ku'lowkeweeu'lizum [n] a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech, an expression, a local or regional dialect expression. I always remember my grandparents using such colorful quotes and sayings when I was growing up. Later, when I married my husband, we spent time with his grandparents and they had a different set of quotes and sayings that were equally as expressive yet with a southern twist. Some of these colloquialisms are a little crude, vulgar and to some, offensive. We chose to include these quotes and sayings as well as
clean colloquialisms just because they are also part of our culture.
Not too smart - Dumb
"a few kangaroos short in
top paddock" "dumb as a load of coal" "two sandwiches short of a picnic" "not
sharpest tool in
shed" "one brick shy of a full load" "toys in
attic" "the lights are on but there's nobody home" "not
sharpest knife in
drawer" "not
brightest bulb on
string" "one French fry short of a Happy Meal" "one donut short of a dozen" "he couldn't make a noun and a verb agree if his life depended on it" "if brains were dynamite, he'd be dangerous" "he's a quart low in
crankcase" "so dumb he couldn't hit
broad side of
barn" "dumb as a rock" "if you had a brain you'd be dangerous!" "can't put a square peg in a round hole" "that boy's always going to be a day late and a dollar short" "dumber than a sled rack" "dumber than a sledge hammer" "dumber'n dirt" "dumber than a June bug on a string" "dumber than a box of rocks" "too dumb to pound sand in a rat hole" "slow as mud" "ain't got both oars in
water" "porch light is on, but there ain't nobody home" "so confused he don’t know whether to scratch his watch or wind his behind" "dumber than a box of rocks" "if you were twice as smart, you would be a half-wit" "dumb as a post" "the engine's runnin' but ain't nobody driving" "two bricks shy of a full load" "he's crazier than a road-runnin' lizard" "crazy as a loon" "if all his brains were dynamite, he couldn't blow his nose" "dumb as a stump" "smart as a whip"
Blind
"blind as a bat" "if it was a snake it'd've bit me" "a blind man could see that with his cane" "Ray Charles could see that"
Exclamation - Excitement
"grate day-in-na mawnin!!" - great day in
morning! "well, I'll swan!" "slick as a whistle!" - said when something went well "hell in a hand basket" - going to pot "going to pot" - going to hell "I'll be cow kicked by a mule!" "wouldn't that just dill your pickle?" - Used to express dismay over something that has or might happen. "wicked awesome!" "wicked cool" "wicked awful good" "some wicked awful good" "bless her heart" - You can say anything about someone, however unkind, as long as you bless her when you're done. "She's dumb as a bag o'hammers, bless her heart."
Experienced - Not dumb
"I like to think that I've 'been around
block few times, just so I don't look that way." "do I look like I just fell off a turnip truck?" "well don't that just beat all" "smart as a whip" "sharper than a tack" "This ain't my first rodeo"
Ugly, Pretty
"uglier than
south bound end of a north bound donkey" "uglier than a burnt stump" "you're purtier than a glob of butter meltin' on a stack of wheat cakes" "prettier than a blue-nosed mule." "uglier than
east end of a horse headed west" "cuter than a speckled pup" "he looks like
dog's been keepin' him under
porch" - Not handsome "when I was a kid, I was so ugly that my mother had to tie pork chops to my ears so
dog would play with me." "ugly as sin"
Comments Made About People
"you could grow potatoes in those dirty ears" "sweet as honey" "got off like a fat rat with cheese" "as full of wind as a corn-eating horse" - prone to boasting "he's got a ten-gallon mouth" - talkative "low man on
totem pole" "cool as a cucumber" "flat as a pancake" "workin' like a dog" "meaner 'n a rattlesnake" "old as Moses' toes" "hair as black as coal" "deaf as a doorknob/blind as a bat" "so skinny they have to stand up twice to make a shadow" "couldn't hit a barn if you were on
inside, with
door closed" "ants in her pants" "so windy he could blow up an onion sack" "so useless if he had a third hand he would need another pocket to put it in" "lower than a snake in a wagon track" "sly as a fox" "strong as an ox" "dishwater blond" "he/she sure has hay on his/her horns today" "sat there like a bump on a log" "actin’ like she's got bees in her bonnet" "you look like you have been drug through a knot hole backwards." "ugly as sin" "straight as an arrow" "as sweet as pie" "skinny as a bean pole" "cant carry a tune in a bucket" - cant sing "butter wouldn't melt in her mouth" - cold woman "as loose as a goose" "just ignore him and he'll die quietly in a corner." - said when really annoyed with someone "over
hill" "can't burn both ends of a stick (or candle) at
same time" "stubborn as a mule" "naked as a jaybird" "I hope she lives to a 150 and looks it" "she should get some shoes to go with those bags" - said when someone looks really tired "do you have shoes to go with my bags?" - if I am looking really tired "up & down like a whore's drawers" - refers to a nervous person, up & down "doesn't know his behind from a hole in
ground" "slicker (or cleaner) than a hounds tooth." "slipperier than snot on a glass doorknob" "colder than a well-digger's feet in Alaska" "dead as a doornail" "fit as a fiddle" "quiet as a mouse" "looks like
cat that a swallowed
canary" "two ax handles wide across
behind" - fat "two ax handles and a rain barrel" - fat "like a fish out of water" "lying like a snake in
grass" "lies like an old rug"