know much about cars, but I might could be of help if you tell me exactly what to do."
  4. 4
    Directly When you think about someone being direct, you think of them getting straight to the point. But when a Southerner says directly , they mean about the exact opposite—that they'll get to whatever it is eventually, at some point in the future, but they're not planning on doing it any time soon.
    • In a sentence: "Go on and put the dirty towels on top of the washer. I'll do laundry directly." (The speaker is instructing someone to place the dirty towels out of the way because they aren't planning on washing them any time soon.)
  5. 5
    Over yonder If you ever ask a Southerner for directions, you're not likely to get anything as precise as what your GPS might tell you. Yonder isn't a specific distance, but it's a fairly far distance—usually. At the same time, it's relative. Something on the other side of the room can be over yonder as well as something on the other side of town.
    • In a sentence: "When I got done mowing the yard I left the mower over yonder under that apple tree."
  6. 6
    Let me let you go Southerners usually consider themselves too polite to just cut off a conversation. This beautiful turn of phrase allows you to imply that the other person is the one who urgently has to go and you're just being so gracious and understanding. It's a masterpiece of Southern speech ingenuity.
    • In a sentence: "Listen, I've been talking your ear off, let me let you go. Can't wait to see you this weekend!"
  7. 7
    A month of Sundays There's only one Sunday in a week, but this phrase imagines that you smashed them all together, making for a very long month what with all those other days in between. Adding to that, Sundays are typically long, slow, lazy days in the South. All of which is to say that a month of Sundays is a very long time indeed.
    • In a sentence: "When are you gonna come home? We haven't seen you in a month of Sundays!"
  8. 8
    Cattywampus Another archaic word that's been around since at least the 17th century, when a Southerner says something is cattywampus they're telling you that it's crooked or askew. It might also be used to describe something that's set on the bias or set at a diagonal as opposed to a straight line. If someone's giving you directions, something that's cattywampus is typically situated diagonally from the other thing mentioned. [19]
    • In a sentence: "The bathroom is over there cattywampus to the kitchen."
  9. 9
    A piece If you need to get something over yonder, you'll likely have to travel a piece to get to it. How far is a piece ? No one actually knows. It's not an extremely long distance (that would be a far piece ), but it's not really short either (that might be a hop, skip, and a jump , a stone's throw , or spitting distance ).
    • In a sentence: "We had to drive a piece to get out to that festival but it sure was worth it to hear the band play one more time."
  10. 10
    All over creation Every good Southerner knows that God created the heavens and the Earth, so when you talk about going all over creation , you're talking about literally everywhere. At the same time, Southerners use this phrase as hyperbole, so they don't literally mean it literally. It's mainly meant to imply that something was extremely difficult to find.
    • In a sentence: "I'll tell you what, I looked all over creation for my shoes before I finally found them under the bed."
  11. 11
    Slap from When a Southerner uses this phrase, they're not talking about assault. Here, slap just means "all the way" and it usually implies a pretty long distance. If you have a friend who flew across country, you might use this when you introduce them to your Southern friends.
    • In a sentence: "They came slap from Alaska just for some of mama's biscuits and gravy."
  12. 12
    Tear off to There's a secondary definition of the word "tear" that means moving rapidly or hastily. [20] From this definition, you get the English idiom "on a tear," which means having a successful run. And Southerners will talk about someone tearing off , which means they're heading somewhere in a rush.
    • In a sentence: "Gimme some sugar before you tear off to school!"
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Section 10 of 12:

Southern Expressions About Value

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  1. Beans are a tasty and filling food, but if a Southerner tells you that something is worth a hill of beans (or not worth a hill of beans), they're telling you it's not worth much. It's not that Southerners have anything against beans—they're just a staple crop that everyone always has plenty of.
    • In a sentence: "The interview went great but their benefits package ain't worth a hill of beans. I'm going to take the offer from the other company."
  2. 2
    Plumb Historically, the word plumb also meant that something was ideal or complete. [21] Southerners kept that definition and tweaked it a little so they could use this word the same as adverbs such as "very" or "absolutely."
    • In a sentence: "That's the last time I'm ever driving to Savannah on a Saturday—I'm plumb wore out from all that traffic!"
  3. 3
    Piddlin' If a Southerner ever accuses you of piddlin', they think you're not doing anything of any value. This word is often used when someone is trying very hard to look as if they're extremely busy, but they're really not doing anything.
    • In a sentence: "Go ask Bobby—he's out there piddlin' around in the garage."
  4. 4
    As all get out This phrase is an intensifier that tells you that something is superlative. When a Southerner uses this phrase, whatever they're talking about might just be the greatest thing of its kind. When you use it with an emotion, you're saying that you feel that feeling to the utmost extreme.
    • In a sentence: "I wish winter would hurry up and get here, it's hot as all get out!"
  5. 5
    I reckon Where other English speakers might think , a Southerner is going to reckon . In fact, think and reckon are really pretty basic synonyms. But Southerners took a shine to the word reckon in a way other English speakers just didn't and it's become a common and widely recognized piece of Southern slang.
    • In a sentence: "Better grab an umbrella, I reckon it's gonna rain this afternoon."
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Section 11 of 12:

