It's mostly a southern thing, but we've slowly been propagating it around the rest of the country. Now the variants of y'all, like y'all'd've or y'all're are pretty much still exclusively southern in my experience. Answer from _comment_removed_ on reddit.com
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Parade
parade.com › living › southern-sayings
55 Common Southern Phrases To Entertain All Y'all
January 11, 2024 - Related: 105 Southern Boy Names (With Their Meanings) For Your Genteel Little Gentleman · Imagine how that would look… It means that whoever they’re talking about has some pretty gapped teeth! ... The quintessential Southern phrase, “y’all” is literally “you” and “all” squished together.
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Clarion Ledger
clarionledger.com › story › news › 2025 › 02 › 16 › is-yall-not-just-a-southern-thing-anymore › 77912484007
Y'all, they stole our word. The co-opting of the most Southern of phrases
February 16, 2025 - With the growth of the term showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon, it begs one question: Is y'all no longer just a Southern thing? "Y'all" is light and fun, but it also serves a necessary function. The modern English language does not include a second plural pronoun. Historically, different regions in the U.S. have filled this gap with different phrases, each tightly woven into its region's culture: "you-uns" or the even shorter "yinz" in the North, "youse" in the New York area, and, of course, "y'all" in the South.
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HubPages
discover.hubpages.com › literature › Funny-Southern-Sayings-and-Southern-Expressions
Funny Southern Sayings, Expressions, and Slang - HubPages
March 28, 2025 - As a Southerner that moved up north I loved your article. The funniest one I ever heard was we were at at church and during a particularly vigorous sermon my grandpa said very loudly, ... About something you hate: I'd rather be in an ant bed with my back broke. ... You made a common Yankee error. Y'all is ALWAYS plural.
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Serving Up Southern
servingupsouthern.com › home › 50 of the best southern sayings
50 of the Best Southern Sayings | Serving Up Southern
July 23, 2025 - I hate seeing y’all misspelled! ... Hi Paula! It’s so funny that your students responded better to that term. I can picture you saying it to a class.
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Wanderwisdom
wanderwisdom.com › travel-destinations › Funny-Southern-Sayings-and-Southern-Expressions
Talk Texan: 40+ Southern Sayings You've Probably Never Heard
June 24, 2025 - We’ve rounded up a fresh batch of lesser-known Southern sayings (some from Texas, too) that capture the spirit, sass, and soul of the South. So pour yourself a tall glass of sweet tea and settle in. “He’s itchin’ for a scratchin’.” Translation: He’s asking for a fight, whether he knows it or not. “That dog’s been barkin’ too close to the porch.” Translation: He’s messing where he shouldn’t be—and he’s about to get bit. “She’s fixin’ to cloud up and rain all over somebody.” Translation: She’s about to lose her temper.
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Travel Noire
travelnoire.com › funny-southern-sayings
Funny Southern Sayings That Are So Good They’ll "Make You Slap Ya Mama" - Travel Noire
“He’s all hat and no cattle.” This expression describes someone who talks a big game but lacks substance or follow-through.
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Pinterest
pinterest.com › explore › quotes
Sassy Southern Memes For All Y'all From The South
January 31, 2023 - Sassy Southern Memes For All Y'all From The South - Funny memes that "GET IT" and want you to too.
Find elsewhere
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Wikihow
wikihow.com › relationships › social interactions › funny southern sayings, phrases & slang you should know
Funny Southern Sayings, Phrases & Slang You Should Know
June 1, 2025 - They’re smart as all get out! They’ve got more style than Carter’s got little pills! They’ve got gumption! They’re happy as clams at high tide. I’d get gussied up for you! As long as I’ve got a biscuit, you’ve got half. You’re cuter than a speckled pup under a cabbage leaf. Gimme some sugar! ... Whether it’s sunny, rainy, cold, or blazing hot outside, there’s a funny (and extremely descriptive) Southern ...
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Southern Living
southernliving.com › culture › yall-or-ya-ll
What's The Difference Between Y'all And Ya'll?
August 13, 2025 - Y'all originiated in 1856. The South is known for its laundry list of unique and quirky cultural sayings, like "Bless your heart," "Too big for his britches," and "Well, I s'wanee," to name a few. But the best-known word in the Southern vernacular is probably our most-loved pronoun: y'all.
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Southern Living
southernliving.com › southern-sayings-6534958
60 Southern Sayings You Won’t Hear Anywhere Else
August 13, 2025 - 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? If you've just had a big Southern lunch, complete with cornbread, collard greens, and pecan pie, you're definitely full as a tick.
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/appalachia › southern phrases and sayings… give me all of them you can think of!
r/Appalachia on Reddit: Southern phrases and sayings… Give me all of them you can think of!
August 20, 2025 -

