Funny Local Expressions

[sodascouts]

People on The Border are from all over the world, and each area has its own colloquialisms, idioms, and expressions. I thought it would funny if we post some of them here - with definitions of course!

Even if your first language is not English, you can put down funny expressions from your language - you just have to translate them! lol

The following are expressions I heard in Texas (although I'm sure that's not the only place they're used). They're off the top of my head so maybe they aren't the best examples but it's late, lol.

A coon's age - a long time. "I sure wish Glenn would do another solo album. He hasn't put one out in a coon's age."

Knockin' boots - having sex, usually casual sex. "Stevie and Don got into a fight when she caught him knockin' boots with a groupie."

More nervous than a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs - VERY nervous. lol "Right before Tim jumped out of the helicopter with his parachute, he was more nervous than a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs!"

Rode hard and put away wet - having a hard-edged, rough, ragged appearance - usually a woman. (Comes from a horse analogy). "Shoot, that old groupie 'Sweet Connie' sure looks haggard - she looks like she's been rode hard and put away wet!"

Ugly as homemade sin - REALLY ugly. "Joe's new orange and purple pants are ugly as homemade sin."

Tried seven ways to Sunday - tried everything to accomplish a goal. "I tried seven ways to Sunday to get front row Eagles tickets, but I just couldn't do it!"

If I had my druthers - If I had things my way. "If I had my druthers I would be at an Eagles concert right now."

[Prettymaid]

Great topic! I must admit I'm not always sure what GA, GEF, FP, Troub, and others from across the pond are saying with their expressions...maybe this will help! I'll have to think of some from around here. I knew what all of yours were Soda!

[MikeA]

"Gotta pee like a crippled coon." No explanation necessary except a coon is Arkansas for "raccoon". And if you've ever seen a coon and a dog in a fight, (you probably haven't!) you'd know why the expression is used!

"I'm Gonna light a shuck." Folks on the farms in Arkansas or maybe Texas or Missouri, would gather to prepare corn or beans when the crops came in and it was usually dark when they needed to go home. They would wrap the "shuck" from a corn cob around the end of a stick, dip it in cole oil and light it. When they were going home, they would "Light a Shuck" and it extended to mean when anyone was going anywhere.

"I'm gettin' out of Dodge!" Used by people in Dodge City, Kansas in the old west when they left that rough cow-town before they got in gunfighting trouble. We use it today just about any time we are making an exit to avoid trouble.

'Upskuttle": an argument. "We had a real upskuttle there for while in the Felder Heaven and Hell thread."

"Once in a Blue Moon". Describes something unusual. A "blue moon" is the SECOND full moon that occurs in a single calendar month. Full moons occur every 28 days about, and since we have thirty and thirty-one day months, there are a very few months that have two full moons. "Joe Walsh has a M&G once in a blue moon."

"Been up the creek and over the hill". Describes someone who has survived a lot of dangerous experiences. Goes back to the days of the mountain men who were the first settlers to "open the west". Those explorers went just about everywhere and encountered unbelievable dangers crossing the mountains.

[Brooke]

These are funny!

There are many around here, but for the life of me, the only one I can think of right now is:

dadgummit-meaning 'darn it' or something like that!

I'll have to hear them again to remember them!

[Troubadour]

Great topic! The only one I've heard of (and use) is "once in a blue moon".

Off the top of my head...

face like a smacked arse - when someone looks miserable or grumpy. "She sat there the whole time with a face like a smacked arse." (This is probably obvious to you, but 'arse' is the UK equivalent of 'ass' or 'butt'. We seem to use it quite a lot. lol.)

arse about face - to do something back to front. "He only had a couple of things to do, but he did them completely arse about face."

nip to the loo - to go to the bathroom. "Hold my drink, I'm just going to nip to the loo." (I got a blank stare when I said this to Jess in Oklahoma!) You could also say "pop" instead of "nip" - those two words mean to go somewhere quickly. Like: "I'm going to pop in and say hello to my neighbour" or "Why don't you pop over when you've finished work?"

telling porkies - telling lies. (It's shortened from the rhyming slang, "telling porkie-pies".) If a child says something completely outlandish, his or her parents might say "Are you telling me porkies?"

bend someone's ear - to talk incessantly & tediously at someone. "My boss bent my ear today about the rota."

bit of alright - someone attractive. "Have you seen that drummer from the Eagles? He's a bit of alright!"

lead up the garden path - to mislead someone. "He led me right up the garden path!"

like a blue-arsed fly - hurriedly or frantically. "God, I'm so tired today, I've been rushing around like a blue-arsed fly."

knackered/shattered - very tired. "Ugh, work was a nightmare today. I'm knackered."

[glenneaglesfan]

Those phrases are great, and I'll be happy to translate any Brit ones that confuse you!

"Hit (or knocked) me for six" - what would happen if I ever met Glenn, ie, taken off my feet, comes from cricket, where a six is the maximum score when the ball is hit over the boundary.

Most of the phrases I know are unrepeatable in polite company!! One used often over here to describe someone useless is "He couldn't organise a p*ss up in a brewery"!

I'm not sure if this is made up by my other half, but if someone is "mad as a box of frogs" you get the picture!

I'll go away and think of some more.

[sodascouts]

oooh, I love British expressions! Bring 'em on!

Troub - your "nip to the loo" reminded me of a children's song "skip to my lou" which kids are often taught dances for - I know I was! (I read that adults used to dance to it back in American frontier times). Quite different from hopping to the bathroom! lol!

Found this on YouTube!

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKe8Z1_RDi8[/ame]

[Prettymaid]

When I moved from Illinois to Pennsylvania in 1988 I immediately noticed that there were several differences in the words we used for different things. The first column is the what you call it in IL and the second is what they say in PA.

Sweeper = Vaccuum Cleaner
Pop = Soda
Sack = Bag


Another thing some did in PA was pronounce the 'S' in Illinois. I was always saying, "There's no noise in Illinois."