A few posts back Blind Pig reader Terry Stites left this comment:
“Can anyone help me with a word? Antigodlin,means lopsided or outta kilter. I’d like to know it’s origin. Any help is appreciated.”
I’ve heard antigodlin my whole life, but like Terry I don’t know where it comes from. I knew the word would be in my Dictionary of Smoky Mountain English so I went to see what it had to say. Here’s the entry:
anti-godling, anti-gogling, anti-sidling, anti-sigodling adjective, adverb Of an object: crooked, out of line, askew, diagonal. Cf catawampus, cater-corner, sig-godling.
1917 Kephart Word-list 417 antigodlin‘. 1944 Combs Word-list Sthn High 17 antigodlin, antigoglin, antisigodlin = out of plumb or square, slanting 1952 Wilson Folk Speech NC 515 antigodlin = leaning, not parallel. 1955 Parris Roaming Mts 22 Slaunchways means slanting, and si-godlin or anti-sigodling is out of plumb or out of square. 1960 Cooper Jularker Bussed He just sets with his mouth pooched out (stuck out) since he discivered (discovered) he built the walls antigodlin (not plum). 1972-73 Pederson et al. LAGS anti-godlin (Cocke Co TN, Sevier Co TN). 1992-95 Montogmery Coll. anti-godlin (Jones, Norris, Oliver); anti-gogling (Brown, Bush, Hooper, Jones, Norris, Oliver, Shields); anti-sidling (Norris); anti-sigodling (Brown, Cardwell, Hooper, Ledford, Oliver.)
[DARE anti-gogling <anti– “against, counter” + gogglin present-part/adj < goggle “to shake, tremble” (EDD, SND); anti-gogling South, South Midland, West]
Dictionary of Smoky Mountain English
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I like the reference to slaunchways in the dictionary entry. It reminds me of Pap. I don’t recall ever hearing anyone else use the word. I also like the part about the man sitting with his lips pooched out. I’d sit with mine pooched out too if I built walls antigodlin 🙂
If you have any other information about the word antigodlin please leave a comment and share it.
Tipper
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I don’t think I ever heard this growing up (in Missouri) but in college some of my friends were in a band named Annie Goglin, and they explained what it meant. I’ve lost touch but I’d love to know where they got it!
Wilkes County, NC We always say si-godlin.
Tipper I heard it said odd godlin out of kilter . Grandmother was of Dutch descendant and boy did she have some name to mull ovet
Down in this neck of the woods it was pronounced antigoglin.
North Alabama
Tipper, thank you and all the commenters! I actually heard it pronounced “annie goglin” all my days. My people came from Georgia. We have been delving into how they got to N E Oklahoma.
I haven’t heard antigodlin or sigoglin, but now that I know the meaning, I will say my neighbor cattycorner from my house, built himself a front porch that is very antigodlin and cattywampus. Yes, it is very jack-legged and definitely leaning towards Hank’s Mill. His fence is not much better.
Tipper,
One time I asked Daddy, “What makes a dog turn around and around before he lays down?” He said,
“One turn calls for another.” …Ken
My Dad used slaunchways or slaunchwise as well as cattyslaunchwise. He said kittycornered when furniture sat across a corner.
I heard anti-godlin frequently from my mother and her family, particularly my grandfather who could build almost anything out of wood. Clay Co. NC
It’s new to me. I grew up with cattywampus and whomperjawed, and those still seem sufficient.
Antigodlin is new to me. Si-godlin or Side-goglin is common around here.
My parents always say si-gogglin’ (far southwest VA). I use it all the time.
Cattywampus, a delightful word, was once more
common in East Texas, but you can still hear it from
the older generation (which now includes me…).
We never heard sigogling. I wonder if that word
or a variant of it was used in Scotland. Any other readers know?
Thanks–
Emily from Austin
I say si-agnel [sic]. Daddy used to say “leaning toward Hanks’s Mill!
Tipper,
Daddy was a carpenter and “sigogling”! For instance” That board was put up “sidegogled” and caused the whole wall to be out of plumb”….He always said one board sigogled would make a whole house tilt..LOL He always hated a “jack-legged” way of doing things…and many a time made a helper pull off a board and start over..LOL
Thanks for the memory..
By the way…I think this words meaning is also a bit different from the old moonshiner leaving the holler, carrin’ a jug , “sigogling” down the middle of the road….ha
Tipper,
and Terry Stites,
I never heard of Antigodlin, maybe someone in my Family used it before I got here, I don’t know. We used Slanted. …Ken
I have heard all my life, but Dad was a carpenter. Thes term used commonly was “”all side gogglin.” The all was probably used for extra emphasis.
It was pronounced antigoglin where I grew up. Cattywampus is another I remember.
Never heard of Antigodlin till today. We always called it sigoglin.
Papa K’s version was Sigodlin. They were from Henderson Co.
I do not know anything factual about these ‘crooked’ word ideas. We said “sigoglin”. I suspect the original idea was ‘ungodly’, that is not true (square or plumb) and that an alternative sound was used for ‘god’ by many people because it was too nearly like taking the Lord’s name in vain. If I am on the right track, it was a way to reflect multiple values of the culture in invented words, including an appreciation of wit.
Along that line, in Colonial times the door design now called ‘six panel’ was considered a double cross. The difference lies in whether one is looking at the panels or at the rails and stiles. The latter form the double cross with panels as filler between. It is all in how one looks at it.
I’ve never heard antigodlin, but my mother said sigodlin – as used in the definition. She pronounced it si-gog-lin. I honestly thought she made that word up, because I have never heard anyone else use it. But then, until I found your blog, I thought she made up a lot of words! Her family came from around Madisonville, TN and LaFollette, TN.
Sorry, no help on antigodlin. I hear and use sigoglin,
Dad always used slaunchways every time he told me how our farm property lines ran diagonally from the holler to the top of ridge.
Busy day for you all! I’ve heard si-godling but it was pronounced more like si-gogling. Also heard anti-godling also pronounced more like anti-gogling, and I’ve heard si much more than anti.
Don’t you just love how we make up our own words to fit any situation.