Something to gnaw on for a while. I edited by how I would have said it growing up in the hills ( ).
- Airish = Chilly, windy
- Dope/Soda Water/ Sodey Water = Coke, Soda, Pop
- Jailhouse = Jail
- Schoolhouse = School
- Plum = Completely, all the way, entirely
- Brickle = Brittle
- Mushmellon = Cantaloupe
- Jasper = An outsider, not from the mountains, a stranger
- Britches = Pants, usually not dress pants
- Poke = Bag, sack
- Young'un (Young One) = A child, or sometimes a significantly younger adult
- You'ns = You One's, plural of you, similar to y'all
- Yonder/Yander = Some unspecified distance
- Right = Properly, Very, Accurately (example he is right strong, or right smart)
- Heared = Past tense of hear, heard
- Seed = Past tense of see, saw
- Hollow (pronounced Holler) = Valley surrounded by mountains
- Bald = A clearing in the mountains
- Scald = Land that will not support plants very well
- Skift = A dusting of snow
- Sigoggelin = Crooked, or leaning
- Tote = To carry, or transport
- Gaum/Gaumed = Messed up by being cluttered or filled with dirt/grime/grease etc.
- Haint = Ghost/Spirit (also means "Haven't") I haint never done sumpen like 'at.
- Afeared = Afraid
- Chaw = A portion of chewing tobacco
- Betwixt = Between
- Crawdad = Crayfish, Mudbug (crawdead)
- Fixin' = Getting ready or prepared for something OR A helping of food, a serving
- Nary = None
- Piece = An unspecified distance
- Chancy = Unlikely, risky, doubtful
- Wadn't - Wasn't
- Idn't = Isn't
- Hound = Dog, any kind (like German, and Old English)
- Casin' (Casing) = Tire (cassun)
- Agin' = Against
- blowed = Past tense of blow, blew
- borned = past tense of born
- Drug = Past tense of drag
- Et = Past tense of eat
- Heared-Tell/Hear-Tell = To hear from word of mouth, by gossip
- Slop = Leftover scraps of food, usually feed to animals
- Passel = A large group of undetermined number
- Whup = Past Tense of whip, as in beat
- Sweet Milk = Equals regular milk, to distinguish from buttermilk
- Fits = Shaking, as from withdrawal or seizures, or extreme anger.
- Knowed = Past tense of know, Knew
- Go-Devil = A type of Maul used for splitting wood
- Reckon = To deduce, reason, calculate, or figure. (reckin)
- Aimin' (Aiming) = Planning (Example, I wadn't aimin' on comin' over, but I reckon I can.)
- Bloomers = Underwear, especially panties.
- Brought up or reared = Raised up (Example, I was reared up in that holler)
- Caty Wompus = Crooked
- Cussin' = Cursing
- Directly (pronounced Direckly) = Shortly, as soon as possible, in a bit. (dreckly)
- Duddint = Doesn't
- His'n = His
- Her'n = Hers
- Holler = Yell, shout
- Jaw - Talk, especially when the talk is of no importance.
- Licken = Whuppon,
- Might-Could = There is a possibility [I, they, you] could do the thing which is being discussed.
- Polecat = Skunk
- Recollect (emphasis on the middle of the word) = To remember, recall
- Mess = A serving of a particular dish (example, a mess of greens)
- Wasper = Wasp
- Touched = Crazy, Insane (tetched)
- Hull = Outside part of a green bean, or the act of taking this part off of the bean
- Buggy = Shopping Cart
- Jarfly = Cicada
- Lightening (Lightnin') Bug = Firefly
- Fireboard = Fireplace Mantle
Now I will try to list some sayings, some are common to all of America, others are not...
- I don't chew my cabbage twice =I don't repeat myself.
- Mad as a hornet OR wet hen = Very Angry
- Meaner than a striped snake = Very Mean
- Hotter than blue blazes = Very hot or very angry
- Don't mean diddley squat = Don't mean anything, meaningless
- Beats the heck out of me = I have no idea.
- I ain't seen you in a coons age = It has been a very long time since I've seen you
- They Lah (They Lord, Can't type it like it sounds) = Goodness gracious
- Havn't seen hide nor hair = Havn't seen him/her, heard from them, or any other hint of them
- Drunker than Cootey Brown = Extremely Drunk *
- Finer than a box/can of snuff = Very fine indeed
- Bleeding like a stuck hog = Bleeding a lot.
- Fit to be tied = Very angry or annoyed
- Was you born in a barn? = Shut the door.