Bill LeslieBill Leslie's Carolina Conversations
People are always asking me where to take vacation. What's a cool place? What's the most scenic drive? Carolina Conversations attempts to answer those questions and others.

Wore slam out!

Traffic and Internet ace Brian Shrader made me laugh during a commercial break this week when he uttered a Southern expression that I hadn’t heard in a while. Brian said “I’m wore slam out!” Translation if needed – highly fatigued. Brian’s a good ole Southern boy who has heard just about every colloquialism his native region has to offer. Another one of his expressions drew laughter. After consuming four or five hotdogs at The Roast Grill in Raleigh Brian will say “I’m about to bust wide open!”

Indiana native Kelcey Carlson cut her teeth on commercial television in Florence, SC. A favorite expression to come out of her experience along the Pee Dee River was “He’s as ill as a hornet.” Another one Kelcey liked was “He mashed the button,” versus “he punched the button.” Kelcey also likes the way Southern men call ladies “Sug” for short.

Elizabeth Gardner says her mom used to say “I Suwannee” when she was upset. My mother used to say: “It’s hot enough to make the devil sweat” or when the sun breaks through the clouds while it’s still raining: “The devil must be beating his wife.”

Singer Randy Parton coined a classic phrase for getting fired when he said: “Well, I guess I just got throw’d out of the place.”

What’s the funniest Southern expression you’ve heard? Please share.

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I remember hearing from my family who were farmers in Duplin County, "purt near", which I think derives from "pretty near". For example, if you're almost done with a project, you're "purt near" done. Another one is "pure T" as in "she is pure T sweet" (no idea what the T means). Thanks for sharing, Bill!

I laugh every time I hear someone say "fixin' to", like fixin' to go, or fixin' to take the garbage out.

My Dad, who is a good ol' Southern boy always says "John Brown" when he gets mad. What makes this funny to me is that he is also a retired Naval officer and you would think that he would say something a little more scathing than that!

I lived in Atlanta for a year in the early 1980s. I mentioned to a coworker one day that I had "carried my mother to the airport." She asked me if my mother was disabled. She envisioned me, with my mother in my arms, physically carrying her into the airport. Another one that I like is, "if the Good Lord's willin' and the creek don't rise."

don't start gettin' your raisin'. Translation- cut the attitude. It's funny to me because my grandmother said it to me one summer when I was a kid and it took me forever to figure out that she wasn't telling me to mind my dried grapes.

I love Southern speech, esp all the colloqialisms I grew up with...my granny used to say "ain't she a purty bird" when describing a female with a less than appealing outfit or hairstyle...check out sweeteashirts.com for popular Southern sayings (ie.,"Well, butter my b**T & call me a biscuit", etc) on a t-shirt

There are two expressions that come to mind- Burnt up (repairable) and burnt slap up (ready for the trash pile).

Thanks!

When I get mad or frustrated I say, "Shoot fire & save matches," which I got from my Granny. It comes in handy now that I have a 4-year-old. Much preferable to swearing in front of her. :)

My mother has lots of colorful Southern phrases. One of my favorites is if a room is messy she says, "It looks like the devil had a fit in here". If someone looks upset she says, "Who licked the red off of your candy".

How about "My nerves are tore all to pieces" and "My nerves are shot"!

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