“I’ll beat you like a dusty rug.”
Tipper
Overheard: snippets of conversation I overhear in Southern Appalachia
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Sherry-thank you for the great comment and YES my kids have exasperated me like that many many times : )
Yep, I think I may have heard that saying before.
Our mother had a large blue throw rug in her bedroom when we lived in the city. To clean it, she’d toss it over a clothesline and beat it with a broom. When we moved to the country, she found an actual rug beater in the rafters of the basement. Then we used that to beat her rug clean.
God bless.
RB
<><
Tipper,
I hope you, Chitter and Chatter had a nice time in Stecoah today. Those folks got to see and hear Our Mountain Girls playing and singing country and gospel songs. Next Sunday evening will be our turn, can’t wait to see you all at Valleytown Baptist at 6:00…Ken
I’ve been told to “go get a hickory” though. And I have used ” I’m gonna beat the living daylights out of you.” While driving down the road with a couple of my kids one day. they were starting to fuss and I was trying to drive and I yelled at them as hard as I could and said, ” I’m gonna give you 50 noodles with a wet lash!” Laughter erupted as I realized what I had shouted and we all were laughing so hard I had to pull off the road. Kids ever exasperate anyone else like that?
One of my favorites is “I’ll beat you like a borrowed Bird Dog.”
I Wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of that one…
Never heard that one, but the one I did hear a lot was “I’ll beat you black and blue.’
You knew you were in BIG trouble when my grandmother said “I’m gonna get me a keen hickory withe and cut the blood out of you”. She never did but she sure could make you dance!
OK, then what you gonna do?
“Goin Like a F–t in a Whirlwind.” “I’ll Maller yer head into Mincemeat.” I hadn’t heard “Stop Pestering Me” until my daughter returned from UNC this week. Guess she got some “Learnin” from them Tarheels. In California it’s “Bitchin,” “Groovy” etc.
I didn’t hear “I’ll beat you like a dusty rag.” But I’m familiar with all the ones Anita Griffith wrote. Another was “I’ll beat you ’till the cows come home!” Which, of course, might be a long type of punishment, because we usually had to “go after” the cows in the far grazing pasture and drive them to the barn for additional feeding, and of course milking in the late evenings. I think the threat of punishment in Appalachia often far exceeded the actual implementation of it. I didn’t see much abuse from punishment going on; but I did see obedient and respectful children to parents! And maybe that’s why the threats were so overwhelming; they didn’t have to be carried out!
“I’ll give you what Paddy gave the drum!”
I haven’t heard that one. But here are some I’m familiar with.
I’ll beat the tar out of you, I’ll beat the stuffings out of you, I’ll beat the soup out of you, I’ll stomp a mud hole in you, I’ll slap you cross eyed, I’ll stomp the flitter out of you and I’ll drop you like a bad transmission.
I haven’t heard that one. But here are some I’m familiar with.
I’ll beat the tar out of you, I’ll beat the stuffings out of you, I’ll beat the soup out of you, I’ll stomp a mud hole in you, I’ll slap you cross eyed, I’ll stomp the flitter out of you and I’ll drop you like a bad transmission.
Tipper,
I remember gathering up all the scatter rugs! Before running the old Electrolux vacuum, it was my job to “shake the rugs”, vacuum and sweep the kitchen!
However, l remember my Mother helping carry outside, a large carpet-like rug at my grandmothers. They “beat the dickens” out of it with a broom and a wire wooden handled rug beater! Back then all they used was a long-handled rolling brush sweeper for daily use!
I’d say I use, when I would have to make a (un-kept) threat,” I’ll “beat the dickens out of you”, if you slam that door one more time!”
Thanks Tipper…. loved this one,
memories, memories…
Did you ever get a “snoot full” of dust… when shaking a rug?…ewwww
I haven’t heard that one, but I did get a laugh out of some of the early responses. Good way to start my day!
Ah yes, I remember the core of beating the rugs. Anybody who took a beating like a dusty rug would be throughly lambasted. Guess it was a dry version of the battling sticks on the wet wash. Us boys got the chore because we liked to hit things I suppose.
Never heard that one.The most common I’ve heard are I’ll beat the devil out of you,I’ll beat the tar out of you,and my favorite one is, i’ll beat the living daylights out of you.
another I just thought of is,I’ll beat you till your mama don’t
recognize you.
E.KY. LG
I heard a female police officer tell a male criminal, “You answer this officer’s questions or I’ll beat you worse than your mama ever did.”
Tip, I have no idea what a dusty rug is, of course, other than the unvacuumed one in my living room.