It’s time for this month’s Appalachian Vocabulary Test.
I’m sharing a few videos to let you hear the words and phrases. To start the videos click on them.
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1. Carry: to accompany, guide, escort, or drive someone. “I couldn’t go to the funeral cause I had to carry Granny over to Franklin to the doctor.”
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2. Catawampus or Cattywampus: set at a diagonal. “He had the chair sitting cattywampus and you couldn’t even open the door all the way.”
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3. Cat-head: a biscuit. “He came in here wanting cat head biscuits, bacon, gravy, and eggs. Like I ain’t got nothing else to do but wait on him.”
4. Chancy: doubtful. “Its chancy that I can make it, you better plan to go on if I ain’t there by 2:00.”
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5. Chimbley: chimney “My grandpa built that chimbley nigh onto seventy years ago and its still a’standin.”
All of this month’s words are common in my area. I’d say chimbley is the least common, although it is one of those words I sometimes hear folks say-folks who don’t really sound Appalachian in any other way. I always wonder who influenced them to switch the n for the b.
Hope you’ll leave a comment and let me know how you did on the test!
Tipper
p.s. The winner of “Bits of Mountain Speech” is Ed Ammons who said: “I remember brickle from the baccer patch. You couldn’t get out in the tobacco to work early in the morning when it was cool because the leaves were “brickle” and would break off easily. We had to wait until the dew dried off and and the leaves wilted a little. Of course it was hot by then. You might die of a heat stroke but at least you didn’t damage your only cash crop.”
The winner of the Wilson Brothers cd is Ron Stephens who said (If you want to pick up your own copy go here): ”
As was said of Abel, so also of Pap and Ray that they “being dead yet speaketh” and are part of that “so great a cloud of witnesses”. And as time rocks on we see an ever greater need for witness to more than this life. “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. ”
I’m glad that I found BP&A, though I dis-remember just how. I’m glad too that you all have deep roots in that country. They are beyond price in a wandering world.”
The winner of “Wild Fare & Wise Words” is Wanda Devers who said: ”
I remember Bobwhite too and it seems like I have seen in in a store fairly recently. None of the pancake syrups taste very good to me–they are really thin.
I have made my own with sugar, water, and maple flavoring–turns out pretty good at least better than “boughten”.”
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19 Comments
InTheWoods
December 1, 2019 at 10:45 pmAll of these words are familiar to me, but the least so is chimbley. I often heard chiminey, with three-syllables.
Alica
December 1, 2019 at 8:08 pmCattywampus is the one that is most familiar to me. I don’t hear many people use it here, but it was very common in our family as I was growing up!
Bill Burnett
December 1, 2019 at 10:50 amI’ve heered and used em all, I guess that means I’m country to the core.
Ed Ammons
November 30, 2019 at 4:53 pmI am familiar with every one of those words but don’t use any of them regularly. I say chimley instead of chimbley. I used to argue with a neighbor kid over which was the correct spelling chimley or chimbley. Turns out it is neither. Or is it both!
I was surprised to see my name as the winner of “Bits of Mountain Speech”. I wasn’t in it to win it but I’ll take it! Thank You very much. And Thank You so much for being the kind and generous person you and your family have been to me over these past several years.
Sanford McKinney Jr
November 30, 2019 at 4:11 pmTipper,
I have heard them, all.
One of the words I have heard around here in Sullivan County is ideal instead of idea. Now that is a good ideal instead of idea. Initially, I thought I was just mishearing the word but have since confirmed with a friend that they are actually saying ideal.
Cynthia
November 30, 2019 at 11:23 amI’ve heard them all but chancy. My Mama said chimbley.
Gigi
November 30, 2019 at 10:37 amI have heard all then but 2 Tipper. I hope we keep talking the way we talk and never loose it. You know what.? ( we will ) love it all Tipper. You sure know how to make a person day.
Susan
November 30, 2019 at 11:34 amGigi, I’m with you on that!!
