Living outside of the state of Georgia has made me develop a keen appreciation for all things Peach State. I like the wind blowing through pine trees. I like that when you swim in a lake in a white swimsuit, it will soon be orange from all the Georgia clay in the water. I like the dogwoods and azaleas in the springtime. And I love me some Georgia Bulldogs. 

The best part about being from Georgia, and being from the South in general, is having a southern accent. It grieves my heart that so many of the young folks today sound like yankees, even though they were born right here in Dixie. It’s such a shame. A southerner should have an accent that drips with just as much sugar as her iced tea…and that’s getting harder and harder to come by these days. 

So I decided to share some of my favorite southern words, from a column I wrote a while back. Enjoy them, darlin’…

Everhoo:  A baffling Southernism – a reverse contraction of whoever.”Everhoo one 

of you kids wants to go to the movie better clean up their room.”

Fixin’ to:  About to. “I’m fixin’ to go to the store.”

Nekkid:  To be unclothed. “Did you see her in that movie? She was nekkid as a jaybird.”

PEEcans:  Northerners call them peKAHNS for some obscure reason. You buy creamed corn in a can, not a “kahn.”

Dubba Wide: A mobile or modular home. “That there tarnaida sure did mess up my dubba wide!”

Floss Water: A device used to squish flying bugs. “Hand me the floss water.. I’m gonna kill that bee.”

Heavy Dew: Phrase. “Kin I heavy dew me a favor?”

Jury: Necklaces, bracelets, rings, etc. “Mah, that’s some pretty jury you got on.”

Kumpny: Group of invited guests. “Put your overhauls on Bubba, kumpny’s common’!”

Mayter: Red fruit used in ketchup. “I’m hungry. Fix me a mayter sammich.”

Meerfuraminit: Mandating a person’s immediate presence. 

Preshadit: A way to give thanks.  Pronounced “PRE-shay-diht.”

Surp: Noun. What you put on pancakes or waffles.

Warsh: To clean. “Warsh that squash, Bubba, it just come outta the garden.”

As you can see, speaking with a southern turn of phrase is an art. And it’s becoming a lost art. But no matter how you speak,  just remember that the South is a place where tea is sweet and accents are sweeter, summer starts in April, macaroni and cheese is a vegetable, front porches are wide and words are long, pecan pie is a staple, y’all is the only proper noun, chicken is fried and biscuits come with gravy, everything is “darlin” and someone’s heart is always being blessed…

You can reach Angye Morrison at angye.morrison@gafl.news.com.