It’s time for this month’s Appalachian Vocabulary Test-take it and see how you do!
- Talkingest
- Tad
- Twicet
- Tromp
- Tejus
- Talkingest: talkative. “I like to not have got away from him. I do believe he is the talkingest man I ever seen!”
- Tad: a small child; a small portion. “There was only a tad of milk left so I sent him to the store for some.”
- Twicet: twice. “I done told her twicet. She is not going to that party!”
- Tromp: stomp; to press down. “Somebody has tromped all over my clean floors with their muddy ole boots. And when I find out who it was I’m agonna tan their hide!”
- Tejus: tedious; nervous; anxious. “Aunt Flo used to do that take home work from Clifton. But it was so tejus it got on her nerves something awful and she had to quit.”
I hear all of this month’s words on a regular basis in my area of Appalachia. I use all of them myself except twicet. It’s still fairly common to hear folks add a ‘t’ to the end of their words here. Oncet for once is another one I hear often.
Hope you’ll leave me a comment and tell me how you did on the test.
Tipper
And ditto on R.B.’s comments on ‘argee’; my Dad said the same.
I’m catching up with these posts after a pretty hectic month. Got ALL these great words right!
RB-I have heard both around these parts : ) And with my 2 girls there is lots of yammering and argeeing going on at this house : )
Blind Pig The Acorn
Celebrating and Preserving the
Culture of Appalachia
http://www.blindpigandtheacorn.com
Heard ’em all but “tejus” (which I think in PLAIN English means tedious but am not sure).
Now I’ve got a couple for you.
A. Yammer: talkative, usually meaning in a senseless or meaningless way.
“That man yammers all day long, and no one understands a single thing he says.”
B. Argee: argue (and this seemed to be one of our dad’s favorites)
“All you girls do is argee, argee, argee!”
Have any of you heard of those?
God bless.
RB
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I hear and use most all of those at some point or other, except for the last one. It could be that I just haven’t heard it, though.
My dad said ‘tejus’ all the time. Glad to learn it wasn’t just a local word. Love these tests!
So many of the words you feature are part of my vocabulary without knowing their from the mountains… my dad passed them on to me…
Oh, my. I’m a goin’ way up north this summer & I’m startin’ to fear those Yankees won’t understand a word I say!
I always come back and read the comments at the end of the day. Youins are sooo funny!
Anyway, oncet and twicet has been running through my head all day and then it occured to me that Conway and Lorettie started one of their most popular songs with oncet. Or maybe I just followed along saying it different than they did. I will have to search for the song and listen closely to prove it to myself.
Oncet-I made a promise that I would never lead you on…
B.Ruth-Are you shore you ain’t been a drankin more a that vaniller flaverin than yore a puttin in yore puddin?
Thanks Tipper for this month’s test . We score a hundred here in the mountains of upper east Tennessee too. I taught my son in law not to tromp through the woods but to slip along through them but I had to make him FALL in behind me . Larry Proffitt
Love the list. I’m trying to educate my new Mississippi in-law so she and her husband can raise bilingual children, and the list is just perfect. I use tad and tromp frequently, and I knew tejus the minute I said it aloud. Keep up the good work!
Tipper,
I think we have tetched on somethin’…at leastways so fer the “bumblebknot” has linked up with the “thingamajig” and hooked up with the “intersetinettin’ button” so as to get this thang a’movin’. I was about to join “Roanie” on a tap of stump water if this didn’t work…It was gettin’ real “tejus”, “nervy” and “tetchy” evertime I tried
to stob on the button!
Have a goodin’ and thanks fer helpin’!!
Also a great post Tipper,
I completely agree with B. Ruth – I suspect that a bunch of you’uns (at least those from this area) not only know, but use twicet. It is not pronounced like Tipper spelled it (as if there is a correct spelling).
It is pronounced as twist, with the “i” being a long i (same pronunciation as in twice). It’s all said as one syllable.
I think I’d be more apt to say twist in front of a word starting with a vowel, such as:
He’s meaner’n sin and twist as ugly.
But if it is followed by a consonant, twice would be used:
He is twice the man I could ever hope to be.
The “st” sound is used on the end of once – it is said like wonst, and also has but one syllable.
Oh, Tipper! Thanks for reminding me of these old-timey mountain terms. Our mountain languager is fast passing away. I had almost forgotten the meaning of these words.
They are all very common here in WV too!
