It’s time for this month’s Appalachian Vocabulary Test-take it and see how you do!
- High-headed
- High as
- Haul off
- Hang
- Heap
- High-headed: self important, confident, arrogant. “He’s so high-headed he don’t even remember where he growed up…but I do.”
- High as: as many as. “That last snow that came through gave some parts of Cherokee County as high as 8 inches of snow. We only had about 3 inches here.”
- Haul off: to take action. “If I’d known you’s gonna haul off and tear down that old shed I’d have stayed home and helped.”
- Hang: to persevere. “From the first time I laid eyes on that girl I knew she wouldn’t hang, remember I told you she’d quit before the month was out and I was right.”
- Heap: a large amount of an item. “I heard they had a heap of old desks they were giving away down at the school. I thought you might want one for the grandkids.”
How did you do on this month’s test? I still hear all the words on a regular basis here in my neck of the woods.
Tipper
27 Comments
Ann Applegarth
February 19, 2014 at 11:59 amI don’t remember “high-headed.” We said “high-and-mighty” or “He’s sure got the high-hat.” I still use
all of these “Texas terms” in New Mexico. Also, don’t forget Rose Maddox’s wonderful song “Why Don’t You Haul Off and Love Me.”
Suzi Phillips
February 19, 2014 at 11:45 amAround here, to “high hat” somebody means to snub them.
Ed Ammons
February 18, 2014 at 7:54 pmI noticed your greenhouse has the profile of a sway backed mare. I hope she recovers well.
I’d like to comment on Howland’s comment. We’re Appalachian here. Appalachians claim no allegiance to the North or South. We are not Yankee or Suthun. We are about elevation. We are above it all. We can look down on the rest of the world. True, we are not as high as people living in the Rockies, but they are oxygen deprived or cannabis enriched.
We don’t say G’day. We say howdy how r ye? And we expect to hear back, not,”fine and you,” but “I’ve had the scours fur three days now and I’m gittin purty weak.”
We don’t say y’all, we say yuns or youins.
Howland, I commend you in your efforts to reform yourself but please don’t confuse Sutherner with Appalachian highlander. Some of us may be south of the Mason Dixon Line, but we are above it all. If this seems high headed, please forgive me.
Howland, I really hope it isn’t as hard for you to become one of us as it has been for some of us to become one of “them.” I hope that when you achieve your goal, you will never want to go back. I know of many of “us” who have “bettered” themselves, who would like to return to the ways of their childhood but never will be able to.
Tipper – There is a book in the difference between us and the rest of the South! Somebody oughta write it. Hint! Hint!
Jim Casada
February 18, 2014 at 4:24 pmTipper–I’ve most commonly heard “high as” used in connection with over indulgence in golden moonbeam (corn squeezin’s). To wit, “that old coot took three drinks and was high as a kite.” I’ve also heard the “high as a Georgia pine B. Ruth mentions, but again it was associated with inebriation.
Jim Casada
http://www.jimcasadaoutdoors.com
Mary Lou McKillip
February 18, 2014 at 1:54 pmTipper, only few of these saying have I heard, I failed the test.
Ken Roper
February 18, 2014 at 1:21 pmTipper,
Those words are all familiar to me too.
You took some nice pictures of our
snow that just keeps hanging around.
That little rain we had last night
wasn’t hard enough or long enough to
help much, but I love this short-
sleeve weather today…Ken
Wanda
February 18, 2014 at 12:57 pmI think we said “high-handed”. Used all except hang. High as a kite meant someone had too much alcohol.
Howland
February 18, 2014 at 12:12 pmG’day, y’all, The Recovering Yankee here; The only one that is new to me is, as so many have said, ‘high-headed’. I was most likely to say ‘high-falutin’ (accent on the ‘lu’)or “He’s got his high-hat on this evenin’..” referring to a top hat.
the rest of the phrases are as common as dirt to me.
