A female shoat is called a gilt. A spotted animal is said to be pieded (pied), and a striped one is listed. In the Smokies a toad is called a frog or a toad-frog, and a toadstool is a frog-stool. The woodpecker is turned around into a peckerwood, except that the giant woodpecker (here still a common bird) is known as a woodcock or woodhen.
What the mountaineers call hemlock is the shrub leucothoe. The hemlock tree is named spruce-pine, while spruce is he-balsam, balsam itself is she-balsam, laurel is ivy, and rhododendron is laurel. In some places pine needles are called twinkles, and the locust insect is known as a ferro (Pharaoh?). A treetop left on the ground after logging is called the lap. Sobby wood means soggy or sodden, and the verb is to sob.
Evening, in the mountains, begins at noon instead of at sunset. Spell is used in the sense of while (“a good spell atterward”) and soon for early (“a soon start in the morning”). The hillsmen say “a year come June,” “Thursday ’twas a week ago,” and “the year nineteen and eight.”
Many common English words are used in peculiar senses by the mountain folk, as call for name or mention or occasion, clever for obliging, mimic or mock for resemble, a power or a sight for much, risin’ for exceeding (also for inflammation), ruin for injure, scout for elude, stove for jabbed, surround for go around, word for phrase, take off for help yourself. Tale always means an idle or malicious report.
Some highland usages that sound odd to us are really no more than the original and literal meanings, as budget for bag or parcel, hampered for shackled or jailed. When a mountain swain “carries his gal to meetin’” he is not performing so great an athletic feat as was reported by Benjamin Franklin, who said, “My father carried his wife with three children to New England” (from Pennsylvania).
A mountaineer does not throw a stone; he “flings a rock.” He sharpens tools on a grindin’-rock or whet-rock. Tomato, cabbage, molasses and baking powder are used always as plural nouns. “Pass me them molasses.” “I’ll have a few more of them cabbage.” “How many bakin’-powders has you got?”
Many other peculiar words and phrases are explained in their proper place elsewhere in this volume.
The speech of the southern highlanders is alive with quaint idioms. “I swapped hosses, and I’ll tell you fer why.” “Your name ain’t much common.” “Who got to beat?” “You think me of it in the mornin’.” “I ’low to go to town to-morrow.” “The woman’s aimin’ to go to meetin’.” “I had in head to plow to-day, but hit’s come on to rain.” “I’ve laid off and laid off to fix that fence.” “Reckon Pete was knowin’ to the sarcumstance?” “I’ll name it to Newt, if so be he’s thar.” “I knowed in reason she’d have the mullygrubs over them doin’s.” “You cain’t handily blame her.”
“Air ye plumb bereft?” “How come it was this: he done me dirt.” “I ain’t carin’ which nor whether about it.” “Sam went to Andrews or to Murphy, one.” “I tuk my fut in my hand and lit out.” “He lit a rag fer home.” “Don’t much believe the wagon ’ll come to-day.” “Tain’t powerful long to dinner, I don’t reckon.” “Phil’s Ann give it out to each and every that Walt and Layunie ’d orter wed.”
“Howdy, Tom: light and hitch.”