Tipper–I’ll offer my comment on the Appalachian Vocabulary test, which, as always, I enjoyed. I’m quite familiar with all the words and regularly use four of the five. Like you, twicet is a word I recognize but don’t actually use personally. Along with Don, I use tad in ways other than as a noun, such as reckoning some folks over Brasstown way are a tad inclined to go fishing for free rather than obtaining the requisite license.
I’ve been accused, more than once, of being the talkingest thing ever to come out of Swain County, although I have it on solid authority that Bill Burnett might be a rival in that regard. Late in life, Daddy accused me of having a tongue that wagged at both ends or being someone who could talk the ears off a Georgia mule. It is remotely possible that I incline towards being verbose, loquacious, garrulous, or wont to indulge in variegated verbal vagabondizing (like Don I’m attracted to alliteration). If so, I come by it in the most honest of fashions, because both Daddy and Grandpa Joe were mighty talkers when you got them in the right setting.
One final thought–there are other superlatives similar to “talkingest.” One of the greatest outdoor books ever written uses the word “shootinest” to describe a great wingshot. It is Nash Buckingham’s “De Shootinest Gent’man.”
Jim Casada
http://www.jimcasadaoutdoors.com
Tipper,
I use them all and I think more people use twicest than they think….maybe the spelling of twicet sort of throwing them off ….
We use oncet as well…and this here happened in my neck of the woods…
Onest upon a spell thar wuz twicest as many nervy and tejus kin ’round hare….Theyus a’thinkin’
that thar ‘panter wuz roamin’ about. Some of’em were the talkingest youever seed. Roanie a’spreadin’ most of hit….
“Hit was jest a Bobcat tromping round about..on that thar tin top of the hen house, a’tryin’ ta git in makin’ that racket of a night.”
Uncle Mason, said Aunt Roanie, I thunk had more than a tetch of
stump water fer when I seed it, hit was only a tad bigger’n Limbs house cat…Shore skeered’em though!
Thanks Tipper,
I added a tad too much of vaniller to my batch instead of just a tetch…
My bananer puddin’ tastes like vaniller puddin’….
How’s the recipes goin’ for the cookin’ class this Spring?
I’ve heard tad and tromp, but not the others. I like to think there’s no right or wrong…just different. (though my senior English teacher, Mrs. Rice would be saying Wwhhaattt??}
Passed the test this time, Tipper! These are fun!
I’ve heard of talkingest. I’ve heard “tad” used in combination with “bit”…”I just need a tad bit more of that”. And oh yes, “Someone went tromping through my flower bed”. Once again, I enjoyed the vocabulary test! 🙂
Cee-Consider the likely possibility that we are right and the rest of the world is wrong. Wooden bee the firstest ner the lastest time.
I knew all of these and used to hear them all the time when I was growing up. I don’t use any of them except “tad” every now and then.
I’ve heard all of these words and even use a couple of them on occasion. When my family first came to the South 45 years ago one of the first local words we were introduced to was oncet. It came right after ya’ll! I thought it was strange at the time, but now it is music to my ears.
Well, I got the top two Tipper. Tad is still used in everyday talk in New Zealand, but the Kiwis have a funny accent!!!…K
I know, use, and LOVE all of these words! I remember my grandmother using the word “tromp” all of the time in place of the word “stomp”. I also remember her describing HER grandmother using a loom and talking about her tromp, tromp, tromping on the treadles of the loom when she was weaving.
I have heard and used all of those! I have to watch myself or I can still be caught adding a “t” to the end of “twice”!
Tipper,
I knew them all but the last one.
And if anyone ever tore up the
King’s language any more than my
folks, I’d like to meet them.
All of these Appalachian Word Tests are a lot of fun…Ken
Hey Tipper,
I use Tad all the time, probaby cause I’m a tad, “small” myself.
I also use tromp in the same way.
Had used or heard the others though.
Have a great day!
I hearit all!! lol
Have heard or used them all but twicet : )
I know them all but twicet. I still use tad and tromp, but I’m almost positive I used the others when younger.
“T” vocabulary words, right on!
Knew them all; still use some!
But seeing how widespread
These sayings are known
Makes me feel Appalachian culture’s
Living on!
Thanks!
Tipper, I’ve heard them all but use tad and tromp the most. I’m kind of partial to that last word, tejus. It just seems to sooo adequately express it’s meaning. There is way too much tejus stuff in this world.
There is another similar word, techus. I’m really not sure about the spelling but it means touchy. That woman shore is techus today.
I know some really techus people and the word really fits the malady.
All are familiar to me but #5. I hear/use the others often.
