Chitter (Katie) and Chatter (Corie)
sugar noun
1 A Kiss, visibly demonstrated affection, especially given by a child to an older relative.
1862 Neves CW Letters (March 21) I have not saw youre shug since I saw you. 1986 (in 2000 Puckett Seldom Ask 173) Give papaw some sugar, and he’ll fix your bike. 1990 Merriman Moonshine Rendezvous 64 I can see my self gettin’ a lot of sugar from the cute blond as we rounded the curves too fast, on the way to spend the night at Shanks Hotel in Cookeville. 2001 House Clay’s Quilt 288 “Give Auntie some sugar,” he told the baby…
—Dictionary of Smoky Mountain English
Back when Michael Montgomery was working on the dictionary he emailed me to ask if I was familiar with using the word sugar to mean affection, mostly in the form of kisses.
I assured him I was.
Most often I’ve heard the usage in relation to encouraging children to give an adult relative a kiss and hug as part of the goodbye process of leaving.
I’ve also heard it used in a teasing manner between folks who are courting or about folks who are courting.
I was really young when Papaw Wade and Uncle Henry accidentally run into each other in the curve that leads out of Wilson holler. The road was gravel in those days and I’m not sure how the accident happened. I don’t remember Uncle Henry being hurt, but Papaw Wade had a busted lip from the crash. I remember standing just inside the door of his and Mamaw’s little house when someone told me to give Papaw some sugar before I left, but to be careful of his lip.
As I think about becoming a grandmother in the coming months I see that once the boys arrive I will have gone full circle in the tradition of giving sugar.
First I was a child being encouraged to give sugar to my grandparents.
Second I was a parent encouraging my children to give sugar to their grandparents.
Third I will be the grandparent children are being encouraged to give sugar to as they say goodbye.
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I heard that from my NC side of the family but not the NY side.
Give Mimi some sugar before you go. I can still hear those precious words from childhood. A time when worries were few and family was everything. Mimi and those of that generation are gone now but not forgotten. Thanks for memories and sharing.
I love the phrase, but I’ve only seen it used in movies and books. It wasn’t used where I grew up, in Western New York state.
She’s been gone since 2004, but I can still
Hear my Mamaw saying, “Come over here and give Mamaw some sugar.” Sugar was also her nickname for her grandkids. I
had forgotten that until my daughter was born and I just naturally started calling her Sugar.
You’ll be giving out alot of sugar, (kisses) other little cheeks and forehead and hands. you be kissing alot of boo boos to. But you’ll love every minute of it.
Katie and Corie, Chitter and Chatter, adorable, and sweet as sugar and honey. You were truly blessed Miss Tipper and Matt. Look out , you will be double blessed again this year. What a joy.
Of course, I meant to write Corie and Katie!!
Codie and Katie were really identical in that picture! Yes, giving sugar brings sweet memories to mind. I say that all the time to my grandchildren. We have a 9 month old little granddaughter, Josie Que, and she gives the best sugar! So much sweetness for you all to look forward to!!
Family circles: beautiful.
“Gimme some sugar” or “Stealing some sugar” are terms I have heard all my life in Eastern Kentucky; especially when with or around little ones visiting or leaving. I also recall “Andy of Mayberry” using the term in at least a couple of episodes. And they have always been terms of affection that seem to bring laughter and happiness!
Absolutely. Heard it all my life. I think I told you before, but my Dad would always call my niece Sugar when she would stay with them as a baby. She was just learning to talk (9 months) and saw my Dad coming down the hall. She reached out her sweet little hand and looked at him and said, “Shug!” He forever after had his name from her (and the other grands that followed) as “Shug”. I was encouraged many times as a girl growing up to give sugar to grandparents and aunts, uncles and cousins before leaving to go home. Sweet memories! (FYI, the email today did not have this link attached, it just says “no content”)
Growing up my father would say, ” Give me some sugar.” and we would kiss him and my mother and run off to bed. That was 55-60 years ago…
Loved today’s post and that picture is beyond adorable!! We’ve come full circle here also with the giving of sugar. Nothing like it in the world. Being grandparents is such a gift.
My husband would say “gimmie sugar” to me before he’d leave to go anywhere. Sweet memories!
What an adorable picture of Chitter and Chatter! Look what you have to look forward to this year with two cute little baby boys on the horizon. I remember from my childhood my parents and grandparents saying “Now, gimme some sugar,” to babies in our family. Precious memories!
