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.
1. Fall: to cut down a tree. “He fell that tree so close to the house I was scared to death he’d hit it but he didn’t.”
2. Fault: blame. “You can’t fault her. I wouldn’t let nobody treat me like that either.”
3. Favor: to resemble. “I’ve always thought Chatter favored her daddy and Miss Cindy and that Chitter favored me and the Wilsons.
4. Fight a circle saw: to fight against great odds, be afraid of nothing. “I’m telling you I wouldn’t mess with him if I was you. He’s got enough grit to fight a circle saw!”
5. Flag: Iris. “I had never heard irises called flags until I started writing Blind Pig & The Acorn.”
How did you do on this month’s test? All of the words and the phrase are common in my family except for flag.
Last night’s video: 7 Minute Frosting and Granny’s Strawberry Cake.
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I knew and use all but the circle saw.
my family called a ghost a Haint it came from haunt I guess. but this one was said all the time ” they gee she’s plagued to death” which they was referring to someone that should be ashamed of themselves. look at so and so with that man she’s plagued to death.
Heard all the sayings except for flags.
My Daddy always said ” well I’ll swanney”.
I am like you Tipper, in that I am proud of how I speak: I say warsh for wash. I was once told I speak to country to work at a place.
I love old folks, old sayings, and old ways. Thank you for keeping some of them alive.
If someone was a good at their job they were a “crackerjack”, however if they weren’t very good they were a “jackleg”. He is a crackjack carpenter while I am a jackleg carpenter.
Thanks again Tipper! I ordered your cookbook!
My sister grows The Cherokee Trail of Tears. She loves them.
Fought a saw once, didn’t end well. Got to meet alot of medical people.
I never considers an iris to be a flag. Henceforth; I always will. Thank you!
For favor, we often said ‘took after’. “He sure took after his Pa!”
For minding your own business we said, “You need to pull your own little red wagon.”
Where you might use sigoggling (sp?) we would have said cattywampus.
Blessings to all . . .
I have used all of those words. My Mama called Iris, blue flags.
Heard all of them except “fight a circle saw.”
Heard all of them except fighting a circular saw. One that I use is “I’ll swan”.
Blessings and prayers sent to your family today!
I knew all of them. Usually I hear and use buzz saw rather than circle saw.
Expressions I grew up with or heard somewhere:
“He’s so bow-legged he couldn’t hem a hog in a ditch.”
“Go pound sand.” (?)
“As independent as a hog on ice.”
“As hot as a cowboy’s pistol on the Fourth of July.”
On a really hot day, “That sun is coming down the near way.
“He looked like he’d been in an axe fight and he was the only who didn’t have an axe.”
As awkward as a one-legged man at a butt kicking.”
He was as high (drunk) as a Georgia pine.”
Never heard the flag one or fighting a circle saw. I’ve heard “he’d fight a grizzly bear” and “that ‘un ain’t got the sense to fight his way out of a paper bag”…might have actually been”find” his way out of a paper bag but something along those lines
He can’t fight his way out of a wet paper bag.
At least that’s the way we always used it.
I know all of them except 1 and 4.
Flag and fight a circle saw I never heard, but I do love fight a circle saw! Lol. I’m gonna use it. I usually say fight air or fight a grizzly. It’s been rough. A flat tire for me, a flooded and totaled vehicle for the kid. He left it 15 minutes and came back to a flooded car he waded in sewage to get. My plants are alive but just hanging on to life. Lol. I went back to bed this morning for several hours cause I feel rough. It’s exhausting fighting the circle saw! We are alive and well so that’s the big thing! I have come to loathe rain! Prayers to our lovely senior ladies Miss Cindy and Granny.
I knew them all except “fight a circle saw.” God bless you all, especially Miss Cindy. Please send her my love.
I’ve heard all but fight a circle saw. My mother grew beautiful beds of irises that she never called “flags” but when we had family get-togethers at our place I can remember some of my elders did.
As I get older I sure do miss those “sayings” and the people who said them. I thank you so much for this site where I can get a taste and remember!
My family always said cut or fell a tree but we used all the others. In fact, I remember my Mother saying her brothers would “fight a circle saw” for their sisters. Out of the 11 children, seven were girls:)
I have my Mother’s recipe for the 7 min frosting and I make it just like Granny showed, except I sprinkle coconut all over my cake. By the way, it looks like Granny has a cutting board by the stove that is made of dark maple and light maple. In the mid 50’s I watched my Daddy make a set of end-tables made with the dark maple and light maple, looked exactly like her cutting board. I remember him gluing the strips together and I have them today. They are just as beautiful to me as the day he made them.
I scored 100% this time. The Circle Saw one I heard many times but I heard it as “circle sough” Makes a lot more sense as Saw!
Think of yall so often. I hope Miss Cindy is comfortable.
I have never heard of an Iris being called a flag. I use some of the other ones especially fault and favor. Loved last night’s video. My mama used to always make 7-minute frosting for her pineapple cakes. That was daddy’s favorite. I have never eaten it with strawberries but plan to make one soon as it looks so delicious! Granny is just so precious. Always a pleasure to get to see her. Prayers for Miss Cindy and all of you.
Familiar with all!!
The blooming flags reminded us that Memorial Day was nigh. We used to cut them for bouquets to carry in the parade and place on the graves at the National Cemetery. This year was our one hundred fifty-sixth parade.
All except fight a circle saw. We grew up with so many similarities here in the PA mountains of Appalachia. Thoughts and prayers for you all.
I’m familiar with fell, fault and favor.
