The Junior League was originated in NYC...wonder how many people know that.

Not many---and most people do not realize that the purpose of the League is to train volunteers.

Wayne--The one that drives me crazy (although it's not a Southern expression--I hear it every day up here in the Chicago area) is, "I went by my mom's today"--meaning, "I went to my mom's today". By & To are not the same thing!!

And then there's "can't hardly" as in I can't hardly get out of bed this mornin'.

No worse insult than a "well, bless your heart." said with a lifted eyebrow as the speaker then turns and starts a conversation with someone else.

Except that when you went "by" your mom's house - that implies a short or impromptu visit whereas going "to" your mom's is very intention and probably very time-consuming - unless, of course, you have no clue as to what you might be getting into when you go "by". It's all in the syntax! :)

Re: DAR. I qualify. I know because a close elderly relative is already a member, so I can coattail on her research (and my dad's - he has a copy of the land grant given to my great-great, etc., etc., grandfather who fought the British.)

But really, now, is it worth it? I LIKE dark meat in chicken salad.

ausc59, great explanation of by/to.

I qualify for DAR but would never do it. That or JL. Neither are my cup of tea. Different strokes for different folks.

Need to sign off because I'm fixin' to stop by my Momma's.

One final expression and I'll shut up. This was an extremely common way to say that you are going to drive your car to work (or shopping, or whatever):

"Are you gonna carry your car to work today?"

When I was growing up, I didn't know there was anything wrong with that expression. Now I laugh every time I think of someone picking up their car and carrying it to work.

allison_h,
"I hear it every day up here in the Chicago area) is, "I went by my mom's today"--meaning, "I went to my mom's today"."

Means the same thing to me. I didn't know there was a difference! If you Drove by your mom's today it would mean something different.

Wayne: You are 'right on' on the way most of us southerner's talk! You have brought back fond memories of my grandparents!

I have only used a couple of the specific ones you bring up, but hear them often!
Never heard that use of 'allowed' though?

The ones I'm most often guilty of are 'fix'n' and, one you didn't mention (that my children rib me the most about) is 'yonder'. As in [some item] is 'over yonder'! Ha! I'm convicted in my head everytime I say it, (or fix'n), but they still come out!

'Southern born and Southern bred'!

Belle

Here's another one that mystifies me up here in the Chicago area: Doing something "on" accident (instead of "by" accident)--ex: "I did the wrong assignment on accident!" Seems a lot of people are getting pronouns mixed up these days! Oh well....

Umm, allison_h, uh, that would be that people are mixing up their prepositions, not their pronouns I believe. (sorry- ex school-marm!).

I've followed this thread with great enjoyment. Not being from the south but hailing from Newfoundland and having grown up in rural communities in Manitoba and Ontario and currently living in a very small Ontario rural community, many, many of the expressions quoted here are ones that have been part of my life for forever!

I especially love the way that a whole world of meaning can be condensed into a couple of words and an uplifted eyebrow!

Newfoundland also has the benefit of a raft of colloquialisms that no one else in the world understands (although I understand that in this electronic age there is a Newfie dictionary on line with the definitions of words like "chummy" (no - it has nothing at all to do with a close relationship. It's a noun, as in "Pass me the chummy dere, by!").

One of my favourites that my dad quoted to me relates back to an earlier post which I think dealt with "nary".

Two Newfies talking, (subject already decided):

Newfie 1: "Aarn?"
Newfie 2: "Narn."

Translation-

Newfie 1: "Did you get any of or do you have any of (whatever the subject is - fish, turnip greens, rum)?"
Newfie 2" "Nah by, I gots none."

Oh - and to me chicken salad is white meat only! Hellmans only! Can I be a member of the JL and the DAR?

Oops--I knew that (about the prepositions)! Just mistyped, I guess!

allison, I'm in the Chicago area too. The "by" instead of "to" thing doesn't bother me. But I'm with you on the "on accident" thing!

But the one that drives me right up the wall is very common where I grew up. It's a small town in southern Illinois where pretty much everyone's ancestors were German. While I've never studied German, I have to think this has something to do with the German language. They refer to hair as "them" instead of "it". As in "I can't do a thing with them." Or "Did you get them cut?"

There are other odd expressions in the area that I suspect have to do with the language structure of German. One that I can think of off-hand is "Come here once" instead of "Come here for a second" or a minute. And they use "yet" in an odd way. More or less as a synonym for still. I see most of these expressions as sort of a colorful, local thing. But, as I said, the hair thing just makes me crazy!

Chicagoese:

It has always been "on accident" to me, and that carries an ironic tinge and/or is facetious. "Oops, I just ate your last cookie on accident."

And the same people might use the other form for a more straight forward statement. "Penicillin was discovered by accident".

And if you que up here, you are not "on line". You are in line. If you are going "on line" you are going to use a phone or a computer, and not standing waiting for a service.

I have actually had people looking for a line on the floor or an area with a designated line to stop at (like the spot you stand on when you are having your ID picture taken) when someone from another area told them to get "on line".

That is really funny. Because they are walking around looking at the floor.

Does anyone know where the expression, "go with" originated?
As in, <i>Do you want to go with?</i> or, <i>Jamie's going with.</i>
There is the preposition, <i>with</i>, dangling without an object. Somehow I picked up this odd colloquiallism in NYC, although I believe it must have come over the bridge from Brooklyn to Manhattan. :-D

A friend who has German parents says this, too, so I am wondering if it has roots in incomplete translation.

no clue, but I say it all the time.

I do too. And I think there are some others that have dangling prepositions or strangly placed adverbs as well in Chicago.

And we use more passives because of translations also, I think.

Such as,&quot;Throw me the ball&quot; or &quot;Toss me that bag&quot; instead of &quot;Throw the ball to me&quot; or &quot;Toss that bag to me.&quot;

I don't know if you read the book Eats, Shoots, and Leaves, but you just said something that could be interpreted rather differently with creative punctuation:

Throw me, the ball!

I think the &quot;go with&quot; expression is almost exclusively northern, because I never hear it in the South.

We tend to say &quot;on accident&quot; here in Texas this way . . . Did you do that &quot;on purpose?&quot; No, I did it &quot;on accident.&quot; See, makes perfect sense.

Enjoying this thread.

Sandy (in Denton)