I live in Kentucky, so I was born and raised on these old sayings. But I was watching a YouTube video earlier about southern phrases, and it was so crazy how many people in the comments had never heard most of them.

I’ve grown up using words like yonder, reckon, y’all/yens, and phrases like fixing to, up a storm, hanging in there like a hair in a biscuit, all hat no cattle, etc.

What words or southern phrases do you guys use? What about phrases your parents used when you were growing up? I wanna hear them all!😊

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Kimberly Dana
kimberlydana.com › blog-1 › spring-favorites-kale-743zg-338pn-8fjmk-fjc6a-mwkme-w3pn2-nspl6-g2td5-hzbte-acgwg-ec9xy-dkha4-xjcyh-gy5b2-pyy36-cclry-rn37f-x96gd-ajtxp
Y’all or Ope? Southern Slang vs. Midwest Slang — Kimberly Dana
October 6, 2025 - Ordering a “Coke” may get you a Sprite or Dr. Pepper. Southern slang thrives on poetic understatement and cultural history—rooted in oral traditions, Biblical cadence, and the rituals of hospitality. Words linger. They charm. They soften. The Midwest may not be known for flourish, but its slang is as wholesome as a church potluck. It’s practical, disarming, and quietly funny...
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Southernhomeandhospitality
southernhomeandhospitality.com › 120 best southern sayings that’ll charm your britches off
120 Best Southern Sayings That'll Charm Your Britches Off
July 29, 2024 - These common Southern sayings, expressions, and slang will have you grinning like a possum eating a sweet potato with all the charm and wit the South is known for!
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Pleated Jeans
pleated-jeans.com › home › 50 funny southern memes that’ll make y’all laugh until you spit out your sweet tea
50 Funny Southern Memes That'll Make Y'all Laugh Until You Spit Out Your Sweet Tea
February 25, 2025 - "People who think Southerners run around barefoot have obviously never felt the indescribable torment of a fire ant bite."
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Reader's Digest
rd.com › knowledge › grammar & spelling
48 Southern Phrases That’ll Keep Y’All Entertained
May 28, 2025 - Read on to learn their fascinating origins—and how to speak like a Southerner. Get Reader’s Digest’s Read Up newsletter for more grammar, humor, tech and fun facts all week long. ... If you asked someone from outside the South—or outside the United States—to name one southern usage, chances are they would answer with “y’all.” While it’s a combined version of “you all,” it’s more than that, and there’s no universally agreed upon origin story.
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WordRake
wordrake.com › writing-tips › the-story-of-yall
The Story of Y'all
That’s when she hollered, “All y’all’s getting’ a whoopin’!” And there it was: the plural of y’all: All y’all. Word spread up Picken’s Nose over to Generation Gap then around to Holy Holler up yonder. To this day, wherever you go in the South, you will hear southern girls say, “I would love it if y’all would come by the house this evening,” and you can tell right away if the young man she addresses is from the north, because he will be looking around behind himself.
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Etsy
etsy.com › art & collectibles › prints › digital prints
Y'all Definition Printable | Humorous Southern Saying Print | Yall Wall Decor | Southern Home Decor | Southern Girl | Louisiana Expression - Etsy
October 7, 2025 - "y'all" humorous definition, funny southern printable, black and white. DIGITAL DOWNLOAD | HIGH RESOLUTION PRINTABLE WALL ART *NO physical item will be shipped* Please note: some slight variation in color may occur due to differences in screen settings. Layout between aspect ratios may also have subtle variations to stay true to the balance of the design. WHAT IS INCLUDED You ...