Twenty Special Southernisms

You may have actually received this exact email. My question is, can you help me find where these saying originated? That would be interesting to me. We've actually talked about number 18.

TWENTY SPECIAL "SOUTHERNISMS"

1. Only a true Southerner knows the difference between a hissie fit and a
conniption and that you don't "HAVE" them, -- you "PITCH" them.

2. Only a true Southerner knows how much any fish, collard greens, turnipgreens,
peas, beans, etc. make up "a mess" (as in "a mess" of greens).

3. Only a true Southerner can show or point out to you the general
direction of "yonder."

4. Only a true Southerner knows exactly how long "directly" is - as in:
"Going to town, be back directly. (generally pronounced dreckly)

5. All true Southerners, even babies, know that "Gimme some sugar" is not
a request for the white, granular sweet substance that sits in a pretty
little bowl on the middle of the table.

6. All true Southerners know exactly when "by and by" is. They might not
use the term, but they know the concept well.

7. Only a true Southerner knows instinctively that the best gesture of solace
for a neighbor who's got trouble is a plate of hot fried chicken and a big bowl
of cold potato salad. (If the neighbor's trouble is a real crisis, they also know
to add a large banana puddin')

8. Only true Southerners grow up knowing the difference between "right near"
and "a right far (pronounced "fur")piece." They also know that "just down
the road" can be 1 mile or 20.

9. Only a true Southerner both knows and understands the difference
between a redneck, a good ol' boy, and po' white trash.

10. No true Southerner would ever assume that the car with the flashing
turn signal is actually going to make a turn.

11. A true Southerner knows that "fixin'" can be used as a noun, a verb, or
an adverb. (As in, I was fixin to go over to BettyLou's. Or, we had a huge
Christmas dinner with all the fixins. Or Are you fixin my car next?)

12. Only a true Southerner knows that the term "booger" can be a resident of
the nose, a descriptive, as in "that ol' booger," a first name, or something
that jumps out at you in the dark and scares you senseless.

13. Only true Southerners make friends while standing in lines. We don't do
"queues", we do "lines," and when we're IN, not ON, line we talk to everybody!

14. Put 100 true Southerners in a room and half of them will discover
they're related, even if only by marriage.

15. True Southerners never refer to only one person as "y'all"... more than
three is way more than one, it's "all y'all".

16. True Southerners know grits come from corn and how to eat them.

17. Every true Southerner knows tomatoes with eggs, bacon, grits, and coffee
are perfectly wonderful; that redeye gravy is also a breakfast food; and that
fried green tomatoes are not a breakfast food We recognize milk gravy
when we see it, know what to do with it and wonder what the heck you other
people eat on your biscuits.

18. When you hear someone say, "Well, I caught myself lookin'," you know
you are in the presence of a genuine Southerner!

19. Only true Southerners say "sweet tea" and "sweet milk." Sweet tea
indicates it contains sugar and lots of it - we do not like our tea
unsweetened . "Sweet milk" means you don't want buttermilk.

20. And a true Southerner knows you don't scream obscenities at little old ladies
who drive 30 MPH on the freeway. You just say, "Bless her heart" and go your
own way.