January 21, 2020
come in and warm, come into the fire verb phrase To come into the house and get warm (expressions of mountain hospitality).
1935 Sheppard Cabins in Laurel 156 He greets you with “Light and hitch!” or “Come in and warm,” or “Set down and cool off,” and urges you to stay for dinner. 1939 Hall Coll. Cades Cove TN Come into the fire if you’uns wants to. (John Burchfield)
Dictionary of Smoky Mountain English
It didn’t appear we were going to have enough winter to actually ask somebody to come in and warm this winter until this week. Since the north wind started blowing sometime over the weekend we’ve all been sitting by the woodstove and enjoying every minute of it.
January 21, 2020
With the cold weather we’ve had this winter there’s been many days where we warmed by the stove and have had ample opportunity to invite others to come in and warm.
I especially like the hospitable phrases quoted in the reference used from Sheppard. “come in and warm” and “set down and cool off” are still in use in my area of Appalachia.
A few other phrases along those lines that come to mind:
- you ought to just spend the night
- don’t hurry off
- come see us
Hospitality and neighborliness are common in Appalachia so there are many other such phrases. One Granny uses when folks are about to leave after visiting a spell is “You ought to just stay a while longer. We’re right peaceable.”
Last night’s video: Bitter Cold, Good Food, & Music – January in the Mountains of Appalachia.
Tipper
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Tipper, it won’t let post my comments
Gigi-this one posted and the one you left this morning too. Maybe it was a temporary glitch? Sorry for the trouble 🙂
Here’s my daddy’s saying when someone was getting up to leave. “Don’t hurry. You’ll think about it again after a while.”
Heartwarming!! ❤️
I heard this somewhere in a hunting camp after a late night of yakking and an early rising to go hunting: “It don’t take long to stay all night around here.” As for the other sayings, I’ll add that all are warmly familiar.
My little Grandma used to say, “Come over here and lets scrooch up and get warm.” It always made me warm and it warms my heart now just remembering her twinkling blue eyes and loving kindness.
“Come in and set a spell” is what my family said. Or “Y’all don’t need to run off!” If there was food involved, it was “Get you some!”
“come in and set awhile” “come take a load off” “come sit a spell” “ya don’t need to hurry off” “come/stay, join us for dinner/supper” “stick around awhile” “y’all come back now” “coffee’s on, come on in” – are some of the sayings I grew up with. I have not thought much any about any of them until now – thanks Tipper, for the reminder. 🙂 Another of mama’s saying was “stay and sup with us – I’ll throw another tater in the pot” -in other words, there was plenty to go around.
No matter how long you’ve been at my grandpa’s house he’ll say “now don’t rush off!” When it’s time to go.
We always say “Don’t be strangers…come back soon” Or “You don’t have to rush off.” My dad passed away a couple weeks ago and we had some old friends we hadn’t visited in a long time stop by. They arrived with dinner, drinks and dessert. They all stayed and visited for the evening, while we ate together and just enjoyed each other’s company. It was just what I needed to cheer me up—and a wonderful example of friendship and hospitality. When we said goodbye, we all decided “not to be strangers” and made plans to get together again soon.
Brenda- I’m so glad you had that fellowship. It really helps. Praying for you during this time of grief.
Thanks Tipper. I will miss my dad forever…but I am comforted knowing he is with God, and not suffering anymore. He could not talk near the end, but I know he knew I was there because he searched for my hand and held on. I was so fortunate to be able to sit with him, hold his hand, pray over him, and sing hymns to him while he was passing on to his new life.
Brenda-sending my heart felt sympathies to you and your family.
Thank you so much.
Brenda, you all and your friends are my kind of people!
Thank you. .
I have not only heard almost all these sayings people put in the comments but my family used them all the time….I especially liked Granny’s and have never heard it said like that. Those old sayings are fading though I think because the younger generation do not go visiting as we use to–they dont even talk on the phone, it is texts or emails or social media posts……communication in person is almost non existent for me not because I choose the other forms but because every one else has. Truth be told I would rather pick up the phone and call you or the girls or Paul when I have a comment to make on any of yalls posts. Pray for the families who lost loved ones in that terrible crash last night between black hawk and plane
Gaylia, I read this the other day, when we growing up we didn’t have phones to talk to one another, now nearly everyone has a phone in their pocket and still don’t talk. It was about 1965 before we or my neighbors had phones in their homes and the phones were on “party lines.”
I have heard most of these. When someone one come and stay a spell, it was something else cause we lived back in a holler and didn’t get many visitors. So when we did and they had to be on their way and say we’ll I’d better be going, don’t want to loose my welcome out. Daddy would say aw you have to be in a hurry, stay a little longer and have another cup of coffee.
I’ve heard and used, “Don’t rush off.” If it was supper time, Mama would say, ” Come on and eat.”
One of my husbands home made words as a child. He carried it on to our kids and some others that liked hearing it. SNOWGONE. As the snow would melt as a child he would use that home made word. So it became a saying to the family, over the years. Snowgone but we’re fixing to get mor.
Blessings,
When our visitors got ready to leave, my parents would say youins orta just stay all night, or what’s your hurry? I have spent way too much time sitting close to the woodstove and being lazy this winter.
My grandfather used to say “Come in the shanty”. It was rare that anyone left before having a good meal prepared by my grandmother.
How about “light and set” or “come in and tie your horses up” or “come in and we’ll open a keg of nails by and by” (feed you). Wintertime it was “come in and warm up”.
We ain’t got much to offer you, but we’ll talk to you good.
The world could use more of that Appalachian hospitality.
And when a visitor can’t take time to come in, we say he just came for a chunk of fire.
My family always liked having company (visitors). I heard these two phrases all of my life and often too: “Why don’t you just stay all night with us?”
“Why don’t you just stay and eat with us?”
“ain’t no need for you to run off”
“You ort to just stay. “Ol Dan will be by in a little bit. He’d love to and he’d love to see you.”
All of these and more.
It reminds me of the ending of The Beverly Hillbillies when they said “Y’all come back now, hear?”
Tipper, I’ve noticed that temperature is directional. We warm up & cool down, or in some cases we have to simmer down after we’ve got all het up over something. ☺️
I heard all those growing up, but they don’t get used as often now.
“Y’all stick around, we’ll have supper here directly” is something I heard a lot growing up while visiting or when we had company. I grew up the same time and way as you, Tipper, just in the hills of Estill County, Kentucky. I really enjoy watching your videos, it’s kind of like keeping up with family.
Over the years I have heard these sayings and others, one I remember is “come in and sit a spell.” I have been looking at the next 10 days weather forecast, some days are forecast to be in the 70’s. A big change from January’ daytime temperatures of the 30’s. I expect there will still be some cold days but hopefully nothing like this past January.