CAROLINE'S CORNER: THEY TALK FUNNY OVER YONDER

When Boulware went from Alabama to Missouri for an interview, I asked him to pay attention to the way people spoke and to see if I would talk funny in Missouri. He informed me that my speech would fit right in, but he was so wrong.

Soon after moving here I became friends with Sharon, and we made plans to walk one morning. I called to inform her that I had to carry Cara to school before I could meet her.

"Is she heavy?" she asked.

I did not understand the joke and explained that she had missed the bus.

After being laughed under the table a few times for using words I didn't know were funny, I have become very careful with my speech.

I grew up in rural Mississippi where there is a wealth of colorful colloquial expressions. Each area of the country has its local terms that are used in informal conversation. Colloquial expressions are not normally used in formal speech or in writing, so you may have to read some of my terms aloud to understand them. Some of this informal speech that I share with you may have been confined to the red clay hills of Itawamba County, while some terms may have been used throughout the South, and some may be recognizable to Southeast Missourians.

PLUM: Completely. "I was plum wore out after I walked across Twenty Mile Bottom." "I was plum full after I ate three pieces of sweet potato pie."

WORE OUT: Very tired. "DeeDee is wore out from ironing all day."

COMIN' UP A CLOUD: A storm is approaching quickly. "We may go to Uncle Jim's's storm house because it is comin' up a cloud."

GULLY WASHER: A really large amount of rain. "Look out yonder. It's comin' a real gully washer."

KUDZU: Not a colloquialism but a regional plant. The kudzu vine was brought from Japan to the southern states to prevent the above mentioned gullies. The vine can grow to be 60 feet tall and it threatens to take over the land. On my daughter's answering machine at college was the message, "Sharla and Letty are not in. They have been eaten by kudzu."

FLESHY: Overweight. "Have you noticed how fleshy Bubba is getting since he got married?"

FALL OFF: To lose weight. "Did you fall off a few pounds?"

OVER YONDER: Anywhere not here. "The biscuits are over yonder in the cabinet." "Junior is over yonder in Vietnam in the war."

FIXIN' TO: Preparing to. "We are fixin' to go fishing, so go dig some worms."

THROW UP YOUR HAND: To wave. "I wonder who in the world that was that passed and threw up his hand at me."

FAIR TO MIDDLIN: Medium. This term originated in the grading of cotton, which once was king in the area. "I'm fair to middlin' today, but my rheumatism sure kept me awake last night."

CO'COLA: Any kind of soft drink or soda or pop. "It sure is hot outside. Would yall like a co'cola?"

TOTE SACK: Any bag to carry anything in. "Go get me a tote sack to put this okra in."

ROASTNEARS: Fresh corn on the cob. "We'll have field peas and roastnears for supper."

SHURF: The elected law official of the county. "The shurf has sure got his eye on that bootlegger over on the county line."

LET ON: To let anyone know. "Don't let on that you know that the deputy shurf got drunk last night."

GIT SHET OFF: To get rid of something. "I just can't seem to get shet of this old, bad cold."

BAD OFF: To be really sick. "Wannie has the flu and she is pretty bad off."

DRECKLY: Soon. "The bus will be here dreckly."

NEKKID: To be unclothed. "Sula was as nekkid as a jaybird."

TORE UP: Very upset. "Winnie's dog got run over and she is all tore up."

SORRY: Lazy. "Jim Bud is too sorry to hit a lick at a snake."

YALL COME BACK: Visit us again. "Yall come back soon now, ya hear?"

LORDAMERCY: Good heavens! "Lordamercy, the cat's in the buttermilk."

Yall come back and if it's not comin' up a cloud or we ain't plum wore out, we'll go over yonder in the field behind the kudzu and pick some roastnears. Don't let on the shurf because it's not really our corn patch.