The New Jive
A rather busy week at the club has found me exhausted and blistered.
Within the past week I have carved my first ever ice sculpture, hosted
an open to the public dining event, and ended up with 2nd degree burns!
People often ask what my plans are when the season ends. My plans were
to travel for a spell, but I have to say that if the season ended
tomorrow I’d sleep for an entire day and then pack it up and head
straight home. I do however have a week off at the end of the season so
hopefully it will be long enough to recharge the batteries so I can see
some peeps.
As mentioned in my prior entry I have some local jargon you can be the first to use in your circle of friends!
“Pretty much…” - 1) An affirmation. Example; Person 1: “Work sucks”, Person 2 “Pretty much”. 2) Anything anyone in Mullen wants it to mean. Example; Person 1: “I was thinking about going to the dance on Saturday night!”, Person 2: “Pretty much.”
“quite a little” - Term used in describing a great quantity of something. Example; “Bonnie made quite a little batch of cookies!” NOTE: Upon hearing this for the first time I thought “don’t you mean quite a few cookies?”, but then the absurdity of using “quite a few” to describe a great quantity hit me so I kept my mouth shut.
“How’s come” - Term used to inquire as to why something is the way it is. Example of conversation pertaining to preparation of potatoes*; Person 1: “What’cha making?“, Person 2: “Gaufrettes”, Person 1: “What’d ya call them things when they’re all cooked up?”, Person 2: “Gaufrettes.”, Person 1: “How’s come you don’t just call’em tater chips?”
“Woe down” - 1) To curtail or cease. Example; “I need to woe down on my cussing”*.
“Get’r done!”** - 1) Term used to encourage another to complete a task. Example; Person 1: “I don’t know when I’m going to find the time to do my laundry”, Person 2: “Get’r done!“ 2) A command to instill a sense of urgency. Example; Person 1: “I can’t seem figure out how to rotate my car tires with out a jack”, Person 2 “Get’r done!” 3) A greeting. Example: You and your friends are leaving the County Fair dance and you see another group of your friends upon exiting. You say “Get’r done!” as they reply “Get’r done!” 4) A means of prodding a person to go “make a move” on the cute person at the end of the bar. Example: You see an attractive person at the bar/dance/cattle branding/any highly attended function, and you make a comment to your friends. In turn your trusted companions immediately turn on you and start hootin’ and hollerin’ “GET’R DONE, GET’R DONE” until everyone in the general vicinity knows you find somebody present to be attractive. 5) Just something to say…all the frickin’ time.
“If a guy/fella wanted to, he could…” - A means of communicating one’s desire to do something, or an idea one has. Example: “Because there are no lights at the gun range it is an ideal place to go look at the stars”, translates to, “You know, if a guy/fella wanted to, he could go to the gun range to look at the stars because there ain’t no lights out there”. NOTE: If a conversation is started with “If a guy…” it is customary to continue the conversation in the same fashion. Example: A conversation between two men on a construction site reviewing the progress of the house they are building: Fella 1: “If a guy wanted to reinforce that there joist, why he could maybe insert a 2x4 at an angle”, Fella 2: “Oh yeah, and then a guy could do the same thing to the other side as well!”
"Good Hang" - Term used to rate time spent 'hanging out" with friends. Example; Person 1; "Good Hang...", Everyone else present: "Good hang." This term is very concise and is replied to using the same phrase. It reminds me of the homogenized way Hollywood tends to portray the dialogue of the American Indian in westerns.
So yeah, feel free to use these phrases liberally and whenever possible. Don’t by any means feel self-conscious about actually creating situations where your new lingo will come in handy. It may take a while to become comfortable with your new terms and all of their applications but be patient. If you’re diligent in doling out “Get’r done” at every possible chance, before you know it, you too will be mistaken for a hay-seed in almost any situation you encounter. Remember above all else, knowledge is power but horrific grammar and redneck colloquialisms are a great deterrent to anyone trying to hold you accountable for your actions.
End of line.
* Actual quotes
** My favorite new phrase.
As mentioned in my prior entry I have some local jargon you can be the first to use in your circle of friends!
“Pretty much…” - 1) An affirmation. Example; Person 1: “Work sucks”, Person 2 “Pretty much”. 2) Anything anyone in Mullen wants it to mean. Example; Person 1: “I was thinking about going to the dance on Saturday night!”, Person 2: “Pretty much.”
“quite a little” - Term used in describing a great quantity of something. Example; “Bonnie made quite a little batch of cookies!” NOTE: Upon hearing this for the first time I thought “don’t you mean quite a few cookies?”, but then the absurdity of using “quite a few” to describe a great quantity hit me so I kept my mouth shut.
“How’s come” - Term used to inquire as to why something is the way it is. Example of conversation pertaining to preparation of potatoes*; Person 1: “What’cha making?“, Person 2: “Gaufrettes”, Person 1: “What’d ya call them things when they’re all cooked up?”, Person 2: “Gaufrettes.”, Person 1: “How’s come you don’t just call’em tater chips?”
“Woe down” - 1) To curtail or cease. Example; “I need to woe down on my cussing”*.
“Get’r done!”** - 1) Term used to encourage another to complete a task. Example; Person 1: “I don’t know when I’m going to find the time to do my laundry”, Person 2: “Get’r done!“ 2) A command to instill a sense of urgency. Example; Person 1: “I can’t seem figure out how to rotate my car tires with out a jack”, Person 2 “Get’r done!” 3) A greeting. Example: You and your friends are leaving the County Fair dance and you see another group of your friends upon exiting. You say “Get’r done!” as they reply “Get’r done!” 4) A means of prodding a person to go “make a move” on the cute person at the end of the bar. Example: You see an attractive person at the bar/dance/cattle branding/any highly attended function, and you make a comment to your friends. In turn your trusted companions immediately turn on you and start hootin’ and hollerin’ “GET’R DONE, GET’R DONE” until everyone in the general vicinity knows you find somebody present to be attractive. 5) Just something to say…all the frickin’ time.
“If a guy/fella wanted to, he could…” - A means of communicating one’s desire to do something, or an idea one has. Example: “Because there are no lights at the gun range it is an ideal place to go look at the stars”, translates to, “You know, if a guy/fella wanted to, he could go to the gun range to look at the stars because there ain’t no lights out there”. NOTE: If a conversation is started with “If a guy…” it is customary to continue the conversation in the same fashion. Example: A conversation between two men on a construction site reviewing the progress of the house they are building: Fella 1: “If a guy wanted to reinforce that there joist, why he could maybe insert a 2x4 at an angle”, Fella 2: “Oh yeah, and then a guy could do the same thing to the other side as well!”
"Good Hang" - Term used to rate time spent 'hanging out" with friends. Example; Person 1; "Good Hang...", Everyone else present: "Good hang." This term is very concise and is replied to using the same phrase. It reminds me of the homogenized way Hollywood tends to portray the dialogue of the American Indian in westerns.
So yeah, feel free to use these phrases liberally and whenever possible. Don’t by any means feel self-conscious about actually creating situations where your new lingo will come in handy. It may take a while to become comfortable with your new terms and all of their applications but be patient. If you’re diligent in doling out “Get’r done” at every possible chance, before you know it, you too will be mistaken for a hay-seed in almost any situation you encounter. Remember above all else, knowledge is power but horrific grammar and redneck colloquialisms are a great deterrent to anyone trying to hold you accountable for your actions.
End of line.
* Actual quotes
** My favorite new phrase.