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. Wrinkledy: wrinkled. “His shirt was so wrinkledy it looked like he slept in it.”
2. Wormy chestnut: wood salvaged from chestnut trees after the blight. “When I worked at Lake Logan some of the cabins had wormy chestnut paneling in them. It was so pretty! I wonder if it’s still there.”
3. Workingest: working the most or best. “Granny always said my Mamaw was the workingest woman she ever saw.”
4. Work off: to ferment. “Like Granny, I put my kraut out on the porch while it’s working off.”
5. Working alive: plentiful, swarming. “In spring of the year I try to straighten up the rocks around our garden beds. Sometimes when I turn over a rock the ground will be working alive with ants.”
Hardly anyone talks about wormy chestnut anymore because it’s so scarce, but the others are fairly common in my area of Appalachia.
Hope you’ll leave a comment and tell me how you did on the test.
Last night’s video: The Panther on Cold Mountain & Other Stories 12.
Tipper
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My granddad, Nick Byers( not to be confused with my son Mick) never got caught “working off” . But he got caught with a wagon load.
I got most of them.Don’t know is I knew about wormy chestnut wood. But we have a few treasured pieces of wood. Hubby enjoys working with wood.
Hubby has an old wormy chestnut gun cabinet. I really never hear any of the other words or phrases, but I completely understand them all and like learning about them. I loved your month of February video and the reading last evening.
Are you familiar with the word “herelately”? It’s not in the Dictionary of Southern Appalachian English.
I am 🙂
my parents used to say “here lately” … sometimes it was about weather; other times it was explaining how they were feeling
or something happening that was unusual.
Following the blight that killed the American Chestnut trees, the dead and dying trees were invaded by insects whose larvae were the Chestnut Borer. These borers made countless tunnels throughout the wood which killed the already dying trees.
When this wood was sawed these little holes appear on the surface and people were attracted to its look. The lumber became valuable because there was a very limited supply and there will never be any more.
I have 2 Wormy Chestnut boards. They measure 3/4″x6″x54″. I would love for Matt to have them. If y’all ever take a notion to come towards Boone, NC I’ll bring them over.
I wasn’t familiar with any of them , but I am now !:) I enjoy learning about them !
Prayers for Norman & Bennie & all needed !
All but wormy chestnut.
One and all of this month’s words and phrases are as common as pig tracks to me. The only variance, and it is slight, is that I’ve most frequently heard “works off” or “working off” in the context of illegal usage of corn in order to turn it from granular to liquid form while greatly reducing the space occupied and greatly expanding its impact.
I am familiar with all of them except “working off” for fermenting. Don’t recall ever hearing that one. Agree that wormy chestnut wood is beautiful. I remember my mama spending countless hours with a giant steam iron so our clothes would not be wrinkledy.
I’ve heard them all but working alive. Prayers for Norman and Bennie.
I know them all and use them often. I have a couple of projects started that involve the American Chestnut, wormy and otherwise. I’ve hit a few walls herelately but I need to get back to them.
I’ve only heard them on your YouTube channel, but other than that I don’t recall any of my people use them. Then I wasn’t with them all every day so they might have used them in conversations. Appalachia language is so fun, interesting and very distinctive. That’s why we love it!
I have heard all the words and use most of them. That is such a good picture of Katie in the workingest girl video. Of course, both of the girls are beautiful and never take a bad picture. Norman, prayers sent!
Have heard all of them and have used all of them with the exception of “wormy chestnut”. Have never heard that before.
I’ve heard them all. Right now, in Daytona Beach, the streets are working alive with motorcycles. It happens every year. Those folks gather here for peaceable fun for the most part, and one club always attends services at our church. A few get into trouble, of course.
I enjoy these. I ‘spect you will do more!
Have heard them all from time to time but not commonly. Most familiar with “working alive”. I’m guessing permanent press really put a damper on “wrinkledy” but as ironing boards testify it was once a big problem. I expect the moonshiners often spoke of letting the mash barrel “work off” also. And them “workingest” people just won’t take a break because by the time they heard about that idea it was too late; they thought work time was for working. I know about wormy chestnut but even it is about gone now.
I’m afraid I failed. I have never used any of these expressions.
I have heard all but the last one. I’m sending my prayers up to heaven for Mr. Norman & Bennie.
Always enjoy the vocabulary words!
I’ve heard them all but working alive. I have some old wormy chestnut frames somewhere in my attic. I bought them from a barn sale years and years ago. I’ve heard and said ‘wrinkledy mess’ all my life. i.e. “go change your clothes you’re a wrinkledy mess”.
I’ve heard them all but the last (“working alive”). I know and have felt the term described though. LOL.
good morning friends, pray for my brother Bennie, today my sisters will be taking him to Emory at Johns Creek, Forsyth county Georgia, seeing new doctors, trying to find new hope and healing in Jesus name, God bless you and thank you for praying for my brother
Norman I pray they are able to help Bennie.