Several years ago when Chitter and Chatter were working at the Folk School the school had a cleaning out day and a few old books ended up in the trash pile.
I don’t remember for sure if it was Chatter or Chitter (they don’t remember either) but one of them brought me a couple of the books because they know I love old things.
One was the book above Word-Book of Virginia Folk-Speech written by B.W. Green. The copyright is 1899. I like the dedication: “To Virginia People by One of Them.”
The book is in poor shape I’m sure that’s why they were discarding it. Several pages throughout the book are bound on the top of the pages. I’m sure there’s a term for that, but basically it’s like the paper was printed on and then folded over instead of being cut and free to turn easily.
The forward discusses speech patterns. The next section “Some Virginia Folk-Sayings,” is full of colorful sayings, many of which are still common today. And the rest of the book is in dictionary form with word entries and definitions.
I forgot about the book but rediscovered it when cleaning out a bookshelf.
Here’s a sample of the “as” sayings.
- As big as I don’t know what.
- As brazen as brass.
- As bright as a new cent.
- As clean as a penny.
- As clear as a bell.
- As clear as mud.
- As cold as a frog.
- As common as dish-water.
- As crooked as a dog’s hind leg.
- As cunning as a fox.
- As dark as a dungeon.
- As deaf as a post.
- As deep as a well.
- As dull as a hoe.
- As easy as an old shoe.
- As full as a tick.
- As fat as a match.
- As easy as an old shoe.
- As gray as a badger.
- As gray as a rat.
- As heavy as lead.
- As hungry as a hound.
- As lazy as Hall’s dog, that lent against the fence to bark.
- As plain as a nose on a man’s face.
- As pleased as punch.
- As proud as a dog with two tails.
- As rough as a rasp.
- As sure as God made little apples.
- As tall as a May-pole.
- As thick as mud.
- As ugly as sin and nearly as agreeable.
I am absolutely tickled pink that Green decided to compile the book for the people of Virginia and for me too.
If you enjoyed this post, I’m sure I’ll share more from the book in the future so be on the lookout for more examples from Green’s work.
Last night’s video: Answering YOUR Questions.
Tipper
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Starting the day with a big smile thanks to these!
Tipper–While 1899 is well over a century ago, in the shelf life of books it isn’t all that distant. Although I’m admittedly a bookworm of the first order, I probably have three or four hundred books published before that date (most of them on Africa or western North Carolina).
I’d have to see the book to be sure, but the situation you describe with the pages sounds like they were uncut in the final stages of the printing process, just before binding took place. Most books were printed on gigantic sheets of paper that rolled off the press with many pages on a single sheet. Sixteen pages to a sheet was (and remains) most common. This is known as octavo (when cut you have eight sheets of paper and 16 pages) although quarto formats, usually for what are known as coffeetable books, are fairly common. These were then folded before being cut, and afterward sets of folded and cut pages would be joined with other sets, bound together (usually with thread stitching–known as Smythe sewn), and then put between covers to make a book. It isn’t all that uncommon for books of this vintage to have uncut pages. The best solution is to slit the pages apart with a good, sharp pocket or kitchen knife. This is likely far more than you wanted to know.
Jim-fascinating information! Thank you for sharing it 🙂
Many years ago when I was a young boy I would accompany my grandparents on weekly Sunday afternoon visits to relatives living in the country. On one visit my grandfather was discussing local politics with his cousin Grace. They were speaking of a man running for state office and cousin Grace commented that the man was “as crooked as a nail keg full of corkscrews”. I was probably 10 years old at the time but that funny comment has stuck in my memory for the past 60 years.
Keep up the great work at The Blind Pig!
As dead as a door nail. Loved all these sayings. Many I have heard or used.
So glad the book was saved! Add to Green’s list “as thin as a rail” and another one, not so common, “as independent as a hog on ice.” I heard my grandpa say that. My family commonly used “as crooked (or as mean) as a snake,” “as black as soot (sometimes ‘sut’, sometimes ‘smut’, sometimes ‘coal’), “as ugly as homemade sin,” “as stiff as a board (or a poker)” as white as a mill rat (or a ghost),” “as old as dirt (or Methuselah, sometimes pronounced Methusalum)” “as thin as a cake of soap after a week’s washing,” “as high (intoxicated) as a kite (or a Georgia pine), “as poor as Job’s turkey (or a church mouse),” “as dark as the inside of a black cat,” and “as dark as Egypt.”
Concerning the pages, I just finished a historical novel set in 1850’s England. There was mention made of books coming with the pages uncut. The owner had to take a knife and cut the pages apart. I guess the publisher didn’t have a cutting machine like they have today. Or they didn’t want to pay someone to cut them. I suppose that helped keep prices lower.
