13 Silly Sayings That Will Only Make Sense If You’re From Mississippi
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Daniella DiRienzo
Author
We Mississippians have our own way of doing things, and that includes speaking. Sure, we could talk like everyone else, but what fun would that be? Instead, we use a variety of colorful expressions, which make perfect sense to us but will have out-of-towners scratching their heads. Not so sure? Read on for 13 silly sayings that will only make sense if you’re from Mississippi.
This may sound like an impossible feat to some, but if you’ve grown up in Mississippi, you know that it simply means to "clean your room."
The word "fix" has a big part in Mississippi vocabulary. Add an "in" to the end and throw a "to" in there and you have the popular expression "fixin’ to," which simply means "about to do something." It can also mean to "get" something, as in, "Fix a glass of tea." It may seem confusing to outsiders, but it just makes sense to us Mississippians.
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If a Mississippians wants a device turned on or off, you’ll hear this expression.
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This popular expression would probably stump anyone who isn't from Mississippi - mainly because frogs clearly don’t have hair. But that’s exactly the point. You see, since there is no visible hair on a frog, it’s safe to assume that if it did exist it’d be extremely fine.
Roger Smith/Flickr
This expression is common in the Jackson area, and that’s because there was once a chain of convenience stores named Tote-sum. The catchy name apparently made an impression, as many still use it today to refer to any convenience store.
Ask a Mississippi resident for directions, and this phrase will most likely be thrown in somewhere.
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Sure, if something is slippery, we could just come right out and say it but what fun would that be? Instead, this lively expression is used.
Ever seen a cow looking at a new gate? Well, then you know exactly what this means. If you haven’t, this expression is probably very descriptive of how you’re looking at this exact moment – confused.
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This one simply means okay or average, as in "I’m feelin’ fair to middlin’." It actually makes a lot of sense when you learn that "fair to middling" is an average grade of cotton.
This saying is used to describe something that’s overflowing with cuteness because, well, what’s more adorable than a speckled puppy?
As you can imagine "knee high to a grasshopper" wouldn’t be very high at all – and that’s exactly the point. This expression is used to refer back to a time when someone was much younger than they are now. For example, "I’ve known her since she was knee high to a grasshopper."
In the realm of food, "light" usually means diet. However, that’s not the case in Mississippi. Nope; light bread is simply sliced sandwich bread.
Mississippians are known for being polite so even when we’re irritated, we put a nice-sounding spin on it. And this expression, which means highly irritated, is a perfect example.
Are you guilty of using these expressions? Have one to add to this list? Tell us in the comments section!
If you enjoyed this, be sure to check out “If You Grew Up In Small Town Mississippi, You’ve Probably Done These 13 Things.“
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