Tipper, my Granny, Helen, has this word she says all the time to refer to someone as picky like a picky eater- Mimpsy. I find myself saying it and no one knows what it means because it’s not an actual word. I don’t think she made it up, but don’t know where it came from.
—Stacy Van Buskirk
I’m always interested when someone comments about an old word or phrase, but I was especially intrigued by Stacy’s comment because she’s family.
I looked in the Dictionary of Southern Appalachian English for mimpsy and didn’t find it, however I did find something really close.
mincy adjective Finicky, overly dainty, fastidious, especially about eating.
1913 Kephart Our Sthn High 289 A remarkable word, common in the Smokies is dauncy, defined for me as “mincy about eating,” which is to say fastidious, over-nice. 1927 Woofter Dialect from WV 360 = particular in eating. “She is too mincy to suit me.” 1952 Wilson Folk Speech NC 565 = over particular, over exact, finicky. “You’re mighty mincy about your breakfast today. Are you sick?” c1960 Wilson Coll = dainty, said of an eater. 1972 Cooper NC MT Folklore 94 = finicky. 1991 Beverley Old Mt Idiom 147 = fastidious or prim. 1997 Montgomery Coll (known to nine consultants from the Smoky Mountains); Quit being so mincy and eat up (Cardwell).
—Dictionary of Southern Appalachian English
Back when I started researching the rich colorful language of Appalachia I quickly realized words, especially the unusual old ones, are pronounced differently depending on the area and family.
Seems like I might have come across mincy in a book, but I’m glad Stacy brought my attention to the old word. Even though I’ve never heard it said that I can recall, the word certainly described me when I was a child.
Last night’s video: You Asked and Granny Answered – Part 1.
Tipper
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I love learning new words like this and trying to incorporate them into my everyday vocabulary. Thanks Tipper!
I’ve not heard either words until now. My people just said picky eater. Interesting to learn new words and even better if folks don’t know what you’re talking about when you say them.
I’ve not heard either word before. But I guess you could say I was a bit of a mincy eater when I was little.
My Appalachian Mama used to use the word “mince” occasionally. As to “She likes to just mince around her food.” This meant that the person was “choosy” about what she ate on her plate. Picky is another word for being selective and a light eater. It’s interesting and uplifting when I read other phrases and words that I’ve grown up with. It sparks memories of long lost relatives and a deep understanding of exactly what they were referring to. It brings a sense of kinship to me.
Tipper – the word ‘picky’ I have heard all my life, and as a child I was a ‘picky’ eater, but then I outgrew it and ate near everything – but in later years, at age 50, when some long lasting health issues occurred I had to become more into the OCD range of mincy/finicky/ or what some would call ‘fastidious’ about my foods and eating. It’s a way of life now. Your post was an interesting reminder.
I so enjoyed the question/answer with Granny last night. She reminds me of my grandma.
Thank her for me please. Love your family.
God bless you and yours.
At last! A word that described me as a child. I drove my mother to distraction by my fussy, finicky, prissy ways. I am certain that she would have changed my name to “Mimpsy” had she known it. But she since she did not, all she could do was look at me, sigh, and say, “You are a strange child, but I love you.”
P.S. By ‘strange’ my mother meant ‘backward’ and more than a little peculiar. And… I was most certainly was as a child. I haven’t improved much since then, either. : )
Lesley, my mother had a cure for me if I got to acting like that, it was called a dose of hickory tee and given by a keen limber switch. It never failed to take care of the problem.
LOL. I assume that both you and your mother understood that hickory tea was given in love, not out of frustration, spite or hatefulness.
My mother never punished me for not being like she thought I should be because she knew that I was as God had made me: sensitive, fearful and more than a little peculiar.
Never heard of (or not to recall if so) “minsey”. Have heard ” awful particlar”. We didn’t have the resources to be real particular about anything. When folks did that they were liable to be said to “have got above their raisin’ “. I have a question though about a word. Do folks up Brasstown way call little yellow chicks “diddles”? That’s all we ever called them in southeast KY when I was a kid. My neighbor, a chicken farmer here in the edge of the mountains in Georgia, did not know that word.
Ron, I understand what you are saying, when growing up and living at home there were no picky -mimpsy or mincy eaters. You ate what was on the table or went hungry. A lot of my clothes were “hand me downs” from my cousin. I have also heard “getting above their raisin.” My Daddy like to say this when someone starting acting like that- “No bird flys so high that he don’t have to land sometime.”
We call them “dibbies”! Daddy raised chickens for hatching eggs. They were only allowed to lay for a couple of years then they went away. After they were gone Daddy cleaned and disinfected the barn and in a few days we had thousands of new “dibbies” to raise.
Never heard either word but find them interesting.
Loved the Q&A with Granny!
I was told to “quit yer mincin’ “ when I didn’t eat breakfast fast enough before school.
