Kentucky Archives – A Way with Words

“Please?” to Mean “Excuse Me?”

Posted by Grant Barrett on August 15, 2020 · Add Comment

Lick and Run in Place Names

Posted by Grant Barrett on February 16, 2019 · Add Comment

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You’uns

Posted by grantbarrett on May 20, 2016 · Add Comment

You’uns, a dialectal form of the second-person plural, generally means “you and your kin.” The term is heard in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, and much of the South, reflecting migration patterns of immigrants from the British Isles. It’s also related to yinz, heard in western Pennsylvania to mean the same thing. This is part of a [...]
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Mullet Slang

Posted by grantbarrett on October 16, 2015 · Add Comment

“Kentucky waterfall,” “North Carolina neck warmer,” and “Tennessee top hat” are all terms for the mullet hairstyle. This is part of a complete episode.
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The One Who Brung You

Posted by Grant Barrett on May 24, 2014 · 2 Comments

You’ve been reading a book but you’re just not into it. How do you quit it, guilt-free? How do you break up with a book? Also, what do you ask for when you go through the grocery checkout line: bag, sack, or something else? Plus, brung vs. brought, a swim swim, cuddywifters, pinstriped cookie-pushers, a [...]
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Dog and Pony Show

Posted by Grant Barrett on March 1, 2014 · 3 Comments

Remember getting caught sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G? Grant and Martha wax nostalgic on some classic schoolyard rhymes. What do you call your offspring once they’ve grown up? Adult children? How about kid-ults? Plus, is there really such a thing as a dog-and-pony show? What does a dog chewing waspers look like? Also, the reason [...]
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