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. Pack: to lug, carry a load on one’s back, shoulders, or hip; to convey something on the back of an animal. “Some of the people giving aid are using mules and horses to pack supplies in to people that are isolated because of the damage from hurricane Helene.”
2. Paper poke: a small paper bag or sack. “Get you a paper poke out of the drawer there and I’ll send you home with a few turnips.”
3. Parch: to toast peanuts, dried corn, etc. “One time Pap showed me how to parch corn. It was tasty but awful hard on my teeth.”
4. Pass and repass: to meet casually and then part, pass (someone) repeatedly, acknowledging him or her slightly or not at all; hence, barely to get along with someone, especially a neighbor or to speak only when passing. “People passed and repassed with that bunch, but nobody wanted too get to close to them for they were outlaws.” or “We don’t really know each other but pass and repass when we see one another on the road.”
5. Passion flower: a tall vine with large showy blooms and edible fruit; maypop, wild apricot. “We have passion flowers growing in our backyard. They always grew around Pap’s big garden but he called them wild apricots. I’ve heard most folks call them maypops.”
All of this month’s words are beyond common in my area, except pass and repass. I have never heard that before and will be interested to see if you’re familiar with the phrase.
Last night’s video: Easy Quick Yummy Chicken Soup I Make for My Family.
Tipper
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A funny incident with a poke. My grandma from Bluefield came up to Cincinnati to visit. She and I stopped at the A&P. She asked the cashier if she could have a poke. She looked at Mawmaw and stuck out her finger as though she would poke her. Mawmaw quickly responded with “you know, a sack.” I told her she wanted a paper bag. She looked relieved and handed her a bag.
Pack and paper poke are very common here in WV. I only use parch to say I am parched or very thirsty. I am not familiar with pass and repass. We use pass or say we see people “in passing” which means just seeing, and maybe waving or saying hello, and going on our way. I also don’t really know about passion flower but I have heard of it. My mama always calls paper bags pokes.
My Uncle Rush Mauney had a country store on Murphy Hwy. He would stuff my dope in a poke fer me to tote home. (this means he put my soft drink in a paper sack for me to carry home)
I remember “pass and repass!” I haven’t heard that in years! My parents said that!
Heard them all, except pass and repass was a long, long time ago:)
One of my absolute favorite memory is as a young teen sitting in front of the fireplace by my Grandparents down in NE MS eating “parched peanuts” Daddy had parched for us. No television on, just sitting around the glow and warmth of a big ole roaring fire in the fireplace listening to my Parents and Grandparents talk about their growing up days. Parched peanuts made the best treat for a young girl like me to enjoy while listening to some of the great storytellers in my family! Now I’m near to the age of Granny and those old memories sure are precious to me.
Tipper, I make chicken soup similar to yours, with what vegs I have in fridge:) Nothing better than chicken soup in cold weather; well, maybe, chicken and dumplings:)
I haven’t heard “pass and repass” but I’m familiar with the idea of not meeting the neighbors. An elderly lady I knew said, “I don’t need to get friendly with them. With me, it’s just ‘hi and ‘bye.'” She would just nod and keep walking. I was taught to “howdy” everybody, just to be polite. Some of our neighbors wave, nod or say hello as we pass. Others think it would break their arms to wave. A few look the other way, bless their hearts. The majority of our neighbors are fine, friendly people, I’m pleased to report.
I remember mama telling me if I was at school or anywhere if there were others that were not nice and acting ugly just to pass and repass with them. Just speak and move on. I taught my son and granddaughter the exact same thing. Now parching peanuts was a wonderful memory I have. Daddy would always parch them, and we would sit around in the den eating peanuts and watching television. You don’t hear paper poke as much here as you used too but I am like Corie, I remember at Christmas getting a paper poke at church with an apple, orange and candy.
I’ve never heard pass and repass used that way. My folks used parched to describe ground that had dried due to extreme heat. I’ve also heard them say their throats were parched after working in the field carrying taters like a pack horse. Most of the time, I say poke and don’t bother saying paper. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a passion flower but they sure are purty.
4 of 5 known and likely used by me. Cannot recall ever even hearing “pass and repass”. Closest to it is saying “in passing” which can mean literally ‘as I was passing by’ a place or ‘giving scant attention’. For example, “I saw something about that the other day in passing but I can’t remember where.” Wished we still used paper pokes. They are so much more useful than plastic. And I am not sure we are saving any trees by not using the brown paper either. Pack still gets a lot of common use between packing for a trip, carrying a pack and the slogan “Pack it in/pack it out” for woods camping.
Pass/repass not so much but a definitely yes to the others!
I’m familiar with all of them except repass. That’s one I’ve not heard before.
I have heard and used all of these words except repass. For all of my working life I would pack a sandwich in paper poke or sack and carry it to my job. One of my favorite childhood memories is of laying in the floor with my Daddy beside of me in front of our fireplace eating parched peanuts that we had grown and parched. Daddy like laying in the floor better than sitting in a chair. I often pass by my neighbors in the rural area I live in. We always throw our hand up or in some way acknowledge each other, these new outsiders in my area do not do this, I think some of them turn their heads. I remember maypops but have not seen any in a long time and only remember hearing them called a passion flower a few times.
I’ve heard all of those except “pass and repass”. My grandma, from the Arkansas Ozarks, was the only person I remember using poke for bag, other than people repeating the old saying, “a pig in a poke”, and that would have been a burlap or other kind of sturdy fabric bag.
Your example of the paper poke from the church at Christmas reminded me that on the half day of school before Christmas vacation, our school bus driver, a nice retired farmer, would give each child a little brown paper bag as they exited the bus. It had a few unshelled nuts and the kinds of candies the feed store would sell by the pound around Christmas, such as orange slices, chocolate drops and a peppermint stick. We kids looked forward to that so much.
Pass and repass? Ain’t that called road rage these days?
Along with today’s new meaning of pass and repass, the meaning of riding shotgun goes back to the stagecoach days of the 18 hundreds, it has nothing to do with riding in the front seat. For many people, they just shoot and don’t even bother with the “highway salute”- the middle finger.
Not familiar with pass and repass. All of the others – yes.
My daddy loved parched peanuts!!!
Pass and Repast is very common in my area. I used it just the other day discussing a situation. I’m in northeast Alabama on Sand Mountain. All the other words are common here too. We are usually referring to peanuts when we say parch… parched peanuts or extremely thirsty people say “I’m parched”
Good morning. I am familiar with all, but hardly ever hear pass and repass used and when I do, they are used in myriad of ways. I do hear pass used as “I passed by his house today and he was out in the yard”. In the olden “pass” could refer to a literal “passport”. In my mind, “repass” would simply mean passing back through that _________(door, border, or other boundary, etc.).
I searched Google to see if there were examples of those words being used in the Bible and there are. I also found this example of “repass”;
A repass, also known as a repast, is a gathering that takes place after a funeral or memorial service to honor and remember the deceased. It provides an opportunity for family members and friends to come together and offer their condolences to the bereaved family. The word “repast” itself, derived from Latin, literally means “to eat,” reflecting the tradition of sharing a meal during this event.
I have never heard it used in that fashion. I enjoy the vocabulary tests very much.
From the tail-end of the Appalachian Chain,
Jeffery in Alabama