Southern Sayings About the Weather

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  1. 1
    Hot as blazes It definitely gets hot during the long, humid summers in the South, so you can expect Southerners to have plenty of fun, colorful sayings about the heat. You can't get much hotter than fire itself—except maybe Georgia asphalt on a sunny August afternoon.
    • In a sentence: "Let's go to the pool, it's hot as blazes out there!"
  2. 2
    Blowing up a storm Severe weather is a fact of life in many parts of the South, especially in coastal areas. The wind tends to pick up when there's a storm brewing, and this popular Southern idiom embodies that movement in the air.
    • In a sentence: "Better go bring in the patio furniture, it's blowing up a storm out there."
  3. 3
    Raining cats and dogs If a Southerner tells you it's raining cats and dogs, they're not talking about some bizarre supernatural occurrence in which pets fall from the sky. Rather, they're telling you that it's raining pretty hard outside.
    • In a sentence: "Why don't you wait a few minutes for this storm to pass? It's raining cats and dogs out there?"
  4. 4
    Come a gullywasher If it's raining cats and dogs, it might also come a gullywasher , which is what happens during a torrential rainstorm when flash floods briefly overflow the storm drains and spill over the roadway. Southerners typically use this phrase to describe an extremely heavy but very brief rain shower.
    • In a sentence: "It was just sprinkling when we left but wouldn't you know it come a gullywasher when we were halfway to our car."
  5. 5
    Hotter than the devil's armpit The devil makes his home in hell, and hell is supposed to be hot, right? It follows that the devil's armpit is probably even hotter than that—although maybe not as hot as Houston, Texas in July. It's safe to say that if a Southerner describes outside this way, you're better off staying inside with the air-conditioning.
    • In a sentence: "I was mowing the yard and had to take a break and go inside and cool off for a bit—it was hotter than the devil's armpit out there!"
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Section 12 of 12:

