Being from the south and moving up north, I have figured out that there seems to be a special language for those below the Mason-Dixon line. I can usually do pretty well at translating most phrases to my northern bred friends. But even when I come home for family gatherings, I still struggle to understand what my grandma means by them. These are a few phrases I started writing down that I still scratch my head trying to understand.

1. "A bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck."

She usually uses this phrase when giving 'sugar' to her grandbabies, but it still makes no sense...

2. "A woodpile don't grow too fast in the dead of winter."

3. "The cotton patch don't care which way you vote."

4. "If it takes a whole hoecake to catch half a catfish, let him be."

5. "It was like herding cats."

My only question is who even knows if this is difficult? Has anyone ever actually tried herding cats?

6. "Too many cooks spoil the gravy."

7. "Don't throw the baby out the bathwater."

8. "It doesn't cut the mustard."

9. "The mosquito says grace too loudly before sittin' down to eat."

10. "Cute as a button."

A button is not even cute?!

11. "Bless your heart."

I know so many people who use this as part of an insult, so it makes me so desperately confused when someone uses it out of sympathy.

I'll probably never truly understand what these mean because I'll probably never find an opportunity to ask. I mean all true southerners know never to interrupt their elders.

No matter what they mean, or even what context they are used, I know that whatever it is, it is mean out of love and care. Like all things that come from southern grandma's.