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Your Mini-Guide to Tennessee Slang

Tennessee
by Angela Karl Dec 9, 2016

1. You’re not being mean, you’re bein’ ugly.

2. Jack isn’t just a name, it’s the best damn whiskey you’ve ever had.

3. We don’t say you guys, we say y’all or all y’alls.

4. You aren’t just upset, you’re “tore up about it.”

5. Quit pretending to be asleep…quit “playing possum.”

6. We’re not just in the religious south, we’re in the belt buckle of the bible belt.

7. Grizzlies aren’t bears, they’re the Memphis NBA team.

8. Toboggans aren’t sleds, they’re beanies/winter hats.

9. You aren’t just stupid, you’re “dumber than a sack of rocks.”

10. East Tennesseans don’t bleed red, they bleed orange for their Vols.

11. We don’t say spicy chicken from Nashville, we call it “hot chicken.”

12. The Parthenon isn’t in Greece, it’s right here in Nashville, roof and all.

13. Moonshine isn’t illegal anymore (usually), but it’s just as popular as ever.

14. We don’t say we want a kiss, we say “give me some sugar.”

15. It’s not a remote for the TV, it’s a clicker.

16. We don’t say someone is incredibly unlikeable, we say “God love him” because He’s the only one who can.

17. Rocky top isn’t just a part of a mountain, it’s “home sweet home, to me.”

18. You aren’t just poor, you “don’t even have a pot to piss in.”

19. It’s not a creek, it’s a crick.

20. We don’t just live in Tennessee or America, we live in God’s country.

21. It’s not a shopping cart, it’s a buggy.

22. We don’t say “Let’s have a dinner with three sides,” we say, “Let’s have meat and three.”

23. You aren’t just hot, you’re “sweating like a whore in church.”

24. If you say you want tea, we’re going to go ahead and assume you mean sweet tea.

25. We don’t say you’re so stupid, we say “bless your heart.”

26. It’s not that you’re wrong, it’s that you’re “barking up the wrong tree.”

27. Instead of saying “don’t get your panties in a wad,” we say, “what’s up your britches?”

28. You aren’t just slow, you’re slower than molasses.

29. We don’t say we’re about to do something, we say we’re “fixin’ to.”

30. When you order a coke, the waiter will ask you, “What kind?”

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