Yes, it’s a buggy. Do you know all of these Mississippi slang words and phrases?
If your Auntie Sissy has ever told you and your cousins to hush up or to grab her pocketbook from the buggy so she can buy some nabs, chances are y’all are from around these parts.
Southerners have their own way of getting their point across. Many of the Mississippi Coast’s most popular terms and sayings would need translating if you crossed a few state lines.
Here are a few words and phrases that are a sure sign you’re home when you hear them.
The Sipp
Noun: A nickname for the state of Mississippi
‘I tell you what’
Listen up; It can be used as a threat when your daddy’s about to get the switch or send you to bed early for acting up, or just as an introduction to something interesting you have to say.
Here’s how you say the most commonly mispronounced cities on the Mississippi Coast
‘Treated like a red-headed stepchild’
You’re either feeling neglected or like you’re being mistreated. Daddy may be looking for that switch again.
Comeback
Noun: A Southern sauce made with mayonnaise, hot sauce, ketchup and spices
Bubba and Sissy
Nouns: Brother and sister. Things start getting complicated when Bubba and Sissy start having kids of their own. Doesn’t everyone have an Uncle Bubba?
Po-boy
Noun: A sandwich or sub
These sub sandwiches had their start in Louisiana, where hardworking streetcar conductors would grab a quick sandwich from a French Market coffee stand. New Orleans restaurant Mulate’s shared the story online. When the car workers went on strike, the stand’s owners, a pair of brothers who were streetcar conductors before opening Martin Brothers Coffee Stand and Restaurant, gave the “poor boys” free sandwiches. Today, just about every restaurant menu on the Coast includes a po-boy. The most common versions are french bread filled with fried shrimp, but a po-boy can have roast beef, chicken or just about any seafood on hand.
Carry
Verb: To drive someone. For example, “I’m going to carry mama to the doctor.”
‘I’ll be there, good Lord willin’ and the creek don’t rise.’
God willing. Minus any disasters, you’ll do something or show up somewhere, according to Enjoy Travel.
‘Mudding’
Verb: Off-road driving for the fun of it, favorite pastime around these parts. Mudding is when you and a carload of friends hop in a 4-wheeler, truck or Jeep and drive off road, preferably in the muddiest places you can find.
Nabs
Sandwich crackers stuffed with cheese or peanut butter gained popularity nearly 100 years ago when Nabisco introduced peanut sandwich packets, according to the Southern Foodways Alliance. North Carolina-based Lance soon gave Yankee Nabisco a run for their money.
Here’s where things get a little confusing. While “nabs” is short for Nabisco, if you ask for nabs here in Mississippi, you’re asking for Lance’s Toastchee. Nabisco stopped selling their version long ago.
‘Living in high cotton’
You’re feeling wealthy, doing well. Tall cotton bushes yielded more cotton and were easier to pick, according to Hotty Toddy News.
Goodys
Noun: If you ask someone in California for a goody, don’t expect to get a headache powder. The popular pain reliever is a Southern thing.
Catawampus
I.e. Caddywonked, cattywampus, catty wonkus
Adj.: Crooked, askew, cater-cornered
Pocketbook
Noun: A purse
‘Hush up’
Y’all be quiet; shut up
‘Bless your heart’
The secret is out on this one. While it sounds like your sweet neighbor is asking God for a blessing, she’s actually calling you an idiot. Now, if your Meemaw says “bless your heart” after you show her where you scraped your knee, that’s a blessing. It’s all in the delivery — and how she feels about that heart of yours.
Buggy
Noun: Have you ever noticed grocery store signs that point out where to return your buggy never use the word “buggy” on them? That’s because the rest of the country just calls them shopping carts, bless their hearts.