Didn’t recognize the spelling of tejus, but recognized as soon as I saw the usage. All the rest I got immediately.
Know all of them and use all but twicet and oncet. Another good one Tipper!
I really enjoy your Appalachian vacabulary tests, rarely do I do very well, but it sure is helping me understand my neighbors and the people in town! Thanks for that:)
I know and use all of those words except maybe “twicet”. I am always amazed when you point out words that I use on a regular basis and I realize that they are only used by Appalachian Folks. I have to laugh, I’ve talked this way so long I think its correct and the rest of the world is a little off.
All the words are used frequently around here. Where I come from, we are known to add a T to the end of words or simply drop a letter somewhere in the middle. My daughter had always heard me talk of a place called Beefide and laughed when she saw it spelled Beef Hide in a local paper. I heard a Louisville DJ making fun of the way we people from Pike County leave out the k, making it Pie County. He needs to know we also call him a dis jockey.
well I got a hunnerd on that test!!!
I’m familiar with every one of these. While working in the garden a couple days ago, I got to thinking about phrases my parents used to use: “He ain’t worth the powder it would take to blow him away.” “He ain’t worth a hill of beans.” “If brains were leather, he couldn’t saddle a flea.”
I love the old sayings.
I haven’t ever heard anyone use twicet here. The other ones I hear and use all the time. Some things are just not tedious, they are plain tejus!
Dear friend,
I have heard all the vocabulary words and their uses.
I enjoy being reminded of words..not sure I use any of them.. Happy Day!
Carol
Although I don’t hear the words used often, I was able to know the meaning and use of the first four. The last one got me! I’m learning!
Haven’t heard twicet either, but I use and hear others use a similar sounding – twicest – All the others are used regularly.
I have heard them all. MY Mother when she wanted to get your attented she would start off by saying. well i well tell you strait up the stump.
I have heard and used and still use all of them today here in the ohio valley.
I’m familar with all but Tejus and in fact I’ve often been accused of being the talkinest but it’s a dag-nab lie, well maybe just a tad of truth resides in the accusation. However I try to make sure my brain’s loaded before I shoot my mouth off. Thanks Tipper for hooking me up with another cousin, C. Ron Perry. It shore nuff is a small world and growin smaller every day.
All perfectly acceptable words to use down here on the mill village. 🙂
I use tad all the time. I knew tromp, but had never heard of the others. Thanks, Tipper!
I am familiar with all the words in this test and have used them all. Have a good day !
When used in reference to a wee young’un, I’m used to tadpole as opposed to tad. The dictionary may have it only as a noun, but it can also be used as an adjective, as in “Tipper is a tad touched” (sorry, I’m an awful advocate for the advancement of alliteration, even if it aggravates an angel 😉
I love the little ditty “Life gets teejus, don’t it”. Doc Watson sings it at the link below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhHQgOjwCnQ
I tried to find Walter Brennan’s version, but couldn’t.
Twicet I’ve not heard or used before, but the others are in most of our daily talk around here. We have a friend that we say is the talkenist person we know.. she laughs when we say this to her. I grew up hearing Tad used instead of dash in cooking especially. And I promise we have several in this household that tromp through with dirty shoes and of course everyone’s halo starts slipping and their devil horns start showin!
I haven’t heard twicet and tejus before. But the others are common language where I come from.
It’s getting a little tejus, that little tad is the talkingest boy and tromped down my bean rows twicet while telling his story.
Don’t hear them near so often here in Missouri as I used too. Thanks Tipper, for the vocabulary test and some good memories.
P.S. The word “tejus” comes from the Irish. They say that a lot..
Here in south central PA, I do hear the word “twicet” (pronounced as one syllable) — maybe it’s a German thing. The other words make perfect sense to me, so I’d say I get an A on this test!
Use them all except Tejus, I’ve only heard that used instead of tedious. Tad I use daily.
Well dear Tipper I did not now twicet or tejus—-just perhaps they did not get used this far north.
I regularly hear all but tejus, and use tad and tromp myself.
I not only have heard of them but I use them.
Each of these words are use quite often, except “twicet” don’t believe I’ve ever heard anyone use this one.
tromp and tad I use, the others have heard many years ago, but not in the past 50 years. i use just a tad almost every day
I knowed ’em all and hear most of them regularly. I don’t use them often ’cause I’m not the talkenist person you’ve ever saw. You might be surprised at that revelation because of all I’ve to say on here, but it’s true. I like to see what I say before I say it. I let my fingers do the talking.
So, is a tad twicet as much as a teeny bit and half a gob.