Hey, you guys, give us back our 'y'all'

shucks.net ^ | July 3, 2003 | Gary Petthus

[Conservababe]

Yall, this reminds me of the time I visited my very red-neck brother in Kentucky.

He told me to hop up in his pick-up and he would show me around his sixty acres. As we drove around, I admired everything, of course.

We came upon a large depression in the ground that was filled with tree limbs and junk. An animal fur was hanging on one of the limbs.

I asked him "what's that fur?" He answered "That's a sinkhole I'm trying to fill up".

I told him "I know, but what's that fur?"

He looked at me really puzzled and said "I just told you what it's for".

[Centurion2000]

Even the Germans almost got it right, with their "ihr" (pronounced, roughly, "ear"). "Y'all" and "ihr" are linguistic soul mates.

The vosotros conjugation in Castellian spanish is also liguistically correct for "Y'all" as well (familiar second person plural)

Of course, 15 years ago is was fading out of the language.

[snippy_about_it]

He fell outta the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down.

LOL!

[norton]

To quote my late grandmother...

"raise the winder down"

I also liked "fell out" for fainted,
and "knock you up" for a wake up call.

[Gabz]

but you can't "Cut on" anything!

Sher ya kin - it's called a side of beef!!!!!!!!!

[kevkrom]

Getting serious for a moment, most languages *other* than English do have explicit second person plurals. It serves a necessary purpose, and that's why various regional versions have spontaneously popped up to fill the void (like "y'all").

As a northerner, I started using "y'all" in high school because of Spanish language class, where we got used to the difference between the 2nd-person singular and plural. It just kind of drifted over into my English and has stuck there.

[stainlessbanner]

sorry bout the cuss-word in 39 - I never say that one.

[snippy_about_it]

A Southern gentleman for sure!

[Quilla]

Two rednecks, Bubba and Earl, were driving down the road drinking a couple of bottles of Bud. The passenger, Bubba, said "lookey thar up ahead, Earl, it's a police roadblock!! We're gonna get busted fer drinkin' these here beers!!"

"Don't worry, Bubba", Earl said. "We'll just pull over and finish drinkin' these beers, throw the bottles under the seat, and peel off the label and stick it on our foreheads." "What fer?" asked Bubba. "Just let me do the talkin', OK?" said Earl.

Well, they finished their beers, threw the empty bottles under the seat, and each put a label on their forehead. When they reached the roadblock, the sheriff said, "Y'all been drinkin'?" "No, sir", said Earl. "We're on the patch".

[BabsC]

"yetyet? naw ontsum tho. ereyago."

Translation:
"Have you eaten? No, I want something. There you go."

I have conveniently left out the dangling participles.(yet, though)

[Old Professer]

Back in 1960 when I was in the U.S.A.F. I needed a differential assembly for my Ford; the shop manual referred to it as a third-member, so I started checking wrecking yards looking for a third-member. I ended up buying a "punkin'."

That's what the wrecking-yard operator down there called it when we found what I needed.

He wanted to know if I "needed help carryin' it home," I told him just to put it in my trunk.

[rebel85]

Well, with "fell out", you can't forget about "walled back"
When she fell out, her eyes walled back in her head. I figgered she'd come to d'rectly tho

[martin gibson]

plural of "you," the only pronoun in the English language that doesn't have one...

...'youse'...('Hey, all youse guys, get away from dem beer bottles over dere wit all da beer an da bottles an' whatnot...)?

[Conspiracy Guy]

I hate them danglin partyzippers.

[honeygrl]

That's because y'all is a contraction. I doubt they put contractions like can't or could've in there either. Y'all is a contraction for you all.

[My back yard]

Cooter is turtle I believe. I got that from my 'White Trash Cooking' cookbook. It has recipes from places like Hot Coffee, Mississippi, for such as 'Kiss me Not' sandwiches and -- Mock Cooter Soup.

[honeygrl]

"This northerner loves all ya'll southerners. "

It's y'all. A contraction for you all.

[My back yard]

A contraction for you all.

Yes but this far south and it is a contraction for Ya all. Ergo -- ya'll. :)

[al_c]

It's y'all. A contraction for you all.

Thank you! Damn yankees just don't get it. ;o)

[mtbopfuyn]

Where I lived -- Temple, in central Texas -- people commonly broke it into two distinct words, "You All," with the emphasis on the first word.

Do what?!? You must have been listening to those dang Snow Bird Yankees who come down here to winter and forget to go back whence they came. True Texans always say "y'all", ya hear?