Southern Wisdom, Sayings, and Quotes

     Living in the South has given me a plethora of ideas for décor, drinkware, and shirts. We have some of the funniest most off the wall sayings down here. Some of them make sense and some of them don’t. The ones that do make sense often have some wisdom hidden in there and the funny thing is once you hear them they stick with you. I have found these make great content for home décor signs, shirts, and drinkware. I’m sure there are plenty of other things I could incorporate these into, and I’m sure I will eventually, but for now, I’ll stick to these.

I have found that southern women, in general, can cut you down and make it sound so sweet and Southern mamas are direct and hold no bars when dealing with anyone especially their children. Some of my favorites are:

•   “Bless your heart” this one has a double meaning and you really have to listen to the tone in which it is said. This one is often stated to someone going through really hard times but it is also used when someone says something stupid or is talking about something they did that was stupid. It can also be used as a precursor to soften the blow.
• “He thinks the sun comes up just to hear him crow”. This one refers to a cocky rooster that thinks the sun rose because he crowed (I’m not sure how we know what a rooster thinks). Summarily, this refers to a man that think we want to hear the crap he is spewing.
•  “That’s about as useful as tits on a bull”. Tits on a bull are useless and bulls are ornery. This one is pretty self-explanatory but it means a comment, suggestion, or action is useless.

     Let’s talk about the sayings that are just of the wall or don’t make any sense whatsoever. One that has always cracked me up is “that dog don’t hunt” it means that something isn’t happening or that an excuse isn’t going to fly. It comes from the fact that we use hunting dogs a lot in the South and once they become older they don’t hunt. Now I don’t know how someone made a connection between an old hunting dog and something not happening, but it stuck. So, if someone says that dog won’t hunt to you, you might as well forget about it because stubbornness is also a Southern trait and you won’t change their mind.

Some others you might hear are:

·         "She's as happy as a dead pig in the sunshine" how can a dead pig be happy you ask? Well, after researching this I have discovered that when a pig dies outside in the sun there is a drying effect on the skin that pulls the pig's lips back making it look like it’s grinning. If this phrase is used about someone it generally means they are blissfully ignorant of reality.

·         “I’m finer than frog's hair split four ways”. This is usually an answer to the question of how you are doing. Even the explanation I found doesn’t clear this one up since frogs don’t have hair.

·         “You look rode hard and put away wet”. Now I’m sure the dirty minds have gone somewhere else with this, but this came about from racing horses. When they have been run they sweat and even more so under a saddle. Most good groomsmen will walk a horse to let it cool down and dry after a hard run. If they aren’t walked and groomed properly they tend to look rough. So this phrase describes someone that is exhausted or drinks too much.

     If you find yourself in the South, live in the South, or encounter someone from the South you are sure to hear some of these or other Southern phrases.

     Share some that you have heard in the comments below.