Don't throw a hissy fit, sugar; you're in the right place! If you're from the South, you know that we've got a special way of communicating that the rest of the world knows little about. If Mama tells you that she's "fit to be tied" you know that you'd better get your chores done right away. You've personally "sweated like a sinner in church." And, you know that a correctly timed "Bless your heart" can be a strategic insult. Here's some of our all-time favorite Southern slang (and definitions, if any of you Northerners are watching).
Our Favorite Southern Slang
1. “Bless your heart”
A phrase used to express empathy; when used sarcastically, an insult
2. “Y’all”
Contraction of ‘you all’
3. “Buggy”
A shopping cart
4. “Hissy fit”
Dramatic loss of one’s temper
5. “Fixin’ to”
Preparing to do something
6. “Bad-mouth”
Talk negatively about
7. “Three sheets to the wind”
Drunk
8. “Lord willing and the Creek don’t rise”
“With good luck and no problems, it will be successful.”
9. “Dickens”
Euphemism for devil
10. “Catty-corner”
Diagonal
11. “Yonder”
Over there, at a distance
12. “Reckon”
To suppose or think
13. “A mind to”
Consider doing something
14. “Ugly”
Rude or unkind
15. “Tan your hide”
Expressing discipline to come
16. “Piddle”
To waste time or work aimlessly
17. “Too big for his britches”
Taking oneself too seriously
18. “Madder than a wet hen”
Furious, causing a scene
19. “Stove-up”
Muscles are sore/stiff
20. “Knee-high to a grasshopper”
“When I was a child...”
21. “Nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs”
To be skiddish, jumpy
22. “6 of one, half dozen of the other”
Both options are equal
23. “Happy as a pig in mud”
Blissfully content
24. “Pocketbook”
A purse
25. “Fat as a tick”
Full after a good meal
26. “Pitching a fit”
Causing commotion about something
27. “Stinks to high heaven”
Of poor quality; has a strong, unpleasant odor
28. “Slow as molasses”
Moving painfully slow
29. “Mind your manners”
“Be polite.”
30. “I declare” or "I do declare"
An exclamation of surprise
31. “Hold your horses”
“Be patient.”
32. “Fit to be tied”
Very angry/upset
33. “Cute as a button”
Adorable, charming
34. “Don’t get your feathers ruffled”
“Don’t let it bother you.”
35. “That dog won’t hunt”
“It’s a bad idea.”
36. “I don’t have a dog in that fight”
“I don’t have a stake in the outcome of this situation.”
37. “Like water off a duck’s back”
Without any effect; easily
38. “Preaching to the choir”
Making a point to someone who agrees with your position
39. “Pot calling the kettle black”
Guilty of the same thing you’re accusing the other of
40. “Sweatin’ like a sinner in church”
Sweating profusely
