A Little More of That West Texas Talk

Here are a few more West Texas sayings that didn't fit into yesterday's post:

The chances are slim to none, and slim done got up and left

Tired of listening to a line, or tired of listening to a telephone solicitor: I've got a cow; I don't need your bull

If it wud'n for the flies, she'd have no friends at all

You're looking at me like a cow at a new fence 

Smiling like a jackass eating cactus

If dumb was dirt, he'd cover about an acre

Here are some handy words and phrases:

I might could do that

I was just fixin' to do that

Y’all, and its plural, ALL y’all

A little guide to some of the words you will hear: 

All = oil

Ass = ice, or iced (Note: When your waitress asks if you want ass-tea, don't be offended)

Far = fire 

Hah, h'ar yew = Hi, how are you?

Tard = tired

Last, but not least, here's a little West Texas jibe at Yankees:

Yankees are kinda like hemorrhoids, they're not too bad when they come down and go back up, but they're a real pain in the butt when they come down and stay.

Say What?

I've moved a lot in my life, mainly within the United States, except for several years in Canada. It seems like every time I get settled in a new place I have to learn a new language. As much as we often tend to talk like TV newscasters--that "neutral" or midwestern-ish accent--there are still lots of regional variations, thank goodness. Long may they continue!

Different accents are fairly easy to get your ear tuned to, especially when you are surrounded by a particular regional one. Think of a southern drawl, or a Boston "pahk the cah" kind of accent. It may be puzzling or even a little jarring at first, but you will eventually make the adjustment. For instance, when I lived in British Columbia, I was able to work out the word "Chewsday" from its context--as in, "I'll see you next Chewsday (Tuesday)." Believe me, the British Columbians were onto me right away. I would get just a couple of words out before they would nod and say knowingly, "So, you're a Yank, eh?"

But every region still has a number of sayings or expressions that you might not hear elsewhere. West Texas (and let me tell you, the plains of eastern New Mexico are considered a part of West Texas) has plenty of exceptionally delightful ones. I've been making a little collection, which I present to you here. Definitions are at the bottom of the page. A few of them might sound familiar, especially as our former President lived in West Texas.

1. Whopper-jawed

2. Out of pocket

3. Looks like she's been rode hard and put up wet

4. Gully washer

5. Root hog, or die!

6. Djeetyet?

7. This ain't my first rodeo

8. It's so dry the trees are bribin' the dogs

9. All hat and no cattle

10. They ate supper before they said grace

11. They're splittin' the sheets

12. We've howdied but we ain't shook yet

13. You can put your boots in the oven but that don't make them biscuits

Definitions:

1. Whopper-jawed: Crooked--or cattywampus, in some sections of the country

2. Out of pocket: Absent, can't be found--Keys, for instance, can be out of pocket (not necessarily lost, just not immediately findable); although I've heard a person say they've been "out of pocket" after a short absence

3. Looks like she's been rode hard and put up wet: This might describe a haggard-looking female

4. Gully washer: Hard rain

5. Root hog, or die!: Do it yourself, no one else is gonna

6. Djeetyet?: Did you eat yet?

7. This ain't my first rodeo: I've been around a while

8. It's so dry the trees are bribin' the dogs: We could really use some rain

9. All hat and no cattle: All talk and no action

10. They ate supper before they said grace: They are living in sin

11. They're splittin' the sheets: They are getting a divorce

12. We've howdied but we ain't shook yet: We've met briefly but haven't been formally introduced

13. You can put your boots in the oven but that don't make them biscuits: You can say whatever you want about something but that doesn't change what it is

***

Sources:

flickr: http://www.flickr.com/groups/texan/discuss/10551/

DJ’s Texas State of Mind

Speaking Locally

When I first moved to New Hampshire from Washington state I really had trouble understanding what some New Englanders were saying. A man was telling me about "Kearsarge" (the place) on the phone--it sounded like "keeaahsahj" to me and since I had never heard of the place I couldn't figure out what he meant. Asking him to spell it didn't help... K-E-A-Ahhh-S-A-Ahhh-G-E just didn't make any sense either.

An odd question I got when first working at a New Hampshire library sounded to me like "Wayah's a bubblah?" which I asked the kid to repeat a great many times until he gave up in disgust and went away. I couldn't begin to translate what he was saying and besides, had no idea what a bubbler (drinking fountain) was or where he could find it anyway.

My then 9-year old son earnestly got us all to agree that we would never get accents like "these people" in New Hampshire. Of course he considered himself accentless, as we all do. However, within a week or two he came home one afternoon enthusiastically asking for something called ottahpups, which he had eaten as a treat over at a friend's house. We had no idea what he was talking about until we discovered "Otter Pops" in the frozen food case at the grocery store. Still a weird name, if you ask me. Poor child, he was getting an accent faster than any of us, as we could tell when he referred to the "arthur and title" (author and title) of a book he had been reading. He could leave out and insert the letter "R" with the best of our neighbors.

When we left New Hampshire after 23 years and moved to New Mexico I had a whole new set of accent and language problems. I worked in a southern New Mexican school and while I was on my first lunch duty, a little boy asked, in Spanish, if he could go to the bathroom--which I somehow mentally translated to "May I have some more pizza?" That led to all kinds of trouble when I told him to go over to the lunch lady and she would help him!