Yesterday, I had a patient who was able to speak and drink. I rearranged his side table and cup of ice so that he could better reach it. "How's that?", I asked after I was done rearranging. "Well that's handier than horns on a billy goat!" he replied. "Great!", I told him as I tried to maintain some sense of normal on my face. It had been a somber day in his room. The doctors had told him there was a pretty big chance he wouldn't live more than a few weeks. His wife had been crying all day. Although they both maintained good spirits, bursting into a fit of hysterical laughing didn't seem appropriate.
Later on in the shift, I just couldn't take it anymore. I needed to talk about the billy goat horns. "What was that you said to me before about the goat when I moved your ice?" With a sly smile he answered me. "As handy as horns on a billy goat. You know, so it's easy to grab 'em." Lying in his hospital bed, propped up on pillows from multiple angles, he extended his arms and grabbed imaginary horns, demonstrating the ease of handling horned goats. " You never heard that before?" he asked me, surprised, but apparently happy to provide me with some new knowledge. I confessed that I was not familiar with the phrase or the situation, but that I had enjoyed hearing it.
I have noticed a pattern in southern sayings and those who speak them. First, the saying is usually based on something the speaker has direct experience with. Prior to my life in the south I'd heard people say things like "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush", or "I'm gonna hit the hay." But the person speaking did not usually have any actual experience with hunting game or sleeping in hay. It's not as though one is better than the other, but it can be kind of shocking to find that person literally knows what they are talking about.
The second thing I have noticed is that the southerner is usually surprised (and amused) that I don't know the deal with billy goats, or deer bucks or whatever the subject of the colloquialism. They are never mean about my ignorance, but I usually leave the conversation feeling as though I've got a few things to learn. Lucky for me, I like getting schooled.
Later on in the shift, I just couldn't take it anymore. I needed to talk about the billy goat horns. "What was that you said to me before about the goat when I moved your ice?" With a sly smile he answered me. "As handy as horns on a billy goat. You know, so it's easy to grab 'em." Lying in his hospital bed, propped up on pillows from multiple angles, he extended his arms and grabbed imaginary horns, demonstrating the ease of handling horned goats. " You never heard that before?" he asked me, surprised, but apparently happy to provide me with some new knowledge. I confessed that I was not familiar with the phrase or the situation, but that I had enjoyed hearing it.
I have noticed a pattern in southern sayings and those who speak them. First, the saying is usually based on something the speaker has direct experience with. Prior to my life in the south I'd heard people say things like "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush", or "I'm gonna hit the hay." But the person speaking did not usually have any actual experience with hunting game or sleeping in hay. It's not as though one is better than the other, but it can be kind of shocking to find that person literally knows what they are talking about.
The second thing I have noticed is that the southerner is usually surprised (and amused) that I don't know the deal with billy goats, or deer bucks or whatever the subject of the colloquialism. They are never mean about my ignorance, but I usually leave the conversation feeling as though I've got a few things to learn. Lucky for me, I like getting schooled.
I find your observation and analysis of language very interesting and very enjoyable. And I'm glad you've gotten to the point where you like being schooled. I guess we can all use a little schooling now and then.
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