I’ve always heard that from my people and have used it many times throughout my life. I always gave my parents sugar before leaving to go somewhere. My daughter always gave her grandparents sugar when she saw them and before leaving them, not so much because she was always told to, but because she saw me do it. My daughter has always given me sugar before leaving, even in her preteen years, but it was before I dropped her off at school. She didn’t want to do it at school because her friends would tease her and call her a mommy girl. I understand so I was fine getting sugar when we left the house and not at the time of school drop off. Now, I will say, when we give sugar, it’s a kiss on the face cheek or forehead. We never kissed our kids on the mouth like some do. But I’ve been told that’s called a peck, not sugar from a few people when I first moved to NC. I’d never heard or seen that until we moved here. Apparently it was a big controversial thing, but it’s really just how one was raised. I think our family will just continue giving sugar on the cheek or forehead of our loved ones, because that’s how I was raised, apparently that word raised is controversial too. We’re you raised, or reared? We always said raised. I actually had a woman not long after moving to NC, tell me that animals are raised, while people are reared. I must have looked like a deer in headlights because I didn’t know whether to laugh or think she was insulting me because I told her I was raised in WV, but NC was my home. I still say raised, but after that conversation I will admit I started saying I grew up…instead of raised when the question was asked. Now in my retired years, I don’t care what others thing, if they don’t understand my talk, then I’m happy to educate them on my people’s language. Yes, I still give sugar to my loved ones and I was raised and lived in two different locations of the Appalachia…and proud of both!
I guess I’m an animal (hog maybe) because I was raised in southern Greenville County, SC and never escaped. Many of my loved ones and friends are animals too. We were all raised and not reared. My children and most other children would kiss you on the cheek or forehead too. Like you, now at 70 years, I don’t care what others think or say about me. When they are talking about me, they are just letting someone else rest! I do like to tease and say “Don’t piss off an old person, now life without parole is not much of a deterrent.”
Raised means lifted up. How could anyone find fault with lifting up your kids? Reared to me has a negative connotation.
Referring to kisses as “sugar” is a term I have heard all my life. I know you are looking forward to giving those sweet grand boys some sugar when they arrive. That is a sweet picture of Katie and Corie.
I’m out in San Diego, California & yesterday I was out for my morning walk and ran in to a neighbor & his sweet dog. That dog loves to jump up and give me lots of doggie kisses & his owner said “she’s giving you lots of sugar today!” At the time I thought “well that’s a sweet old phrase” imagine my surprise when I read today’s blog!
What a treasured thought that must be for you & Matt to be looking forward to. All those sugar kisses will make saying goodbye a whole lot easier when the boys have to leave you.
I grew up giving and receiving sugars from lots of my family. I had an uncle whose lifetime nickname derived from the term “Sugar” which was shortened to “Shug” and eventually the one he would go by for the rest of his life, “Chook”.
I need to revive the old term “give me a sugar” with my grandkids! Thanks for the reminder.
Growing up here in southeast Penna, Berks County, I don’t recall hearing the term giving sugar, referring to a kiss. It wasn’t until I was 19 and living in Marietta Ga, working in the nursery at Kennestone Hospital that I heard this term. The other nurses used this term often to refer to our newborns.
On another note, to Tipper. As I sit here reading your blog I’m watching a heavy snow storm that plowed into our area in the wee hours of the morning. Expecting 5 to 8 inches. We already have about 5 on the ground. We live on a hill, not quite the goat bluff you have, but bring your sled and have a ball. LOL
By afternoon the temp is supposed to be around 40 so melting will begin. Oh well it’s Pennsylvania, just wait 20 minutes and the weather will change.
I tell my great grandbabies to give me sugars, have heard that expression my whole life.
give sugars and hug my neck.
sad to think it’s an expression on the way out because my daughter and my granddaughters don’t say it.
I had heard and used that all my growing up life but when we were transferred out here by our work I don’t think I’ve heard it being used unless I run up on somebody from the “south.” By the way Tipper, weatherman said we would get snow through the night. Maybe 2″ and I was sure surprised this morning when I woke up to a “Winter Wonderland.” More than 2″!!! Sure wish I could have sent it back to you:) Temperature is coming up and I’m praying it will melt soon here in SC PA.
