On the Southern Literary Trail discussion

like Forest Gump's feather, oh my that feather thanks for bringing back memories

Tina the oysters come from my grandmothers side of the family. Where was she raised?

She was raised in Tennesse - Giles County.

My grandmother was raised in sevier county. I'm wondering how this originated.

Yummy! Anybody put stewed chicken in theirs? The hub is from north Mississippi, near Tennessee and Alabama, and they do cornbread dressing with pulled chicken, baked outside the birdie.

What is funny is that because one of our kids has autism, we do not call it "dressing" because of salad dressing, obviously, but also in New Orleans, when you order a burger, sandwich, or po-boy, they ask if you want it dressed. Fully dressed is lettuce, tomato, and pickle slices.

Okay. Seriously hungry now...plotting a pre-Thanksgiving trial run. And because of Laura, Imma put up a couple Christmas trees this weekend. Y'all are a good influence!

We also say fully dressed when talking about a sandwich or burger.

"All y'all" can work, when the moment is right.


Did y'all get all y'all's questions answered in this thread?

I have been reading this for while now and didn't read every word but wonder if anyone has mentioned "journey proud". My Ohio girlfriends just love the term and use it often.....after reading this, I'm going to have to use more in the future. Makes me so proud!

Clara wrote: "I have been reading this for while now and didn't read every word but wonder if anyone has mentioned "journey proud". My Ohio girlfriends just love the term and use it often.....after reading this,..."

What context would it be used in?

When you're fix in' to go on a big trip, you wake up real early...."well, I didn't sleep a wink last night. I must be journey proud........Anyone else ever hear this?

#journeyproud
My newest favorite hashtag!! What state is this from? Im a Louisiana, Texas, north Florida, south Florida southerner married to a guy from small-town north Mississippi. Never heard this before but love it!

I grew up,in Eastern Kentucky....a mountain girl....moved away for college but have stayed closely connected. Now I live in Cincinnati and love to entertain my Ohio friends with my mountain speak. Another phrase they like but "don't get" is "quit"! As in "he had him another woman so she "quit him".

Love it!

I love to distinguish myself as a mountain woman, not a southern woman. I am not sweet, and I don't talk slow!

My father was raised in Boone, NC, so I know all about those tough, independent mountain women. Never heard that phrase before though, journey proud. I have heard that usage of "quit" before; it describes the situation very well.

LeAnne wrote: "#journeyproud
My newest favorite hashtag!! What state is this from? Im a Louisiana, Texas, north Florida, south Florida southerner married to a guy from small-town north Mississippi. Never heard th..."

I've heard it all my life. I'm not sure if 'journey proud' originated in Alabama, but Alabama Public Television has a program called "Journey Proud," in which the host travels the state to highlight our history and culture.

Love this! Never heard it before, and I spent my childhood in South Carolina and young adult years in Florida.

Laura wrote: "My grandmother was raised in sevier county. I'm wondering how this originated."

My mother, who was born and raised in Nashville, always made cornbread dressing with oysters as well, and never put in the turkey--EVER! I don't think oyster dressing was really a Tennessee thing, but I could be wrong.

As for the origins...it's not too hard to figure out how cornbread became the primary ingredient in southern dressing. I've read that in the late 19th/early 20th Century oysters were not just a delicacy, but somewhat of a luxury item for those who lived inland. They weren't always readily available, and were expensive when you could get them. (Kind of like pineapples in an earlier era) However, many folks would be willing to splurge at Christmas/New Year's, so grocers would order a barrel of oysters for the holidays. So at Christmas, oysters were available in areas where they might not be otherwise.

In my parent's home, oysters usually showed up on Christmas Eve as well. The traditional supper menu was country ham on biscuits and oyster stew.

That's interesting. Being 6 hours from the nearest ocean I wondered how they had access to the oysters. My mom continues this tradition and it by far is my fav dish. I would like to be your guest at Christmas Eve. I love country ham and oyster stew. You come from good stock David.

Laura wrote: "That's interesting. Being 6 hours from the nearest ocean I wondered how they had access to the oysters. My mom continues this tradition and it by far is my fav dish. I would like to be your guest a..."

I've gotta laugh at the "good stock" comment. I think I know all the nuances of what a southerner means when they say that, but my family has more than its share of southern craziness, too. It's more Tennessee Williams' kind than Faulkner's, so maybe that matches up with "good stock". ;-)

LOL, crazy or not, you know how to eat. Most southerners do. What area of Nashville was your mother raised? We live about 30 miles south.

Mom and Dad both grew up in Hillsboro/West End.

Yup, lots of changes. It's a hot spot right now for sure.

Diane wrote: "You asked for it, so here it is. I'll start this one off by asking, how many of you know instinctively what is meant when someone or some action is described as "common"? As in, AmyJean, don't cuss..."

