Root, Little Pig, or Die

A St. Petersburg, Florida, listener says when she used to ask her mother what was for dinner, her mom’s answer was often “root, little pig, or die,” meaning “You’ll have to fend for yourself.” The more common version of the expression, root, hog, or die, goes all the way back to the memoirs of Davy Crockett, published in 1834. It refers to a time when hogs weren’t fenced in and had to find most of their own food. This is part of a complete episode.