Mincey/mincy is a word my family used when someone was finicky about anything, not just food. I suppose some of those folks could have been obsessive compulsive too.
Nowadays I hear the word “precious” used instead of mincey: “He’s awful precious about his car.” She’s awful precious about her house (house proud).”
I’ve come across folks new to the mountains (flatlanders) who keep pointing out popular magazines with their house designs or gardening practices and they get mighty precious about following the articles those magazines.
I’m familiar with those magazines and I noticed that they’re all trying to sell you something because a company paid for the mentioning of it. They like to argue that “X” says you have to prune at this time and in this way; and use this or that fertilzer. I just remind them that someone is being paid to say that and then educate them on what we actually do based on the real experiences of generations of mountain folks.
Haven’t heard these words before. I have heard people say “don’t mince your words” meaning don’t be too careful what you say, just say what you think.
Wonderful video with Granny.
I sometimes hear the phrase to ‘mince your words’ like being selective or picky about what you say! My mother was a picky eater as a child. So glad you got a beautiful corn harvest! I wonder how many dozen you froze. We cut off corn a lot when I was younger. We cut it in several rounds then scraped the cob into the pan and it made it a bit creamy. Then my grandmother would cook it a while, probably added some water, and that was our creamed corn. With butter and salt it was delicious. I remember when Silver Queen became popular back in the day but I preferred field corn myself!!
Granny Helen made herself a new word. Happens all the time. Mincy begat mimpsy just as dubious begat jubous and begat became fathered, as in sired. I had not heard or seen mimpsy until today, but I like it even if didn’t catch on. Mincing, with several usages, will be in any good dictionary. I love our language, but I dislike seeing words getting hijacked.
There is the phrase “don’t mince words”. Mincing is cutting into small pieces so I guess don’t mince words means to keep talking. And there’s mincemeat!!! And in England they call ground beef “mince”. So a mincy eater is picking at his/her food and that makes perfect sense.
Mincy I’ve heard used referring to one who picks at their food and doesn’t eat all of it. (No one has had to use mincy referring to my appetite!!!) (:
Tipper–I’ve never heard the word (or variants thereof) used in connection with food, but I have often heard “mincing around” in connection with someone who was sort of dainty in demeanor or in how they walked.
Never heard these two words. Like Nancy said, I have often heard prissy. I called one of my coworkers “Rooster” behind his back, he may have “flogged “ me if I said it to his face. He sure loved to strut. No one would call me mimpsy or picky if I had a plate of food like in today’s picture to eat this morning-it would be more like hog, even the egg yolks are not runny!
Far be it from me to be mincy (finicky) about eating especially this time of year!
Granny did great on the Q&A!
Have a wonderful day!
Instead of saying “it’s not an actual word”, I would say “it’s not a generally accepted word.” If it conveys a a meaning, it’s a word!
I have heard mincy used to describe a discriminating individual. It doesn’t have to be a human, animals are worse.
I have never heard mimpsy or Mincy. I surely did enjoy the interview with Granny last evening. She looks so good, and so lovely, of course. I enjoy hearing about life from her perspective. She is a wealth of knowledge. I look forward to the next one.
Interesting two words, neither of which I have ever heard. My oldest brother was mimpsy/mincy in regard to eating certain foods that the rest of our family really liked. My mother had a sister who was mincy in the sense of the dictionary definition of being mincy/fastidious, dainty about eating and so was my Grandma now that I think about it. However, I do not remember that term being used to describe any of them. Thank you for sharing these new terms I can now use, maybe even as a family “conversation starter”.
Never heared the word mimpsy but if someone was a picky eater my grandfather would say that he was courus
I enjoyed the questions and answers with Granny. I just love her she reminds me of my mom , she even looks a bit like her.
I’ve never heard mimsy/mincy. When I or my little sister would be picky about eating or anything like clothes, our mama would call us “Particular Sally”, pronouncing it “puh-tick-ler”
You mamma had it right! That’s the way I pronounce puhtickler too!
I heard my mom use the word “mince” meaning being picky. That reminded me that I heard both my parents refer to rice as “sic”. Through the years I have asked other people about that word and have never heard anyone else use or seen any reference to it. Does anyone have any knowledge of that word for rice?
It seems my grandma used Mincy occasionally but I know for sure she used to say CHINSEY which meant cheap, no effort, minuscule, barely and tight with stuff like money or belongings… what words we use and where did they come from is something you’ve got me to studying on, Tipper, I hope there’s no one too Mincy or chinsey at your home!!! Lol checked mine and there’s no one Mincy or chinsey here… lol Have a blessed day you hillbillies and hillbillies at heart!!! Btw OH I HAVE TOMATOES like you wouldn’t believe!!!!
Mimpsey and mincy I’ve never heard used, but I have heard prissy, which I believe has the same general meaning.
Good morning, God bless Granny and her family