Today’s video shares ten words/phrases from Appalachia.
I hope you enjoyed the video!
Jayho isn’t a word I’ve ever actually heard, but isn’t it a great word? Juberous is not very common these days, but the other examples are still common in my area of Appalachia.
Hope you’ll leave me a comment and let me know if you’re familiar with the examples in the video.
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See that small little thing on my computer screen in the photo above? Its what we call a no seeum….
My folks in the Crossville area used to use the phrase “liked to” about situations that almost happened, but didn’t. “It got so windy out thar that branch liked ta fall on my car” meant that the branch didn’t really fall on the car but people looking outside during the storm were afraid it was going to.
Steve,
It was always the same in Kentucky – “I liked to a got blowed away on the way in to work this morning!”
Tipper,
I am going to go out on a limb here in regard to Jayho. Hope someone doesn’t saw off the limb while I am “out on the limb”. When I was growing up, I always heard Jayho referred as a little area that jutted off to the side of a one-lane road
so that one wagon/automobile, etc. could pull over until the other one could pass. I believe this might have also applied to logging when logs were attached to a “hack line” and turned loose to come off a mountain. It would be nice to hear some comments if anyone is still around that remembers “how it used to be”?
My GrandMomma use to say to visitors; “Yall”(the person or people)
come on over here and “Sit a Spell” (Stay a while) on this here “Davenport” ( couch) and visit.
Heard all my life
Fer piece is a long distance. It’s a fer piece to the store
Ni on- nearly there. It’s ni on to supper time
Tad- a small amount. You need to add a tad of salt to them turnips
I’ve heard and still use all these except jayho and Jim jams. I use juvus rather than juberous. Always loved “little old”. Thanks Tipper, for all you do for our culture.
I’ve heard them all except Jay Ho. Lol I’ve heard sommers for somewhere too. Love the language.
I have used the term jimmy jack, and jack hole
Jimmy jack — messed things up
Jack hole—- idiot or whatever.
Also sommers else for somewhere other than where you are, here in Kentucky.
Miss Cindy, I’ve heard “pert” used like this:
“She’s pert near 5 foot tall.” Or “His house is pert near mine.”
Me too. “Purt near” was (and is) really commonly used in Kentucky.
Tipper–I’m sure you are aware of this, but as a technologically inept feller who doesn’t know doodley-squat about the ways and workings of modern stuff such as computers, something associated with you blog has been a revelation to me. I often finish up the evening, other than a spate of reading in bed, by listening to some old-time country music or bluegrass on YouTube. Recently I’ve noticed, multiple times, that your offering for the next day is already up. It will appear among the listings on the right edge of the computer screen. Last night, for example, I was listening to Slim Whitman and juberous though I initially was, there you were.
Two comments on today’s offering. I’ve usually heard “keep your drawers on” or “don’t get your underwear in a wad.” When it comes to new ground, I always think of the long ago practice of girdling trees so that there would be new ground to work in a couple of years.
Jim Casada
In NE Mississippi “kilt” was used in past time – “Albert done kilt fhe old gal”
I grew up with a Dad who was a logger. He would hook more than one log in a “trail” of logs. In that first log was a Jay-grab.
The purpose was was so the horse would not be injured if the logs began pushing the horse on a steep place. The horse was hooked to the Jay-grab by way of a spur projecting above the bar of the Jay-grab. If the logger saw the logs were about to overtake the horse, He would yell JAY_HOLE. This was a signal for the horse to jump to the side into a wide place along side the trail called a Jay-Hole. The single tee (or tree) as some called it. automatically became loose from the Jay-grab, the trail of logs continued on down the steep place. The horse was then safe. I always rode on top of the first log to be sure the horse was safe. When he jumped, I jumped with him. This was all in the 1950’s.
You said the same thing I did in the comments on the video. You explanation was better than mine. I am “Papaw” on Youtube.
O.P,
Jayho or jayhole was used in Upper East TN in reference to logging. It seems that I remember hearing about a “hack” line where logs were hooked to a cable and turned loose to come off a mountain. Later on there were wide places made in one lane roads so that if two vehicles met, one could pull into the jayhole until the other could pass. Sometimes that meant that one of them had to “backup” to the nearest jayhole. Every once in a while two stubborn drivers would meat and get into an argument on which one should “backup”. That did not happen often, but occasionally was a bone of contention.
I have heard and still use most of the expressions except for jayho. One thing we say instead of keep your britches on is don’t get your drawers in a wad.
This is for Tipper and Paul, my autistic grandson loved Paul’s monkey song.
I once worked with a woman who said “well, if you are going to act like that, I’ll just pull up my bloomers and leave.”
You made me think of:
little bitty o/ole/old
little o/ole/old
plain o/ole/old
big o/ole/old
great big o/ole/old
Which brings up the next question. Is it “o” as in a meaningless extra, or “ole” (which I think of as meaning “one”) or “old” which – as you mention – may have nothing to do with age? Or maybe it just doesn’t matter.
Silly thought I guess but Jeff Foxworthy could take the DSME and make up a lot of comedy routines with something like “You might have met an Appalachiner if …”. We wouldn’t mind if people would laugh with us but we shore wouldn’t like it if they laughed at us.
I always figured huberous was just a mis-pronouncing of the word “dubious”, which means uncertain, suspicious, or doubtful.
Could be a misspelling of hubris which means “excessive pride or self-confidence”.
Donna,
My Mother used to use the word juberous as suspicious or doubtful. She might say, “I am a little juberous of what so and so said about catching so many fish in one day”! If she knew someone was not to be believed she would, “You had better be juberous of anything you hear from him/her”.
I think that’s the way I always heard “juberous” used. “I’m a little juberous of that ol bird” meant I don’t quite trust that feller.
My Grandpa Nick Byers and others used to exclaim. “I Ginny”……
I find your words today so delightful. Summer I’ve heard in a couple that I have not. I wish you luck in your gardening this spring which is about to be sprung and God bless you and the work that you do for Appalachia.
Anne, it looks like your spell check put in “Summer” for you; but I’ve heard “”Somers (somewhere) i have a hammer.”
I love our language! I love how we form words to express what we mean. One I haven’t heard in a while is puert, meaning pert like, your very puert today!