When Elizabeth died, her friends basically said, one of her best virtues was you “always knew where you stood with her - she didn’t say things she didn’t mean”.
They also said she was a terrific lawyer. “You always knew where you stand with her” pretty much translates to, “She’s got a wicked mouth, and has no problem giving people hell.”
Her husband destroyed their marriage, but he was still the father of her kids and they were married 30 years. So she records a testimony that will probably put him in jail.
IMHO, E. was probably not a very nice person. And she was going to get him. I don’t know about other people, but if I was on my deathbed the last thing on my mind would be about making others suffer, even if well deserved.
I would have so many other things to be concerned with.
That's Carolina-speak for "she was an opinionated, nasty witch but I associated with her anyway." You'll still hear it used most often in reference to the late Jesse Helms, spoken by people who weren't exactly fans but voted for him anyway because the Democrat was worse.