I have been gone a while enjoying an Elderhostel program in Kentucky. We visited Pleasant Hill (a restored Shaker village) and Berea College. Much more about these two places will follow--much fodder for the blog!
At Berea, we were given a list of Kentucky Applachian terminology taken from the book Muddy Branch by Clyde Roy Pack. I was stricken to discover how many of the idioms listed sounded like they came out of the mouths of my family. Here are some things I heard both my grandmothers say which were on the list:
pert near (pretty near)
poke (a paper sack) We carried groceries in a poke.
roast neers (roasting ears) corn on the cob
heavy set (overweight)
fleshy (heavy set)
raisin' cain (drinking, etc.)
here while back (in the not too distant past)
a fer piece ( a great distance)
smack dab (exactly in the middle)
safe (a kitchen cabinet)
chifferobe (the piece of furniture in the bedroom where clothes were hung before closets)
show out (act out)
smidgen (a measurement in cooking)
2 bits (25 cents)
Could it be that my relatives came from Appalachia--which we learned could be pronounced either "Appalatcha" or Appalaycha".
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