Mountain Expressions
We'uns want ye'uns to come and bring the younguns.
Bettern a mess of sallit(wild greens).
Don't never do that again.
It won't do no good.
There hain't been nobody here.
Fractious as a moony horse.
Ill as a hornet.
You never know a man till you've slept with him.
A rolling stone gathers no moss.
He's just possumin' (pretending sleep).
Butterm while they're hot (biscuits).
"Blue john" was skimmed milk.
As treacherous as quicksand.
As stubborn as a mule.
As nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs.
As pretty as a speckled pup.
As wild as a buck.
As spotted as a pided cow.
I'd give my eye tooth for it.
Pot can't call the kettle black.
If you make your bed, sleep in it.
Some things, the more you stir, the more it stinks.
You can't shovel dirt without getting dirty.
As white as the driven snow.
As blind as a bat.
As drunk as a hoot owl.
Fine as frog hair.
Fine as frog hair split four ways.
She makes more noise than a guinea hen.
A wasteful wife can throw more out with a spoon than her husband can bring home with a shovel.
Willful waste makes woeful want.
When starvation comes in the front door, love flies out the back door.
A darn is more righteous than a tear.
Catch more flies with honey than you do vinegar.
Chickens come home to roost.
Dead men tell no tales.
Familiarity breeds contempt.
She is so good butter won't melt in her mouth.
Keep your counsel until asked for.
Pretty is as pretty does.
Beauty is only skin deep.
Still waters run deep.
Do me a favor and I'ill dance at your wedding.
You can trust him as far as you can throw a bull by the tail.
Two heads are better than one, even if yours is wooden.
Beware of a sheep killing dog.
A drinking woman is like a horse with blind staggers.
As the tree leans so does the sapling.
Many hands make light work.
Too many cooks spoil the stew.
The squeaky wheel gets the grease.
Rotten to the bone.
When a horse shies and is skittish it is a sign he senses danger near.
A new broom sweeps clean.
As cool as a cucumber.
A "hawse pistol" is a rapid fellow.
Birds of a feather stick together.
If your nose itches, you will soon see a stranger.
If you drop your dishcloth, company is coming for dinner.
If a sickly person can make it through the falling leaves he will live to see them fall again.
A child will be birthmarked if the mother-to-be cannot have the food she craves.
You are liable to have bad luck if you go through a graveyard at night.
See granddaddy long legs, make a wish.
If you see a falling star, make a wish and it will come true.
The first star you see at dusk repeat this saying"Star light, star bright, I wish I may, I wish I might have this wish I wish tonight," and it will come true.
Red light at night shepherd's delight, red light in the morning, sailor's warning.
When birds wallow in dirt, it is a sign of rain.
A blue bird or red bird in winter means snow.
When the robin comes it is the sign of spring.
If smoke curls to the ground, it is a sign of falling weather.
If your bones ache it is a sign of falling weather.
Thunder in January, frost in May.
When raindrops remain on the tree, the rain is not over.
Large drops of rain often bring hail.
Large drops of rain denote a quick storm.
Threatening clouds oft go around.
Rain before morning seven, clear before eleven.
If you dream of muddy water it is a sign of bad luck but if you get up and drink clear water it breaks the jinx.
Dream of death is a sign of a birth.
When an older member of the family dies, there will be a birth to replace this member.
Dream of birth is the sign of death, but if you wait until after breakfast to tell it, the sign is broken.
Plant a weeping willow and you will die when it is large enough to shade your grave.
If your right palm itches, you will shake hands with a stranger.
If your left palm itches, you will receive money.
A salmon sky is the sign of good weather.
A mackerel sky is one to be doubted.
When you hear a tree frog, he forecasts rain.
If you spill salt, sprinkle some over your left shoulder.
It is lucky for a bride to marry in white.
Thank someone for a plant, it will not thrive.
Root hawg, or die.
If the bottom of your foot itches, you will walk on strange land.
April borrowed ten days from March to kill old cows with.
"I've heard the wind blow before."
Every time a door closes, a window opens.
There's a lid for every pot.
Don't cry over spilled milk.
Smart as a tack.
Uglier than homemade soap.
Uglier than homemade mud.
Fast as lightening.
White as a ghost.
Calm as a owl at midnight.
He couldn't find his nose with a lantern.
The night is as dark as a sack full of black cats.
The night is as still as death.
As scarse as hen's teeth.
He is as crooked as a dog's hind leg.(meaning he is dishonest)
"Katie bar the door"
Not worth a hoot and a holler.
It don't make me no never mind no how.
Pert neer, but not plumb.
Cats of three colors bring good luck.
Cut a snake's tail off, and the tail will not die till the sun goes down.
If you drop a biscuit you will marry a poor man.
If you look into a coffee pot, you will be an old maid.
If a spark pops out of the fire, company is coming.
Northern lights are a sign of cold weather.
A hair on your shoulder is a sign of a letter.
It causes bad luck to climb over anyone in bed.
The first time you sleep in a room, name each corner of the room before going to sleep. When you awaken in the morning, the one you are facing is the man you will marry.
Before going to sleep at night swallow a thimble full of salt but drink no water. You will dream of the man you will marry giving you a drink of water that night.
"Hotter than blue blazes"
If a girl in love craves pickles, her love is returned.
A girl may know that her sweetheart has been taken if her apron becomes unpinned.
Arise before breakfast without speaking a word on the first day of May, get a bridle from the barn, go to the spring and say: "Here is a bridle; where is the horse and rider?" Repeat this three times. then there will appear a man riding a horse without a bridle. This will be your destined husband.
Wide thumbs will spin gold.
An itching nose is the sign of money.
Wear a match in your hair to keep from having headache.
If a baby has early teething, there will be a new baby in the family soon.
Tie a frog around a baby's neck to make it teeth early.
If a neighbor's cat comes listening around your house, it means news-carrying, and you may know that the neighbors are gossiping about.
Go to a neighbors home, steal a dishcloth and rub it over your warts and then hide it. Your warts will disappear in nine days.
To cure a backache, roll on the ground three times at the cry of the first whip-poor-will.
For a headache, apply brown paper and vinegar
To remove freckles, bathe your face in buttermilk
Let a young lady pin a four-leaf clover over the door, and the first unmarried man who comes in the door will be the one she is to marry.
To cure frozen feet, bury a crooked penny at the northeast corner of the cabin outside, where water drops from the eaves.
To postpone a wedding causes bad luck.
To sleep in a beanfield at night will cause you to have bad dreams and to go crazy.
If your children wear a bag of asafoetida around their necks, they will not catch whooping cough.
Cats of three colors bring good luck
"Thicker than fleas on a dogs back".
Northern lights are a sign of cold weather.
Put Irish potatoes in a traveling bag to keep off train sickness
If you can cross your forefinger over your other forefingers, you can get whom you please and please whom you get.
If you can turn a hoe-cake without breaking it, you are ready to marry.
If you drop a biscuit you will marry a poor man.
The apple will fall when it gets ripe
More to come.......Thanks friend....
Return to Top of page
Email me here
Return to Main Page
