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. Rare and pitch: throw a fit; rage at. “I once had a teacher who would rare and pitch every time someone failed to turn a paper in on time.”
2. Rassel: wrestle. “When I was a girl Pap would rassel with Paul in the floor. They had the biggest time!”
3. Rawhide: to carry a heavy load on one’s back. “Ma’m would you like for me to rawhide those suitcases in for you?”
4. Reach: to hand. “If you’ll reach me that book there on the shelf I’ll show you what I was talking about.”
5. Receipt: a recipe. “I love the odd amounts used in old receipts. Things like butter the size of a walnut or a teacup full of milk.”
I didn’t do very well on my own test this month 🙂 I’ve never heard anyone say rare and pitch although I’ve heard each word used to describe someone who is upset. Rawhide for carrying is another usage I’ve never heard. The Dictionary of Southern Appalachian English has entries for both.
Using receipt for recipe is still fairly common for older folks in my area. Reach and rassel are the two I hear most.
Hope you’ll leave a comment and tell me how you did on the test.
Last night’s video: Making a Hearty Family Breakfast in the Mountains (I Almost Burned the Gravy!!).
Tipper
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I have heard “rare and pitch” all my life. I have participated upon occasion. Happy spring from the mountains of NC.
I thought it was” Rear and Pitch ” as in a horse rearin’ up and pitchin’ forward…it tickles me to pieces to hear the old talk and I always learn something new…thanks much! LoriAnne
Never heard rawhide used in that way but have heard the others.
Pronunciation wreaks (not wrecks) havoc on spelling in the case of ‘rare and pitch’. That expression comes from the actions of a horse shying away from something when it rears and pitches. One of my great grandmothers died at 105 after being thrown by a horse that reared and pitched he off. I’d bet that’s where the expression comes from.
Similarly, ‘rassel’ comes from the word, wrestle. My appalachian cousins have long been careless (keerless) about pronunciation. I think this led to their being characterized as ignorant backwoods folks by more urbane people who went among them.
Never heard the rawhide one; have heard each of the others. I was delighted to see “rare” as I hadn’t heard that since I was a child when a friend of mine used to say that about her dad!
The Appalachian lexicon is rich indeed. Thank you for bringing to mind some of the words I heard from both my mother and grandmother. Thank you as well for adding the perfectly descriptive “rawhide” and “rare and pitch” to my vocabulary. Thanks again!
P.S. How is Granny today?
Lesley-pretty good 🙂
Am glad to know that Granny is okay. One day she and all the rest of us will be better than “okay.” Until then, we can live well no matter our circumstances because we are safe in God’s kind and capable hands.
May God bless you, One and All.
Recipe and receipt come from old French and Latin words meaning a list of instructions or items. The words would have been used interchangeably long ago.
Morning Miss Tipper. Love y’all’s gardens this year. Especially when you and Mr Matt are working together and Corie working with Austin. I had 3 brothers. The three boys used to rassle all the time. Most times or always it ended in a disaster. With one of them being the worse for it. The middle one especially. But I guess he finally got the best of the other two. Middle brother is still alive and sadly the other two have passed on. I’d like to think they are still rassling and a hassling each other in heaven. Y’all have a great weekend and love to your momma, always the best to everyone around your place and to your followers. Everyone, remember your momma’s next month.
There is an old song with these lyrics: “Upstairs, downstairs, out in the kitchen. See Uncle Bill justa rarin’ and a pitchin’, yes sir.
I always enjoy the vocabulary posts. I’d heard of half of the phrases this time. Thank you for making this fun and educational! ☮️
Pitch a fit, yes but not ‘rare and pitch.’ Rare might be a form of the word Rear as in Rear Up. ‘Rawhide’ isn’t one I’ve come across either. It might be a word unique to someone’s personal conversation and it might have been referring to the old tv show “Rawhide” kind of like how a local family likes to use “Barney Fife” to describe a behavior that the tv character was known for. Example “Don’t be Barney Fifing me” (stop nitpicking) or “Don’t go all Barney Fife about it” (getting all worked up about someone doing something different or believing something different). All the rest I’ve heard of in my family and neighbors but the two “rare and pitch” and “rawhide” wasn’t used as far as I can tell.
I’ve not heard any of them until now. Interesting for sure.
I have heard reach, receipt, and rassle.
Rare, rawhide, receipt used in this way are new to me, but have heard and have used the others since childhood.
My husband was born and raised in WV. He uses “reach it to me…” all the time. Interestingly he, pronounces it “WRETCH it to me”. Has anyone else heard this pronunciation?
Rassel and reach are the only words I’m familiar with in this test. Where I’m from, rare was used to describe something or someone that raised up. I’ve heard pitch describe how a person walked, as in he was a pitchin and a stumblin. Pitch is a versatile word in my family. We all know what it means when someone tells you to pitch that hoe so they can finish planting, or he pitched head over heels in love with her.
Not so good today. #1 “rare and pitch” only heard or used as “rare up” or “rare back” and “pitch a hissy fit” but not joined in one expression. #2 “rassel it out” would be “rassel” with a person or physical thing but “rassel it out” if an inner turmoil such as ‘announcing a preacher callin’. #3 “rawhide ’em down” never heard that way but have heard rawhide used to mean ‘a rough and ready’ fix job. #4 “reach” yes! many be the time growing up, never ‘handed’ anything; always ‘reached’ it. #5 “receipt” oh my, that one takes me back a long ways. Mostly likely have not heard that in over 50 years and rarely before that; fewer than a dozen times I’d guess. Thanks for the trip down Memory Lane; like the phrase from the hymn “echoes from the past I hear”. I miss those folks and those times.
I’m familiar with all of these expressions except rawhide used in that way. I like it and I’ll likely start using it.
I haven’t heard of ‘Rawhide’ before, but I have heard of the other words used in my family.
I’m like you, receipt and rassle are the only ones familiar to me.
Rare and pitch was unfamiliar but I have heard “pitch a fit” before. Never heard rawhide used in that manner either.
I missed rawhide but heard all the others.
My parents both used pitch a fit more often than rare and pitch however. I have an old cookbook, Charleston Receipts with delicious local food in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. This was a fun quiz.
Good morning all, beautiful day today. Reach Russel and pitch are common to me.
I’m familiar with all but that use of “rawhide”. I might have asked if I could rassel the suitcases for her.
Good point!
I use reach and rassel, just like my mama always has. I have only used rare and pitch separately, as in “she sure is in rare form this morning” or “He just pitched a fit”. Hope everyone made it safely through the big storms last night. We had lots of wind, rain, thunder and lightning—somehow we still have electric after that. Take care everyone!
I have never heard of rawhide used like that. I’ve heard receipt but it’s been a coon’s age since hearing it. I’m very familiar with reach and rassel. I’ve heard it said, ” Retch”. Like, retch me that bowl up off that high shelf. We say pitch a fit. Fun to learn new things.