This book sounds so fun. What a treasure! I looked it up & you can buy it on Amazon but it’s also free to read on online here.
https://archive.org/details/wordbookofvirgin00gree/page/6/mode/2up
Hey Randy, it’s Donna in central Oklahoma .
Wanted to wish you the BIGGEST and BEST BIRTHDAY tomorrow, we are now the same age!! May you find and see wonderful things tomorrow.. invasion a homemade birthday cake with bunches of candles blasing away!!
Have a great day, hugs and kisses on your cheeks….you are very blessed!
Tipper, that book is so special, do me a favor and smell the book! I love to read real books…but here’s something about the smell. When I was a little girl (oh so long ago) and it was time to get school supplies…the very first thing I would do is open the brand new crayons the smell is delightful..lol. For my birthday this past year December actually my daughter bought a box of crayons. Sure enough I broke it open and the memories flooded back. What small things can do!
Have a great day everyone and stay safe and warm!! Tipper, greetings and prayers for Granny!!
Thank you, my friend’s wife baked me a cake for my birthday, she called it an ugly cake. The icing is on the bottom, it almost looks like a cobbler pie without the fruit. It is very sweet. I’m so old now, I would have to get a burn permit before I could light the candles on my cake. If all were burning at the same time, it would melt the icing! Maybe I could get one candle with the number of years on it.
Yay! Thank you, Tipper, for sharing a few sayings from B.W. Green’s “Word-Book of Virginia Folk-Speech.” They are delightfully descriptive, and brought to mind the speech and language of my mother. Thank you!
Tipper, thank the girls for saving this and other books from the trash pile. This is such a treasure. I counted only 7 that I heard all my life and still use a couple now and then. Yes, I’d like to see you share more of the book and let us see the other treasures they saved that day. I love old books, but if I no longer needed or wanted them I’d give them away before I’d ever put them in the trash. Even if they are damaged there are people who like to restore them or make crafts from them. Some crafters will use the pages to make beautiful collages so the pages are still readable. If you ever hear of any school or library is cleaning out their books, please encourage them to have a book sale to give others a chance to buy the books. Our local schools and libraries do this at least once a year or every other year. The book sale is held for two days, usually on Friday and Saturday and sometimes for three days that start on Thursday and ends on Saturday. Books and other items no longer needed are sold starting at $1 and up, depending on the items condition on the first day. The next day is half off on all items or if it’s a three day sale they have half off on non book items and all books left are as many as you can get in a bag you bring from home for $1. The sales are very successful and all the money goes back to the budget to buy new books for their faculties. It’s a win/win for both schools and local libraries. Our school and libraries both do free advertising by announcing it through word of mouth at least 2-3 months before the sale dates, on all social media they have a presents and their websites. Any books or items that are left over they donate to nonprofit groups who are willing to come haul them off for free. Very few books ended up in the trash pile.
“That feller sure loves money. He’s as tight as Dick’s hat band.
What a treasure! And to think the book was saved from the garbage pile. So much would have been lost if the girls hadn’t thought to take it to you. It still has a purpose and is reaching people from all over the world! A good lesson learned in many ways! I’ve heard most of these and they bring back so many memories. Thank you so much for taking it off the shelf and sharing. I felt that I had to save some of my mother’s old books from the 1920’s-50’s. She belonged to a book club and received them in the mail. Living in an isolated area, I’m sure the books brought her knowledge of the world around her. During the tornado warning last week I read some of one of hers containing inspirational words for the first time while in my storm room. The thought occurred to me that the comfort in these words are still appropriate and I’m so glad I saved this book. I couldn’t keep all of her books and they are no good if they aren’t read occasionally.
I have heard a lot of these saying from your book but some were new and fun. I look forward to more posts from the old book.
My family in upstate SC used a few of these as I recall. They always said, “as dark as pitch” and “as rough as a cob” when I was growing up. Finding a treasure like this book is wonderful, Tipper! I love this!
LaJuan, without asking names, what area of upstate SC does your family live? I have lived my entire life in southern Greenville County.
Randy, I grew up in Jonesville (Union County). Part of my family is still there, and I have family in Spartanburg and Cherokee Counties also. My ancestors from NC and GA came to SC seeking work in the Cotton mills.
I really enjoyed the old sayings and heard many of them when I was growing up. One in particular that comes to mind was, “. . . ugly as a mud fence daubed with lizards.” 🙂
I counted 13 that are familiar to me. I do wonder if that list was supposed to mean they would be heard everywhere in Virginia. I rather doubt it and expect within the set some are Appalachian, some Piedmont and some Tidewater. I think, Tipper, you have awakened, or re-awakened, a lot of folks interest in – and attention to – how they and others talk. To me, these examples are like a stroll down a dirt road in my home county.
I also liked “Hall’s Dog” and have heard many of the other expressions in the comments of other members. When someone accuses me of being lazy, I tell them “I’m not lazy, I’m just being energy efficient!”
