Sayings From The American South That Sound Alien To Northerners
We could all probably use a little more Southern Charm in our lives — that feeling of kindness and warmth that's somehow scooped on to a plate of piping-hot, carb-heavy comfort foods in a cozy kitchen. And with all that chicken, dumplings, and cornbread, we can expect a healthy helping of sayings you won't hear often north of the Mason-Dixon Line. While some of these phrases have made their way into other dialects, these Southern-inspired idioms certainly stand out in every conversation... and they don't always mean what you'd think!
He Could Eat Corn Through a Picket Fence
Heavens to Betsy, this one's not so nice: to eat corn through a picket fence, you would need a pair of front teeth that could maneuver around one of the posts, AKA a huge gap. Braces weren't around back then!
Coke
As Kelly Kazak, writer for It's a Southern Thing, put it: "Well, pretty much every soft drink was created in the south, with Coke being one of the first and most famous. It's like calling all tissue Kleenex, all bandages Band-Aids, or all friendly people southerners."
Fixin'
In Georgia or Florida, you may hear that someone is "fixin'" to look for a new job or get out of the house. The saying simply means "getting ready to." You're planning, promising, or fixin' to do something.
Finer than Frog Hair Split Four Ways
Historians estimate this phrase started back in 1865, and, while this may sound cattywampus, it might be a response to someone asking "how are you?" Because if you split a hair four times, it suddenly becomes really fine. Worth noting, frogs don't have hair, so it's more of a joke response.