LOL! I don't think there was a worse insult in my Mother's vocabulary that to call someone or something "common".

I don't know if it's just that it's the dialect I grew up with, but southern English has so much more nuance to me than standard US English. On the surface of it, the word "common" really has no pejorative connotations, yet in the mouth of a southerner, it is a terrible insult. And let's not get started on "Bless her/his heart!"

A friend just reminded me of another one: "Don't be ugly!" to mean, don't be rude or mean.

I use "don't be ugly " with my 12 year old. We always use "ugly" to mean rude/mean/unacceptable behavior.

Diane wrote: "For a truly funny book about being raised as a "southern lady" and all that entails, I highly recommend Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady by Florence King. It's a no holds barred a..."

A classic of southern humor! Ms. King can skewer southerners as only an insider can.

Laura wrote: "Yup, lots of changes. It's a hot spot right now for sure."

Yep! Interstate 440 did a real number on that area. The highway took a small piece of my grandmother's property when it was built, and went right through the house my Dad was raised in. Seems like the neighborhood has recovered nicely now.

I'm glad someone else has read Florence King, David. "We come from good stock" was a favorite saying of my grandmother, aunts, and mother in Durham, NC. My Appalachian grandmother in Boone never used that term, or "common" either. But she would say "don't be ugly, now" if she heard something mean.

Diane wrote: "I'm glad someone else has read Florence King, David. "We come from good stock" was a favorite saying of my grandmother, aunts, and mother in Durham, NC. My Appalachian grandmother in Boone never us..."

I love Flo King! Isn't she the one who wrote about the proper southern lady whose house was full of cobwebs, and there was dog hair (and worse) all over the fine oriental rugs, but by God, her silver was polished! That one made me laugh out loud. Ms. King was certainly writing about people very much like some of the folks I grew up with.

"Good stock" wasn't a frequently used saying in my family, but I know all the layers of baggage that simple little phrase is loaded with. "Common" and "don't be ugly" were pretty frequently said at home.

The friend who reminded me of "don't be ugly" said his mother would als tell him and his siblings to "play pretty"--the converse of being "ugly". That was a new one to me.

Here's one I remember from childhood. "Make like" for pretend. As in, "Let's make like we're cowboys and indians."

My friend uses "bless his/her (little old) heart" which I realized was her way of telegraphing the person was not quite up to snuff in her book.

Today is Saturday, May 13, 2017. If I said, "see you Monday week", what date would I be referring to?

I'm still confused and have no idea what day you are referring to.

See you on the 22nd, Josh and Laura. Right?

LeAnne wrote: "See you on the 22nd, Josh and Laura. Right?"

I would be there then.........Laura, probably not. She doesn't get it.

I get it. Take the next Monday, add a week to that. Just a short way of saying "a week from Monday".

Someone once told me that "to mosey along" was a purely Texas term and, as a native Texan, I was a bit taken a back to hear this. Is it really just Texas that says "mosey" or do other Southerners also use it?

Rae wrote: "Someone once told me that "to mosey along" was a purely Texas term and, as a native Texan, I was a bit taken a back to hear this. Is it really just Texas that says "mosey" or do other Southerners a..."

I have lived in the South much of my life and it has been rare that I have used "mosey" in my conversations.

I agree. That seems more like a western term than a southern. I can't say why but I tend to associate it with cowboys more than any specific location.

I have used it when encouraging my kiddo to hurry up and don’t mosey about.

I wouldn't be surprised if it is derived from some French or Spanish verb, like the command 'mush' comes from the French 'marchons' (let's walk).

Here in North Carolina, we "mosey around" quite a bit. Sort of like browsing. We mosey through bookstores and flea markets taking our sweet time. We also get a lot of "hankerings" - mainly for special foods. Right now, I have a hankering for some buttermilk fried chicken.

I was curious enough about this one to do a search on it and came across this interesting article that clarifies absolutely nothing except maybe to dispel any hopes that it has southern or western roots.
http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-m...

another western term; chingadera

that thingy over there

John wrote: "another western term; chingadera

that thingy over there"

That is actually a Spanish slang term refering to a woman who shares her favors. Chingar is the root verb that in English would be 'to f#$@'.

thanks Tom, what the hell do I know anyway.
I'll be more careful

John wrote: "thanks Tom, what the hell do I know anyway.

could still be that thingy over there"

Words can definitely have multiple meanings but it might be wise to be careful how and with whom some are used. ;>)

John wrote: "another western term; chingadera

that thingy over there"

Actually an expletive in Spanish ...

Just a note:Silas House was in Nashville tonight and read from his new book. Guess what word showed up, mosey. Paraphrasing but dog was moseying across the parking lot.

Ha! That dog was taking his own sweet time. I'm looking forward to reading Silas's new book. Saw that he'll be at one of my all-time favorite bookstores tomorrow - Malaprops in Asheville.