Loudonese II

Somewhere I read that the dialect spoken most often in Tennessee is a "middling" dialect, not northern and not really southern -- or at least not the deep south. There are differences in Tennessee too. The folks around Memphis use words or phrases just a bit different than the folks in east Tennessee. Just ask Kay. :) So in keeping with that I'm going to add a little bit to a previous post about words I heard or used around Loudon when I was growing up.

Ever hear someone call an ear of corn a roastin’ ear, or call a cantaloupe a mush or musk melon?

When you’re talking about the nut, is it a p-can or a p-con? Personally I was always told it was a p-con since a p-can was something that used to be kept under the bed.

Do you say to-may-to or tu-ma-to? How ‘bout just plain ol’ t’may-ta?

Do you say po-tay-to or pa-ta-to? How ‘bout just plain ol’ tay-ta? Honestly I have no problem saying po-tay-to if I’m asking for baked or mashed potatoes, but if it’s sliced and fried up with some onion, that’s a tater. There's no two ways about it.

Ever hear someone call a white bean a navy bean, or a green bean a pole bean?

Ever hear someone refer to the police as “the law”, or refer to something over there as being over yonder?

Sometimes I miss folks who talk the way I do... or sometimes do. :)