![]() It indicates there is a lot of something, from problems to money. ![]() Apparently, Carter had a great many pills, because the phrase found its way into the Southern vocabulary. This one originates from the 19th century when Carter Products marketed "Little Liver Pills" across the country. That means whatever you're talking about is worth less than very little. Whether you're talking about volume or value, a hill of beans isn't worth much. In the South, a hill of beans is its own measuring stick. This expression is another way of saying something has taken a long time or that something is unlikely to happen. If you haven’t seen your mother in a month of Sundays, it’s been too long. ![]() When you provide transportation for someone, you are carrying them in your car or on your bike to the next location. ![]() If you’re not from the South, you might wonder why someone would carry another person to the store. Since we'd never dare hang up the phone while Mama's chatting away, this may be the only way to end your conversation in a timely manner. Translated, this means: "We'll be there unless something out of our control stops us." Unlike the United States Postal Service, whose motto proclaims "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night" will keep them from their routes, sometimes a Southern visit is thwarted by a rising creek or other unexpected bump in the road. Farmers know that if you do something 'til the cows come home, it's going to take all day. Cows aren't known for their speed, and they are usually out and about, wandering until feeding time. Settle in, because whatever we're talking about is going to take all day. This phrase can be intensified by the addition of the word "way," as in "way over yonder." The phrase may be accompanied by a gesture indicating north, south, east, or west. When you're in the South, "over yonder" is a distant direction-any direction. When you're fixin' to do something, it's going to happen, but you also may decide to take your sweet time. I'm fixin' to tell you that this phrase is as Southern as sweet tea. It happens often during a Southern summer when the heat rises and the temperatures shoot past 100. It is a physical and mental state a few degrees past weary and just this side of dog-tired. When you're exhausted in an I'm-so-beat-I-can't-go-on kind of way, you're definitely worn slap out. It's a vivid phrase, and it's an accurate one too. If you've just had a big Southern lunch, complete with cornbread, collard greens, and pecan pie, you're definitely full as a tick. "Druthers" roughly translates to "I would rather," meaning, "If had things my way…" The phrase is celebrated in song in the hilarious, Southern-inspired Broadway musical Li'l Abner, in which the title character sings "If I had my druthers, I'd druther have my druthers than anything else I know." And really, wouldn't we all druther have our druthers? Full As A Tick Some say farmers used to dunk their hens when they got broody. Have you ever seen a wet hen? If so, you know that being madder than a wet hen is very mad indeed. Don't worry, though, everyone hears this every now and again. It can express empathy or judgment, or it can be said in place of a person's true feelings. It's almost always accompanied by a good-natured, perhaps slightly exasperated, shake of the head. It can be deployed sincerely, but if you're hearing "bless your heart" in the South, it probably has an edge to it.
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