Tipper, growing up in Mars Hill, I had said or heard all of them except “dodger.” I’ll ask Mama if she heard that one. Mama says “airish” quite often, but I didn’t really notice it, until I heard you say it. My husband still chuckles when I say, “right now, in a minute.” I really don’t know exactly what that means, just always said it and still do. I love the Appalachian language and ways. It’s part of my heritage.
—Kathy Smith
Kathy’s comment made me smile because I say “right now in a minute” pretty much every day.
I might say to Ira: I’ll take you outside right now in a minute.
Or I might tell Matt: Right now in a minute I’m gonna go pick beans.
Since Kathy got me to thinking about the phrase I did a quick internet search to see if anyone had written about its origin.
I figured I’d find someone saying it was a silly thing to say since it couldn’t be right now and also in a minute.
Instead I found a possible Welsh connection.
When I say right now in a minute I mean exactly what is described in the video. I don’t mean right now and I don’t mean in 60 seconds either. I use the phrase to mean as soon as I get ready.
Surely the language Kathy and I are using is connected to the Welsh usage with the word right being added somewhere along the way. Other Welsh influences can be found in the mountains of Appalachia.
Please tell me if you say right now in a minute too.
Last night’s video: Going into the Settlement to Get Matt a Pillow.
Tipper
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I have never heard “right now, in a minute” until today. We say “in a minute” all the time. My oldest son likes to say “Mama, that was more than a minute!” And he is right, it usually is more than a minute!
❤️ and prayers for everyone in need of them!
i have never heard “right now in a minute”– until right now.
i HAVE heard “in a New York minute”, on TV, not from “down home” people.
I don’t remember hearing “right now in a minute.” My parents would say, “in a minute.” Randy, I’ve never heard, “In a New York minute” but my husband said he’s heard that saying before from someone in Ohio.
Im in East Central Illinois but my grandparents moved north from Kentucky and they would always say “directly,” meaning “right now in a minute” …..or, as soon as they got ready to!
Both of my parents often said “right now in a minute” often when I was growing up. I haven’t thought about that in years! That video clip was very interesting.
Amazing! My grandmother said this ALL the time. It drove us mad because we thought it made no sense whatsoever. Now however, it makes perfect sense since ancestry. com has revealed that her family emigrated from Wales in 1793!
I am not sure if I ever say “right now” but I know for sure I will often say “in a minute.” I once heard someone say “quick, fast and in a hurry” and would sometimes say that to my boys when I was asking them to bring or do something for me. Anyone every heard anyone say “In a New York Minute?”