Regional sayings

[AfleetAlex]

Somebody way upthread mentioned this, and I have been meaning to ask about it: I am from Michigan and I've noticed that a lot of times when we say "Bless her heart" we really mean something like, "Oh, how sweet of her!" or we will say to someone, "Bless your heart!" for something good that they did, especially if the thing they did was difficult in some way so doing it was really going above-and-beyond.

I have of course heard the US-Southern interpretation, but if you use the phrase, how do you use it and what do you mean by it?

[menley]

It's a multipurpose saying for me I use it differently based on tone of voice and perhaps an accompanying eyeroll if I mean it in the Southern sense. 

[Slartibartfast]

Yeah, "bless her heart" always does have the "how sweet" sense, but sometimes it's a heartfelt "how sweet" and sometimes it's sarcastic.  It's all in the context and tone of voice.

[Hmmmmm]

To add to that: I've never before heard "Anglo Indian."

 It really rubs me the wrong way, but it's interesting to see and fairly obvious where it might come from.

I'm missing Texas these days, but I'm glad to be free of most of these (the only one I'd never heard used is on the final page, a quote from "Selena"--which I admit to seeing far more times than necessary, even): 14 things all Texans have said at least once

Anglo Indian?

I'm fixin to get some lunch ... over yonder

This week I was at an event where a nationally well known financial market wizard was a giving a key note speech about global job market and the impact of global national debt. I giggled he started his second sentence with "I'm fixin' to tell you...".  Yep, native Texan.

[lowspark]

"Bless his heart": The way it's usually used (in my experience) is to sort of excuse the insult you're throwing out.
Example:
He's as dumb as a rock, bless his heart.
or
She's not going to win any beauty contests, bless her heart.

It's sort of like, if you put in the "bless his heart" after the insult, it wasn't really an insult after all, just a statement of fact for which you have nothing by sympathy for the subject.

[cwm]

I've heard the phrase "Oh, well..." used in the same tone as "Bless his/her heart!"

It generally means "Oh, well, I don't have any polite words to say, so I'm just going to not say anything, but you're being judged."

Also, when my great grandmother would say it when I was young (mostly in response to news stories), I thought she was saying "Oh, whale." I was really confused.

[Psychopoesie]

To add to that: I've never before heard "Anglo Indian."

 It really rubs me the wrong way, but it's interesting to see and fairly obvious where it might come from.

I'm missing Texas these days, but I'm glad to be free of most of these (the only one I'd never heard used is on the final page, a quote from "Selena"--which I admit to seeing far more times than necessary, even): 14 things all Texans have said at least once

Just curious about what rubbed the wrong way about the term Anglo-Indian?

[Leafy]

To add to that: I've never before heard "Anglo Indian."

 It really rubs me the wrong way, but it's interesting to see and fairly obvious where it might come from.

I'm missing Texas these days, but I'm glad to be free of most of these (the only one I'd never heard used is on the final page, a quote from "Selena"--which I admit to seeing far more times than necessary, even): 14 things all Texans have said at least once

Just curious about what rubbed the wrong way about the term Anglo-Indian?

Anglo-Indians are a defined group of people who have Indian heritage as well as some English or Portugese colonist in their genealogy. They define themselves as such. There is a very large population of Anglo-Indians in Australia - many of whom belong to the Anglo-Indian club (they have dinners, dances and reunions in India).

[Redneck Gravy]

I saw the Anglo Indian as a negative connotation...

I have heard "he thinks he's a white Mexican" meaning he thinks he's better than other Mexican people - meant to be very negative.  I hate the term. 

I am trying to beat back my racist/sexist upbringing and think of race as HUMAN (that's hard enough without others adding to the racist comments around me)

I was unaware of the Australian connection.

[katycoo]

I saw the Anglo Indian as a negative connotation...

I have heard "he thinks he's a white Mexican" meaning he thinks he's better than other Mexican people - meant to be very negative.  I hate the term. 

I am trying to beat back my racist/sexist upbringing and think of race as HUMAN (that's hard enough without others adding to the racist comments around me)

I was unaware of the Australian connection.

I'm Australian and unfamiliar with the term but just read it as someone who identifies as both - like African Amercian.

"Ta" used by adults here is only for very perfunct thank yous.  Like when someone passes something to you.

[oz diva]

Hope you don't mind me dredging up this again, but I've thought of another regional saying.

If I said 'I came a cropper'.  Would you know what I was talking about?

[SadieBaby]

Hope you don't mind me dredging up this again, but I've thought of another regional saying.

If I said 'I came a cropper'.  Would you know what I was talking about?

It means you made a mistake, failed, had a bad result in something -- Not a good thing for you!

[jmarvellous]

I dug way into the recesses of my mind. I never would have come up with the meaning of that phrase. I figured it must mean something like,  "became a sharecropper."

[Katana_Geldar]

One of my favourites is "flat out like a lizard drinking". Any guesses?

[perpetua]

Hope you don't mind me dredging up this again, but I've thought of another regional saying.

If I said 'I came a cropper'.  Would you know what I was talking about?

It means you made a mistake, failed, had a bad result in something -- Not a good thing for you!

Orrrr (here) it would mean you fell flat on your face in a literal sense, ie, falling over, usually quite badly. Ie, "She tripped on the way out of the pub and came a right cropper".