Julie Hughes
February 18, 2014 at 12:06 pmI have heard them all and still use them myself. Ricky Skaggs used both of the terms high headed and high hat in his 1980’s hit “Don’t get above your risin'”. It is one of my favorites!!
Sue Crane
February 18, 2014 at 12:06 pmyep, familiar but the H-headed comment I heard most often was hard-headed and it was usually directed at me!
Tamela
February 18, 2014 at 11:27 amHadn’t heard “high headed”.
However, “high hatted” or it’s variant, as in “Don’t you have your high hat on?!” said to someone whose “posing” or being arrogant, is common to me.
And you can add me to your photo admirers. What a blue sky! And what wonderful interplay between sun and shadow!! You timed it just right!!
b. Ruth
February 18, 2014 at 11:27 amTipper,
Heard them all, but don’t hear or use high-headed much! Use high-horse like this; He sure is on his high-horse today, thinking he can just over-do everybody else!
Also what about high-brow? Aunt Rodie said her new neighbor from the north part of the county, thinks she is a real high-brow!
Beautiful pictures…I cherish the ones my betterhalf waded out in the snow to take! Bless his heart!
Don’t forget Tipper that your readers love you a barrel and a “HEAP”!
Would “high as a Georgia Pine” work as well?
Later, thanks Tipper
Tom
February 18, 2014 at 10:03 amGreat pictures! We use all of the expressions. I can always remember one of my sisters saying to me when we were young, “If you don’t stop pestering me, I’m gonna haul off and knock you into next week!”
ncmountainwoman
February 18, 2014 at 9:48 amThose are all common around here. When I see “haul off” I always think of the old song “Why don’t you haul off and get religion brother?”
Ken Ryan
February 18, 2014 at 9:32 amWe use them all in E. Texas, too
Shirla
February 18, 2014 at 8:53 amI’ve heard those words used like that all my life and I still say them without thinking a thing about it.
The pictures are beautiful!
dolores
February 18, 2014 at 8:37 amThese are words I am familiar with. Although I could figure out high headed, I can’t say I have used it. I do love the snow picture; Mother Nature’s beautiful, sometimes inconvenient work of art.
Roy Pipes
February 18, 2014 at 8:02 amWhen I saw the word heap I immediately thought about the poem, Home, by Edgar Guest
It takes a heap o’ livin’ in a house t’ make it home.
A heap o’ sun and shadder, an’ ye sometimes have t’ roam
Ed Reed
February 18, 2014 at 8:01 amI’ve also heard “high hatted” used the same as “high headed.”
Eva Nell Mull Wike, PhD
February 18, 2014 at 7:56 amIndeed, all the h-words were common among folks in the Cove. We knew early on when someone was going to haul off and throw a corn cob at you, you better get to making tracks! Corn Cob Fights on Sunday afternoon seemed to be a common activity for naughty boys! But I never did participate in such!
Eva Nell
Judy Mincey
February 18, 2014 at 7:50 amWe use them all done here in Gordon County, Ga.
Carol
February 18, 2014 at 7:27 amHaven’t heard “hang” used this way; rather have heard “I don’t give a hang”.
Sheryl Paul
February 18, 2014 at 7:24 amYep, me too and use quite a few of them myself.
Miss Cindy
February 18, 2014 at 7:18 amTipper, I don’t think I’ve ever heard high-headed but I’ve certainly heard all the others.
those sure are pretty pictures. This last snow provided some beautiful views.
There is still some snow hanging around here. Do you suppose it’s waiting for more?
Ed Wynn
February 18, 2014 at 7:18 amI have heard them all. Hang is pretty common amongst youngsters around here.
Haul off sometimes means the same as haul back. Haul back almost always precedes somebody or something getting hit.
Susan
February 18, 2014 at 7:09 amI continue to be amazed at how many of these phrases I grew up hearing/using……….in Michigan.
TimMc
February 18, 2014 at 6:04 amYep, I hear them quite often around here…