Local Idiomatic Expressions - Know Any? Stump Us!

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doomsdave

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"They're tighter than Dick's hatband." That was a description used for a certain company in a certain state.

Any thoughts on the state. I peed myself laughing when a lady said that.
The company was Whataburger, and the state was Texas. Whatab- was then based on Corpus Christi, then relocated to San Antone.
 

DreamerRose

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That expression has been around long before fast food. I remember my MIL saying it many times. I always assumed that back in the day of men's hat sizes, some man got one that was too small and made a federal case of it until it became a local joke.
 

Willowy

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One thing I read while researching the origin of the phrase said that it was originally "a dick's hatband", in that case "dick" meaning private detective. Perhaps private detectives, because of their inconsistent income, frequently had second-hand hats that were too tight, or just liked to complain about their hats ;).
 

debbila

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In some parts of Maryland:

" Goin' downy ocean, Hon "

A bull an oyster roast

A bushel of blues



Warsh and rinch your hands in the zink

In Kentucky:

" Come and go! "

A poke ( nothing to do with poking someone )

Arsh potatoes

" That chile's so petted "
 

muffy

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In Texas we are "fixing to..."

Ex: I'm fixing to go pick up my child from school.

Honestly I have never ever written that phrase so not really sure how one would "properly" spell it but we say it like fixin'
My best friend was from North Carolina and she would say she was "fixing to go to the store or fixing to go home".
 

tinydestroyer

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I had friends who would say they had to make their groceries, which meant they were going to the grocery store.
Cajuns and Louisiana folks say this one.

Ex: "I'm fixin to go and make groceries. Need anything?"

"Where's your mom an dem?"
"She's out making groceries, Mr. Boudreaux."

It comes from French, as the verb meaning both "to do" and "to make" is used in the phrase to say you're going to the store ("faire de la course.") Hence, we say "making groceries," rather than "going to the store."
 

Margret

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In some parts of Maryland:

" Goin' downy ocean, Hon "

A bull an oyster roast

A bushel of blues



Warsh and rinch your hands in the zink

In Kentucky:

" Come and go! "

A poke ( nothing to do with poking someone )

Arsh potatoes

" That chile's so petted "
Anyone know what some of the ones in my post are?

Don'tcha know?
"Going down to the ocean, Hon."

Surf and turf.

I'm guessing that a "bushel of blues" is a bushel of either blue crabs or blue mussels.


"Wash and rinse your hands in the sink."

"Come on, let's go!"

I'm guessing that "poke" is either pokeweed or a bag, as in "a pig in a poke," but it could be a pocket (a variant of a bag) or a hat with a brim, as in a "poke bonnet."

Irish potatoes

As for the "petted" child; I don't know. It could be a synonym for either "spoiled" or "beloved."

Margret
 
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debbila

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"Going down to the ocean, Hon."

Surf and turf.

I'm guessing that a "bushel of blues" is a bushel of either blue crabs or blue mussels.


"Wash and rinse your hands in the sink."

"Come on, let's go!"

I'm guessing that "poke" is either pokeweed or a bag, as in "a pig in a poke," but it could be a pocket (a variant of a bag) or a hat with a brim, as in a "poke bonnet."

Irish potatoes



As for the "petted" child; I don't know. It could be a synonym for either "spoiled" or "beloved."

Margret
Good job, mostly right.
A bull and oyster roast is like a barbecue except the beef is cooked on an open, turning pit like a rotisserie and there's oysters fried, raw, steamed, and in oyster stew, and all kinds of veggies and salads. For the public with paid admission. Sometimes for fund raisers.

Yes, a bushel of blues is Maryland blue crabs.

Come and go is what my grandmother said when she wanted you to hurry back from the store or any errand.

A poke is a bag.... I looked all over the house for something like a fireplace poker when grandma took me to bring her one. :lol:

Yes petted means spoiled. I bet the older generation has a lot to say about kids being petted now with all the technology they're allowed to have.