I have the same memory as David Kidd. I thought is was awful to be guilty of “stealing sugar” so would try hard not to laugh but couldn’t. You all ever notice how children are more ticklish, such as on their neck, but mostly outgrow it? Isn’t that a mystery? We were not a kissin’ family when I was growing up, nor even much on hugging. It wasn’t lack of affection, just us being ourselves.
Those babies were absolutely adorable with their little hats!!! There’s bound to be a lot of “giving sugar” coming to your house very soon! I remember being told to give sugar to daddy when he grew a mustache and came for a visit from Tampa. I was about scared of that mustache on him and didn’t want to do it. Lol. Then it seems I recall somebody would tickle me and say “if you laugh, you’ve been giving some old boy some sugar” and I’d laugh declaring “no, no, no!” I’ve never used the expression or told it to my girls- giving sugar- because it scared and confused me when I was little. I felt trapped with no way to escape. I still don’t like kissing and hugging too much. All my life I have studied the intentions of the human species like science and most humans cannot be trusted in an outhouse with a muzzle on! I like to hug myself cause I’m trustworthy and kind unless I get pushed to be otherwise.
I remember being asked if I stole my mama’s sugar, and being tickled on the knee to see if it was true—resulting in a fit of laughter! What a photo—Those baby girls were just adorable!
I have heard this many times. In the picture it seems to to me like Chitter and Chatter are beyond belief, “you want us to give them sugar?” Chitter is pointing her finger at herself and asking “me” while Chatter is in shock. Please excuse my wrapped sense of humor.
My dear aunt Leonia would tell us she was giving us a “ Yankee dime” and surprised us with kiss on the cheek instead!
I can relate to the expression “Yankee dime” as well. My Uncle teased my little sister if she would help him take off his shoes he would give her a Yankee dime.
Have always heard this and it brings back memories of my grandma. We still use it especially with the little ones. Happy memories.
When I was growing up there was a game that adults played with children—–I will call it “Stealing Sugar”. The adult would ask a child if he stole “sugar”. ( That could mean the sugar you ate or kisses.) Usually the child would shake their head. Then the adult would say something like, “I bet you do steal sugar. I am going to tickle you on the knee and if you smile or laugh, that means you steal sugar.” Well, the child would always start giggling when their knee was tickled and the adult would say something like this was “proof” that the child stole sugar and then hug the child and cover them in kisses. Of course the child was familiar with the game and always anticipated being drowned in affection.
Full circle, indeed! Nothing sweeter than little kisses from babies, whether they are your own or
someone else’s. It is a rite of passage that, hopefully will remain for generations to come.
This brought back a memory that I had forgotten all about. My dad and my uncle used to say this to me. My uncle would say, ” Give me some sugar and a neck huggin”. I hadn’t thought about that in years.
Looking forward to seeing those grandbabies this year.
I had a brother 23 years older than me, and I remember his wife saying, “Give me some sugar,” which she said frequently to both me and her children as we were the same young ages. I don’t recall hearing the phase from anyone else in my family, but I loved that my brother’s wife, Betty, often said such a sweet thing to us kids. I do recall my grandmother calling me sugar, using the term rather than my name, and loving her term of endearment which always made me feel special.
I never called my wife by her name but I never called her “Sugar” either. I called her “Honey” because she was a natural alternative to sugar.
To me this is just one of those expressions that I’ve heard and said so much that it’s hard for me to believe that everyone doesn’t know it. Also remember being picked on and accused of stealing sugar when I was growing up.
My family never used that phrase of giving a sugar to older person in the family but I have heard it many times. I think it is very sweet (no pun intended).
oh that brings back memories. my entire family and close friends all said gimme some sugar
my kids grew up with it just from me. my grandmother was from Michigan and she never said it. old FL is much like it is here. It was sad to see the changes as I grew up
I finally received your email! But it went into the junk site. Now I’ll haft to figure out how to get them again in my email
Thank You
Don’t worry about emails, go directly to the website https://blindpigandtheacorn.com/
I don’t ever get the email. I have the website bookmarked. When I fire up my computer every morning the first thing I do is go to https://blindpigandtheacorn.com/ and if yesterdays post is still there I know I’m too early.
Sugar me, baby!
I am going on record and saying I Love SUGAR when the “baby” is grown and awful purty! You know from one of those Sinful lady’s, one look is only natural, the second and third looks are sinful.