Speaking More Southern

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  1. SAE is really varied, and it's no wonder—it's spoken across 13 states in the southern United States: Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia. [22] If you want to develop a convincing Southern accent, it's best to choose the accent you like the most and try to copy people who are from that town or community.
    • For example, low-country South Carolina, the region around Charleston, has a very distinctive accent that many people find extremely charming.
    • You might also think about celebrities whose accents you like. For example, Matthew McConaughey is famous for his Texas accent.
    • If you're interested in a Central Tennessee accent, Reese Witherspoon is a good choice, while Dolly Parton has more of an Eastern Tennessee/Appalachian accent.
  2. 2
    Use the right rhythm and cadence in your speech. "When we're talking about rhythm… we're talking about word stress," explains American accent and speech coach Emmi Kohout. "Stress is creating contrast… by putting more time, more volume, and largely more mouth opening on the stressed vowel sound." A lilting, rolling cadence will have you sounding more Southern regardless of anything else.
    • "There's a whole path for perfecting rhythm," Kahout continues. "Then we talk about sentence-level rhythm, [which] involves strong and weak words as well as words we rush and reduce."
    • British accent coach Luke Nicholson notes that "stress often makes a syllable sound longer, louder, or higher in pitch," emphasizing that "different accents have distinct melodic patterns… Pay attention to these pitch variations."
    • Voice and speech coach Patrick Muñoz encourages you to "have some fun with it, then add a little slide and elongation." When "you're sliding up and down as you're talking, you're really enjoying your words."
  3. 3
    Draw out your vowels. "What you're going to start to do is slow down your speech," Muñoz explains. "Imagine yourself being in the South in a certain area and start to think about elongating some of your sounds."
    • Just "think about stretching out some of those words, taking your time," Muñoz recommends.
    • "You really have to master those sounds," agrees American accent and speech coach Emmi Kohout. "It's really got to be there. It can't be tense… It's got to be ahh , like a really nice punch to the stomach sound."
  4. 4
    Glide your words together. While Southerners do tend to draw out their vowels and speak a little more slowly, they also don't pause as much between each word they say. The result can be that an entire sentence comes across virtually as a single word. Essentially, Southerners speed up their speech by blending and eliding over unstressed syllables in words.
    • This is especially important if you're speaking more rapidly but want to maintain the Southern accent and cadence—the faster you speak, the more the words blend together. For example, "what is that" becomes "what's that," which then becomes "wassat" or just "zat."
  5. 5
    Drop the "g" sound at the end of most words. A lot of times when you're speaking with a Southern accent, the g at the end of words simply falls away—so words that end with -ing simply end with -in. Southerners tend to vary on how often they do this (poor young men may do it more often than other demographic groups), but nobody does it with every word. It's really more about what's the easiest to pronounce. [23]
    • For example, in the phrase "runnin' down a dream," a Southerner would naturally drop the g at the end of the word running because it's just easier to say.
  6. 6
    Use your most formal manners. Southerners have a reputation for being very polite —if you want to sound Southern, treating everyone with respect is a big part of that. Address people as sir or ma'am where appropriate and remember to say please and thank you .
    • As a general rule, in the South, there's no such thing as being too polite. Southerners will be as polite to someone they've known all their life as they would to strangers.
    • Avoid vulgar language as well. Most Southerners are very religious, but regardless, it's just not considered proper to use that kind of language in public (outside of some very specific circumstances, such as at a sporting event).
  7. 7
    Pepper your speech with similes. If you didn't notice, Southerners are huge fans of similes—a lot of sayings consist simply of saying something is like something else. So instead of simply describing something with an adjective, think of a colorful simile you can use. It doesn't have to be one of the well-worn common sayings—creativity is encouraged!
    • For example, instead of saying it's humid, you might say, "When I stepped outside it felt like I got punched in the face by a sauna."
  8. 8
    Mimic native speakers who live in the area. "Listen to a native speaker," Muñoz advises, "that's the very first thing. Go onto YouTube or your favorite TV show, your favorite actor, favorite country singer, and listen to what they sound like." Get an idea of where in the South that person learned to speak. "You'll notice that for Southern speakers there's a variety of accents and differentiation," Muñoz explains.
    • "It's really fun to look at YouTube videos of actors, of American speakers," Kohout agrees. "But as long as you're consuming, consuming, consuming, that's one-fifth of the recipe. There's so much more that comes after that."
    • "It's more about working on using new mouth movements, hearing, learning to hear new sounds," Kohout continues, "and also understanding the rhythm and intonation of the language.
    • So it's not enough just to listen to others speaking, you have to practice saying the same things they do, the same way they do. "There are ear training techniques," Kohout explains. "Then you're training your mouth. You're learning the actual way to shape the sound. Then you want to drill it in [with] ever more escalating difficulty."
    • "Observe how speakers hold their mouths," Nicholson advises. Some accents involve more lip rounding, while others might position the tongue lower or further back."
    • "Understand the physical placements inside the mouth," Nicholson continues, "how to move the tongue, lips, and other articulators."
  9. If you're really keen on perfecting your Southern accent , an accent coach or trainer can help. They're likely to hear mistakes you can't hear and can recommend drills to help. Nicholson notes that "like playing a sport, some people adapt their speech muscles quickly, while others take longer."
    • Many accent coaches also put drills and other practice resources online for free. If you have a limited budget, you can string together these free resources to get something close to professional training, although you'll miss out on being heard by a trained ear.
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      References

      1. ↑ https://mrenwick.franklinresearch.uga.edu/southern_speech/linguistic_features
      2. ↑ https://www.jstor.org/stable/4167261
      3. ↑ https://www.pbs.org/speak/seatosea/americanvarieties/southern/sounds/
      4. ↑ https://www.ourstate.com/a-guide-to-southern-sweet-talk/
      5. ↑ https://westerneuropeanstudies.com/index.php/2/article/view/452/282
      6. ↑ https://www.etymonline.com/word/tarnation
      7. ↑ https://www.charlottenewsvt.org/2021/12/02/the-often-murky-meaning-of-idioms/
      8. ↑ https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/194850.html
      9. ↑ https://www.etymonline.com/word/no-account
      1. ↑ https://www.etymonline.com/word/gumptionhttps://www.etymonline.com/word/gumption
      2. ↑ https://repository.lsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1895&context=gradschool_dissertations
      3. ↑ https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/how-to-do-a-southern-accent-75899/
      4. ↑ https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/heavens-to-betsy.html
      5. ↑ https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/in+all+my+born+days
      6. ↑ https://agupdate.com/midwestmessenger/opinion/columnists/barb_bierman_batie/supper-vs-dinner-reveals-regional-mealtime-name-divide/article_e6b91f58-6c22-11e9-b253-e3df3da90082.html
      7. ↑ https://mrenwick.franklinresearch.uga.edu/southern_speech/linguistic_features
      8. ↑ https://tabletop.texasfarmbureau.org/2021/01/common-sayings-rooted-farm-wisdom/
      9. ↑ https://mrenwick.franklinresearch.uga.edu/southern_speech/linguistic_features
      10. ↑ https://uselessetymology.com/2017/12/02/the-etymology-of-cattywampus/
      11. ↑ https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tear
      12. ↑ https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tear
      13. ↑ https://mrenwick.franklinresearch.uga.edu/southern_speech/SAE
      14. ↑ https://mrenwick.franklinresearch.uga.edu/southern_speech/linguistic_features

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