Please explain Southern-style communication to a clueless Yankee

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"Bless her heart" also allows you to say really mean shit about people.

Ex: "That girl is just so ugly, bless her heart". You're excused because you said it in a sickly sweet voice, too.


I'm from Tennessee, and went to college in Georgia. PP had it right, watch GCB, you'll get it.

Northerner's do this they just say "I love her to death, but...."

This is true!!! In New York we say, "That's my heart but....."

Wow, I've never heard this one before! If someone were to say that to me, I'd be confused!

We say this is in the "outer boroughs", lol. They also say "Not for nothing but.... [insert insult] as in "Not for nothing, but she really isn't that cute." It is meant to convey that the speaker isn't saying it just for the sake of being mean spirited but that the observation needs to be made (speaker is almost forced to make the observation) since it is relevant to the topic on hand. The heart comment would go something like "That's my heart but ... she needs to give me back my money (Or) she's been acting crazy lately"

Southerner here... I have a New Jersey acquaintance who always uses "Not for nothing" and I never got the meaning... so thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I think Kathy Griffin (the comedian) said that Renee Zellwiger sent her a huge bouquet of flowers, after running into her.

Kathy understood that this was Southern speak for "I hate you, please STFU."

I thought that was very insightful of her, actually.

I think Kathy's response to the gift of flowers speaks loudly about her own personality and way of thinking. She doesn't seems too concerned with being a kind and thoughtful person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is so funny. I have lived in both North and Southern U.S. and I find Northeners FAR more polite. I suppose the directness is preferable to passive aggressive by most.

Being polite and considerate of others does not equate to passive aggressiveness. Like you, I have also lived and worked with both northerners and southerners. Difference is that I don't view either group as "FAR more polite" than the other--depends largely on the individual.

[Anonymous]

Bless your heart.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Freeman wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess I am a Southerner?? Texan here, and when referring to the geographic area, I prefer to say Texan vs South or Southerner, etc.

Yep, Texan is definitely different from Southern. Of course, I grew up in south Alabama, and we didn't think those idiots in north Alabama really qualified as Southerners either. And don't even get me started on Florida...

Tennessee here- Just have to say, Amen on Florida!

Geography according to a Southerner:

Florida doesn't count. It's an annex of the North.
Texas doesn't count either. It counts more than Florida, but really, it's just its own entity and should be treated as such. Texas is basically just its own distinct region.
Virginia as the south is pushing it; NoVa does NOT count. I'd say Richmond is as high north as you can get and still be considered "South."
Rednecks live in such places as Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and Mississippi. In Louisiana, you have swamp trash. In Tennessee and Kentucky and North Carolina, you have hillbillies. They're all very distinct groups, so please get your pejoratives correct when you use them!
Missouri is the Midwest, not the South, do not make us laugh. Same with Indiana. I don't care if that shit borders Kentucky; Kentucky barely gets a pass itself. If you are from Indiana, you are a Midwesterner.

St. Louis and Kansas City are Midwestern. Northern Missouri is Midwestern. Southern Missouri is the South, though. It's as Southern as TN or Arkansas.

Woa! Them be fightin' words.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here's an example for you, OP. Person 1 is going on and on, bragging about how their child is the smartest, brightest little child ever born. Someone from this area might not reply with any comment or might murmur "Wow" or something, but a Southerner might say, gushing "Oh, isn't that just wonderful how bright they are; good for them, you must be so proud!" when they really think "I am so sick of hearing about this child! Big deal!". There is a false politeness that you have to watch out for; the women who will complement you and be sweet to your face and then cut you down the second you turn your back. Southern women are taught to be polite and use good manners, but that doesn't mean that they are sincere about what they are saying. If you grow up with that type of thing, you can pick up on it rather quickly.

We, southeners, also know the corrrect usage of "compliment" and "complement."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Southern women are aggresively "sweet" and two-faced. I'd rather someone be honest and blunt than to deal with that. -- reformed southerner who tells it like it is

Are you including AA women or White women only? How about men White only? Racist and sexist pigs. Does your idiotic generalization also include Jewish women? Asshole!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess I am a Southerner?? Texan here, and when referring to the geographic area, I prefer to say Texan vs South or Southerner, etc.

Anyways, I don't hear much of 'bless your heat' - maybe not the right crowd? But I do say 'how nice' or 'that's great' when someone is 'bragging' or I don't know what else to say.

As one born in North Carolina, raised in Virginia, by parents that were the first in their families to move out of Northern Pennsylvania since their great-grandparents immigrated to the US, I say Texas is a different kind of Southern and should/deserves their own label as "Texan"

My mother always says, "I didn't realize raising children in the south would mean I would have Southerners."

Educated southeners know that children are "reared" and vegetables and farm animals are "raised." Of course "raised" would be the correct term for your family. You must be the first generation to have indoor plumbing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"Well bless your heart."

Sound's nice, right? Well, in Southern, it means "you bitch."

I laughed so hard I snorted reading this because it's dead on. I lived in the deep south for a year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think one of my favorite long-standing southernisms that I employ often, is when I hate/am annoyed by/want to ignore something, I refer to it as "nice."

"She's really nice."
"Isn't that so nice!"
"What a nice new house!"
"Thanks for having us for lunch. It was so nice."

Hah! I do the same thing, but I use the word, "lovely:"

"Isn't that lovely!"
"That is just lovely."
"I love it! It's lovely!"
"Lovely, just. . lovely."

Mine is sweet. Someone's kid is acting a fool and they apologize: "Awww... she's sweet. "

Hilarious - and spot on! My go-to is "lovely". You have to be practiced in the art of social niceties and subtleties to decipher the meanings of compliments and invitations. The bottom line is that no Properly Raised and Polite Person would ever say anything rude outright. Makes for some interesting social navigation if you aren't used to it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think one of my favorite long-standing southernisms that I employ often, is when I hate/am annoyed by/want to ignore something, I refer to it as "nice."

"She's really nice."
"Isn't that so nice!"
"What a nice new house!"
"Thanks for having us for lunch. It was so nice."

Hah! I do the same thing, but I use the word, "lovely:"

"Isn't that lovely!"
"That is just lovely."
"I love it! It's lovely!"
"Lovely, just. . lovely."

Mine is sweet. Someone's kid is acting a fool and they apologize: "Awww... she's sweet. "

Hilarious - and spot on! My go-to is "lovely". You have to be practiced in the art of social niceties and subtleties to decipher the meanings of compliments and invitations. The bottom line is that no Properly Raised and Polite Person would ever say anything rude outright. Makes for some interesting social navigation if you aren't used to it!

Sorry - "Properly Reared and Polite Person".

[Anonymous]

Has anyone mentioned saying that you don't know someone well when asked about a person you don't like?

[Anonymous]

When it was hot in the summer my mom would always say Horses sweat. Gentlemen perspire. Ladies feel the heat.

[Anonymous]

That sounds interesting = that's weird.

[Anonymous]

wow, I am shocked! I'll never pick up on these things!
What do you say when you do mean it, to say something truly positive???!!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think one of my favorite long-standing southernisms that I employ often, is when I hate/am annoyed by/want to ignore something, I refer to it as "nice."

"She's really nice."
"Isn't that so nice!"
"What a nice new house!"
"Thanks for having us for lunch. It was so nice."

Hah! I do the same thing, but I use the word, "lovely:"

"Isn't that lovely!"
"That is just lovely."
"I love it! It's lovely!"
"Lovely, just. . lovely."