Love those Louisiana expressions, a combination of Southern and French.
 

tinydestroyer

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Another expression I got from Louisiana is

"Where yat?"
Yep. There's lots more where that came from, too!
* "Where yat?" - hi / what's up?
* "How's your mom and dem?" - How are you / how's your family?
* "Pass a good time" - have fun, have a party.
* "Fais-do-do" - a dance party. But literally means "to take a nap." Babies still go do do in the middle of the day, for example.
* "Cher" - (pronounced share or sha - with a slight nasal inflection on the a) A term of endearment like darling, or dear.
* "neutral ground" - what NOLA residents call the median on a road.
* "snoball " - a Snow cone or shaved ice
* "Gris Gris" - technically a voodoo term, but Louisiana folks use it to mean bad luck.
* "come see" - come here
* "make a pass" - to go over to someone's house and hang out.
* "Po Boy" - A sub sandwich. I hesitate to make this comparison, since Louisiana Po Boys are so much better, but it's close enough. ;)
* "Lagniappe" - something extra. A bonus that you didn't pay for.
* "envie" - a craving for some kind of food.
* "coullion" - a joking insult for someone that you aren't actually trying to insult. Technically means "turd" I think.
* "mais!" - an exclamation of surprise. Translates to "but" in French, and taken fron their exclamation "mais oui!"
* "you gonna get down?" - are you coming inside, or are you getting out of the car?

That's all I can think of right now. I'm sure there's more! It's fun to see all the different ones out there.
 

Margret

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A poke is a bag.... I looked all over the house for something like a fireplace poker when grandma took me to bring her one. :lol:
A very old meaning for this word, hence the term "pig in a poke," meaning something someone wants you to buy sight unseen, like a pig in a bag.

* "Cher" - (pronounced share or sha - with a slight nasal inflection on the a) A term of endearment like darling, or dear.
Straight from the French. "Mon cher" is generally translated to English as "My dear," but it comes from the same root as the English word "cherish," so it might as well be "My cherished one," except that we prefer endearments to be short and sweet.

* "snoball " - a Snow cone or shaved ice
A very old name for snow cones. I believe it was one of the first names they were given.

* "Lagniappe" - something extra. A bonus that you didn't pay for.
Also straight from the French. I had to look this word up the first time I encountered it, at the end of The Uplift War by David Brin, where he includes as a lagniappe a short story about what happened to a couple of the characters after the end of the book.

I believe that a lot of local expressions fall into the category of words borrowed from other languages that haven't made it into the more common English vocabulary (yet -- English is very big on stealing words from other languages) or old words that have hung on in just a few areas.

Margret
 

Lari

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There are a few phrases or expressions Chicagoans lovingly refer to such as:
1 - use of the word "Da" especially by Sat. Night Live fans such as Da Cubs, Da Bears, Da Lake, etc.
2 - LSD, no not the psychedelic drug, but Lake Shore Drive, the highway that parallels Lake Michigan
3 - the L, not a letter of the alphabet, but the elevated train which runs throughout the city
There's also:
-frunchroom
-expressway (and all their names)
And
-"you wanna come with?"
 

raysmyheart

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I've lived here all my life and I think we round a lot of words off here.

I gutta get goin.

You wanna hand me that?

We get a drink from the bubbler, except we say bubbla.
 

raysmyheart

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My mother always said, "no word of a lie" meaning that's the absolute truth. Is this common elsewhere? Also, "mark my word". Naturally, I use these constantly.

Very common here, wadda. There's wadda everywhere after a rainstorm.
 

Margret

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My mother always said, "no word of a lie" meaning that's the absolute truth. Is this common elsewhere? Also, "mark my word". Naturally, I use these constantly.

Very common here, wadda. There's wadda everywhere after a rainstorm.
I think "mark my word" is fairly common. Otherwise, you're right. Those are local expressions.

Margret
 
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