Never heard fight a circle saw before, that sure would take a lot of grit.
All of the words are familiar to me and my family, especially flag. In eastern KY, the orange ones that grow wild are called flags and all other colors are called irises. My mind is flooded with memories of the time when the entire creek bank at my aunt’s house turned orange when the beautiful flowers bloomed in early summer.
Praying that God will bless Miss Cindy and keep her pain-free.
We’ve said ‘epozooty of the blow hole’ when describing ‘runs’ ,’trots’, ‘stomach problems’. I’ve even heard some people refer to the back door as the ‘trot door’. Live long enough and you’ll hear all kinds of descriptors. I’ve heard all the test words today except for the ‘fight a chain saw’ and think it’s a perfect descriptor! Words are such an interest to me including their origins, so I really appreciate your efforts in bringing them to light.
Oops. I posted about “favor” just now before I watched the videos.
I’ve heard them all except “fight like a circle saw.” Have you ever heard someone say “well I swan”. Used in a sentence it would be “well I swan she’s the prettiest thing I’ve ever saw”. I catch myself saying it sometimes. See there’s another one..using the word catch!
I love my Appalachia people and their vocabulary.
Sending good thoughts to all the family today.
I have heard All of these used growing up in Eastern Kentucky. My Paternal Grandmother always called The Dark Purple Iris’ (growing Wild on the Mountop Family Cemetery) “Flags”.
Miss Cindy and all of You are in my Daily Prayers.
Never heard of an iris called a flag before. All the others were regularly used by my family.
Love this one! Made me think of my dad this morning, he fell a lot of trees! I favor the looks of my moms side of the family but no body faults me for it 🙂
I have heard them all except fell a tree. Instead of “fight a circle saw”, My father would say “fight a bear with a broomstraw”. I always liked that image.
I don’t fall a tree, I fell it. Felling is a term used by professionals who know how to put a tree on the ground where it needs to be. Falling is for amateurs who cut the tree off and hope it don’t fall on the house. Ever hear of a felling axe or a feller buncher?
I guess I’ll be the only one that HAS heard of a blue flag. Should I give up and just go with the flow?
Do you ever get the feeling you don’t belong here? That you were born a century or two too late? That society has progressed far beyond you?
I feel that way alot. I have always got along better with old folks than people my own age. My sister in law said I an old soul!
I knew all 5 thus time. “Favor”, “flag”and ” fight a circle saw” are especially familiar. Favor is said especially of family members when the person being spoken of looks or acts like another family member. My Mom always called iris “flags” but I have not heard or used it in a long time. “Fight a circle saw” was one of my Dad’s sayings he used for somebody especially “bull-headed” combined with hot-tempered. Winning or losing is not a consideration. Having the fight is.
All but the circle saw one. but I have only heard fell a tree, not fall.
Tipper,
I think number three (3) is interesting in that favor has at least four meanings, including the one given, of which I can readily think.
Favor: Giving someone a helping hand as in, my neighbor would sure do me a favor if he would have that pin oak cut down.
Favor: Giving preference to something. Favor one thing, person, etc. over another.
I favor warm ham over cold shoulder!
We can add “to resemble”, as in “She certainly favors her mother.” My family used that expression regularly.
Flag for iris, can’t say I have heard that one. Some of the iris flowers that were so pretty to me were the ‘brearded’ iris. They don’t seem to grow well here in upstate Florida. As far as your sayings, my Husband’s grandmother use to say, if she didn’t know what something was, she called it a “hoozets’ and the swirls in sand were called doodle bugs. Amazing what we come up with when not being able to remember a word, so we substitute. Still praying for Miss Cindy and your family. Loved seeing Granny and her Strawberry Cake. God Bless.
Knew them all except fight a circle saw. My Aunt Estelle was always mighty proud of her purple flags every spring. They came from the homeplace she’d always say.
Did you ever hear the phrase “running off” for diarrhea? Back in the 60’s my dad took me to a newly opened clinic in southern WVa staffed by a nice young couple who were just graduated physicians, from New York City, and were Jewish. He told them I had the “running off”. I remember they couldn’t understand what my symptoms were. They thought Daddy couldn’t keep me at home and I was trying to run away.
Charlie,
Back door trots?
I have also heard it called the green apple quick step.
The green apple quick step.
Tennessee two step!
Charlie, we would usually say someone’s bowels were running off! My mother had a bad break of her arm and the doctor was a young Northerner. Mama said, “Is it dreaning?” He had no idea of what she meant–draining!!
Wanda, I commented about reading a book titled Appalachian Mountain Girl. It was about growing up in a coal mining Kentucky town or camp during the 1930’s. she said the people would say it took a Yankee a year to learn to speak English.
Hershey Squirts
I can’t spleak splain for spluttering! God bless you Tipper and your family, God bless Ms Cindy with healing and health in Jesus name,
all are familiar and used in my family too, except for flag. I had read about flag and knew it was an iris though. it’s funny what you pick up when reading. Thinking of Miss Cindy, I really miss her comments on the posts
I have heard and use all of them except flag for iris. I will say “cut” more often than fell when cutting a tree down. I said something yesterday that made me think of some of the southern phrases we use, I don’t remember what it was about, but I remember saying that would have been a doozie. While looking through the Hoss Tool website, I came across the name of a new (to me) pole bean , it was named Cherokee Trail Of Tears. I am most familiar with the Kentucky Wonder. Continue to pray for Miss Cindy and her family.
The Cherokee Trail of Tears beans are excellent.
My sister grows The Cherokee Trail of Tears. She lives time.