Tipper, are you getting snow today? Just a cold rain for me that I haven’t seen so far.
Randy-I had snow but it’s already all gone 🙂
Thanks Tipper, I love these. I’ve heard most of them.
It’s snowing here In Eastern NC
Sitting by the fire this morning drinking coffee and enjoying today’s blog!!! We have a light covering of snow outside. My grandad used the expression ‘cute as a speckled pup’.
I have heard a lot of these, but “Hall’s dog” gave me my laugh for the day! Please share more. Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!!
I counted 31 “as…” and went through and counted 19 that I remember hearing some variation of as a kid. I still hear and use a few of them frequently. Keep them coming.
Does Virginia have badgers? I know we don’t!
I love these expressions. I have heard and used several of these all my life.
The “dull” comparison i heard as a youth was “dull as a froe”; a froe being a tool used to split wood to make wooden shingles. Driven into wood with the grain by a hammer.
A froe is purposely dull so it splits the grain without cutting into it. It is an elongated wedge with a handle.
A lot of these are very relatable to me. Some I had never heard, but really enjoyed reading them. Thanks for sharing!
I have heard of a few of these sayings. The way we say the last one on the list is “as ugly as homemade sin”. I guess store bought “sin” isn’t as ugly. Lol.
So interesting! We grew up (in California) saying “as heavy as sin” in referring to something so heavy it was hard to move or pick up. My paternal grandparents were from the South, so maybe some of the sayings came from them. We’d also say “dead as a door nail.” So many others that have been passed down that we use them without thinking.
Hi Tipper. Enjoyed the post. several I have never heard of, but so many I have. years ago I got my Mom to right down a lot of old sayings she remembered. I have a friend that came to America as a child from Scotland in early ’50’s. Her parents said a lot of same saying we use. Goes to show how things are passed down from years ago.
Good morning Tipper. Yes, loved the sayings. I still use most of them along with my neighbors. Woke up to snow this morning and it’s still coming down in southwestern Virginia. I hope ya’ll get some snow also. Many blessings.
Loved and have heard many of them. A variation of sin I have heard and said is : As ugly as homemade sin.
Everybody seemed to like the one about Hall’s dog, but I also appreciated the one about being as proud as a dog with two tails.
It was serendipitous that this book found its way to you. Please share more.
The hall’s dog one is hilariously specific. I’d love to see the dog that inspired that one! I’ve heard many of these sayings throughout my life. My grandpa also has always “madder than a wet hen” and “bold as a rooster” and he affectionately refers to particularly sassy girls that he loves as “a pistol” Oh and “if the Lord’s willing and the creek don’t rise.” All in his east Kentucky accent.
It’s snowing here***!
I’ve heard of many of those sayings. I really like “as easy as an old shoe”. It made me feel warm & fuzzy today. 🙂
I’ve always heard these variations growing up in NC…”clean as a whistle”, “as cold as a well digger’s hiney”, Granddaddy always used to say “I’m full as a tick.”, “as rough as a cob”, “as easy as pie”, “as dark as pitch”, and the “as ugly…” made me think of how my Dad talked about someone who was ugly/rough looking: “they look like they got beat with the ugly stick and then scared.” I’d not heard Hall’s dog, but I like it. Some of these I haven’t heard in a long time. Thank you for preserving our language! You’re as pretty as a picture, cute as a bug and sweet as pie! I love y’all!
My parents used to say “cold as a frog’s belly “. Looking forward to seeing more from this book.
This one cracked me up. ” As lazy as Hall’s dog, that lent against the fence to bark.” Please share more from the book.
that’s my favorite, too!
Love that Hall’s dog one!…I found that quite funny at 5:30 in the morn and maybe too much coffee..
More examples from this book would be great! Reminds me of the sayings I heard from “grown ups” when I was a girl. Delightful!
I hear you Tipper, as clear as a bell. Have a happy Hump Day!
I’ve heard a lot of these but I had to laugh at “As lazy as Hall’s dog, that lent against the fence to bark”. Now that’s a lazy dog. .
I have heard some of these sayings. More interesting to me was the old post about poison oak. I was very allergic to it and poison ivy. I believe when I was younger I could look at a picture of either one and break out. Like Paul, when I was too young to remember, I got into smoke of a burning brush pile that had poison oak in and got it in my eyes and maybe throat. I am not as bad to get it now, but if I do, I rub Clorox on it. I told my nephew about doing this, he tried it and set himself “on fire,” he didn’t tell me he had already clawed himself raw. I just laugh at him, call him dummy, and ask if it got rid of the poison oak and he will say “yes it did.”
Hi Randy. I’m same look at it and get poison ivy or oak. I climbed a tree with it as a kid and got it all over. I had a friend who eat some because she was mad at her parents. was in the hospital for a while. that’s a true cut off the nose to spite the face. lol have a great day