Ron Stephens
November 30, 2019 at 9:13 amCarry and cattywampus are most familiar. I didn’t hear about cat head biscuits growing up. I was probably a teenager when I first heard it but have heard it fairly often since. I don’t think, but can’t be sure, we said chimbley with a “BL” in it. I think I have heard chancy used but not often. If it were once common, nowadays it has been edged out by ‘risky’.
Tipper, you are the givingest soul and bless so many. This hard old world doesn’t appreciate enough its quiet givers whose heart is in service but not in being known for it. My Mom and my Grandma was like that.
Susan
November 30, 2019 at 11:37 amRon Stephens, thank you for reminding us of the positive character traits that are ever more difficult to witness in others , and perhaps ourselves , as well !
Shirl
November 30, 2019 at 9:01 amAll the words are familiar to me. My ex-husband would say cattywompus when he described someone inflicting physical pain on another person, such as in a fist fight. It doesn’t surprise me that he would invent a word to make violence sound pretty.
Ron Banks
November 30, 2019 at 8:31 amAll but chimbley are common to me.
To carry someone or something was so common that I thought everyone said that.
When I “moved off” from home I realized that wasn’t the case along with many more words and phrases. Unfortunately over time I stopped using a lot of the words I grew up with. Since retiring and moving from Metro Atlanta to Western NC I am hearing more and more of my native dialect and it makes me happier than a pig in slop to be around it again. There’s lots of transplants here but the locals are rich in their Appalachian heritage and I feel very much at home here.
aw griff
November 30, 2019 at 8:12 amThree of the words are still common but carry and chimbley aren’t. Mom still says chimley leaving out the b.
Does anybody hear, fatter than mud or maybe it’s fatter than Mudd? I thought it was only common here but I heard Steve Erwin, the crocodile man from Australia use it in one of his shows.
PinnacleCreek
November 30, 2019 at 8:06 amYou have really covered a lot of Appalachia this morning. I have heard cattywampus, but mostly we always used catty cornered when placing furniture in a corner. If we cannot line the piece of furniture up, we agree it is side goggling. We always drive people where they need to go, but surprisingly just a little south they are carrying them. I used to get a laugh from that because a mental picture formed of somebody physically carrying somebody.
Deerhunter right as always. Cathead biscuits and gravy from side meat cannot be beat. We called the side meat fat back, and it kinda left Mom’s kitchen when Dad’s cholesterol was high. She was really an ole timey cook, and at one time would slice the fat back, roll in flour then fry to a crispy brown. It has been many a moon, but the best I remember it tasted like a crackling with a crispy coating.
I have never heard chancy. Chimly used to be used a great deal. It seemed if the English language throwed a letter in a word we thought unnecessary or cumbersome we Appalachians just simply left it out or replaced it with something that flowed better 🙂
Miss Cindy
November 30, 2019 at 7:33 amMost of these are common to me. Chimbley is the one I’ve heard the least. Cattywampus is the one I’ve used the most and still use to describe something off square.
There is a first cousin to cattywampus, it’s cattycornered. It means something sitting across the corner, instead of in the corner.
Jim Casada
November 30, 2019 at 7:32 amTipper–All are familiar, although like you, chimbley the least so.
Jim Casada
tmc
November 30, 2019 at 7:27 amAll these are heard often in our area except chimbley, not that I haven’t heard it before but not in a long time.
sheryl paul
November 30, 2019 at 6:59 amWow all are a part of my everyday language. I don’t hear thrse words so much sny more though which saddens me.
Don Byers
November 30, 2019 at 6:43 amBoth my grandfathers, Nick Byers and Charlie Mauney, never said “thank you”. It was “much obliged”. I was performing in Scotland mid ’70’s and guess what……everyone used “much obliged”. And a lot of other words and phrases that my grandparents used. Our road manager was from London and couldn’t understand the “bloody Scots”. I had to take care of business!……Was a great tour of Great Britain. We were asked to come back the next year and we went….loved the audiences there. We were “much obliged” to them.