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. Talk hard: to speak harshly. “Talk hard is a phrase I’ve heard all my life. I really like it because it is such a plain way of communicating. I think of it as: I’m going to talk and it’s going to be hard for you to hear and hard for me to say.”
2. Talkingest: most inclined to talk. “We love to add est to words in Appalachia to emphasize what we are saying. I live with one of the talkingest people I’ve ever met.”
3. Tear up jack: to cause a commotion or disturbance. “Helene was a storm that tore up jack in lots of places. In fact folks are still cleaning up from the horrible hurricane.”
4. Teenincey: extremely small. “My grandsons find teenincey pieces of dirt in the floor that are so small I can barely see them. Most of the time they put those teenincey pieces of dirt in their mouths.”
5. Teetotal: absolutely, completely, entirely. “We have become teetotally dependent on our air conditioning. Ours is out at the moment and we are missing it. I am very thankful it decided to give up the ghost during this cool spell in August instead of back in the heat of July.
All of this month’s words are common to me. I hope you’ll leave a comment and tell me how you did on the test.
Last nights video: The Family History and Stories of Opal Corn Myers 34.
Tipper
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We use teetotal, teetotalled, and teetotally in my part of West Virginia to mean extreme, like a teetotal mess or she teetotally wrecked their relationship. I know what teetotaler means but we usually just say“they don’t drink.” Drink sounds more like “drank” when used this way.
I’m teetotally bumfuzzled by all them T words today. Maybe I do better when you do Us
Not sure where I ever heard teenincey to begin with, but I know I’ve said it a thousand times. I always tell folks that I live in a teenincey house up in the woods. I always get asked what kind of word that is. I just tell them that it’s one of those words I just picked up somewhere.
The only one I haven’t heard is “talk hard to me”, the rest are commonly used here in eastern AR where I live and grew up. Enjoy your show so much!!!
All familiar but tear up jack. The way we use jack, if someone really doesn’t know what is going on with what you are telling them or acts like they don’t care, we would say, “he don’t know jack.”
I am familiar with all these, but I think it is from you and your channel! I am pretty sure I have only ever heard talkingest used. They are so colorful and fun! Thank you! ❤️ we really enjoy the language posts
Around my area in East Tennessee, the complete phrase is “tear up jack and throw jennie away”
Old Red
Clint, thank you for sharing that!
My mother used to say “They tore up Jack and threw Jill out the window!” Takes me back.
I say Teen-“I”n-cee instead of Teen-“E”n-cee.
All of these words are beyond common to me
The only one of those I’ve heard it teenincey, but pronounced differently. My mama, from the Arkansas foothills of the Ozarks, would say that something really small was “little tee-NINE-see.
My grandmother said teenincey but with a long “I” sound in the middle syllable. I loved hearing it as a child. I’ve only heard teetotal used like someone who abstains from drinking alcohol—a teetotaler.
I don’t hear anyone say any of these exactly, except talkingest. That’s probably because I am a morning person and the talkingest person in my family in the mornings. We say “teensy or teensy tiny” instead of “teenincey”. I would completely understand all of these phrases though.
Teenincey and tear up jack are new to me. I always heard teency meaning very small. Weather has been cooler here lately, woke up to 59 this morning. Our air conditioning runs on prayers. It’s 24 years old but still going, thank God.
Ron, where’s “here”? Are you in the Carolina Hills or some ‘ers else?
Enjoyed all the words this month. We all love That Katie is a talker! Such a sweetheart!
Talkingest is the only one I’m really familiar with. But I like the others.
4 of 5 for me. Don’t recall “talk hard to”. The version I’ve heard is ” talk straight” or “tell it like it is”. I have not heard “teensyest”in a good long while. Glad you mentioned it because I think folks now more commonly say “tinyest”. And I know somebody who is the “talkingest” person you’ll ever meet. I wonder why Jack comes in for getting tore up so much and everybody else skates. I do have a question about “teetotal” though. How come it can mean either “every little bit, the whole sheebang” or “no not none nohow ever”?
The only familiar one is teenincey, but we pronounced it
tee-nine-cy eih the accent on the nine.
I’m with Christine as far as only hearing tearing up Jack. Btw, you all give the sweetest performances and for Deer Hunter to go along with you is just precious. You all do a great job at everything you set out to say, do or show us. I want you to know you’ve brought a lot of joy and pondering not to mention hobbies you’ve shared into my life and made my life so much more fulfilling and fun. I guess I really love you all (in a healthy way) and thank you for making my life more interesting and better… you’re down to earth and genuine good people. It shows in all you do…I can’t wait to see what’s next…
I’ve heard “Tearing up Jack”, but don’t recall any of the others. I like “Talk hard”, it sounds better than what I’ve heard from my people in my younger years. They weren’t bad words, apparently the phase I heard growing up is now considered inappropriate. I’ve been told from the younger generation, it now means something unrelated to its original meaning of talking to set things straight or correcting someone, so I’m not going to type it out.
Always good to learn something new each day. Y’all have a happy and blessed Labor Day weekend! Be safe!
All of these words and phrases are very familiar to me.