Uncommon Expressions

My good friend David Coleman, who died a few years back from cancer, hailed from the same part of the state that I do. Even though he grew up just a few miles from Miller’s Garage, I never knew him until after we had both moved to Birmingham. For awhile, David and I worked in adjoining cubicles and when things were slow, we would compare notes about expressions we heard growing up. Expressions that you don’t hear now or at least you don’t hear them in Birmingham.

One of David’s favorites was the use of the word ‘count’ to mean quality. As in 'Now that cornbread is some count'. I’ve also heard people say it 'some account', but you have to listen closely to hear the 'a' sound and most folks just said, 'count'.

Another word that had a special meaning in Coosa was the word 'curious' pronounced cours. As best that David and I could determine, it meant that someone had strange ideas and was highly opinionated. Overbearing was also an adjective that seemed to be linked to 'cours.' The usual usage would be 'he’s a cours old SOB.'

Some expressions defied analysis. One particular one that I remember hearing someone say when they were frustrated with a situation and did not know what to do was, 'I don’t know whether ToShitOrGoBlind.'

When I was very young, I remember hearing old people use the word ‘hope’ instead of the word ‘helped.’ As in ‘He hope me fix my fence.’ Don’t know where that came from, but David agreed that he had heard a lot of older people say it when he was young.

Today, with national TV, radio and the internet, expressions like these are seldom heard, but back when and where David and I grew up they were common place.