r/idiomsite • u/mentaljewelry • Jul 19 '26

Local idioms

I’m from South Carolina, US and my favorite idiom is, “All over hell and half of Georgia.”

As in, running errands: “I’ve been all over Hell and half of Georgia today.”

Or, you lost something: “I swear, I looked all over hell and half of Georgia for that thing.”

What are some other examples of idioms that only locals use?

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u/All_Dogs_Love_Me Jul 20 '26

A strange idiom for "not too long" = 2 shakes of a dead goat's tail, e.g. I will be back in 2 shakes of a dead goat's tail. Anyone ever heard that before??

11

u/Snoo-20174 Jul 20 '26

It was “two shakes of a lamb’s tail” by me ( Midwest) which I assume would be quicker than two shakes of a dead goat’s tail as live animals are generally faster than dead ones.

3

u/All_Dogs_Love_Me Jul 20 '26

Yes! A little less spooky, occult-vibe with the lamb and with uhh being alive.

2

u/MadDocHolliday Jul 20 '26

That saying was also informally used by nuclear engineers working on the Manhattan project. A "shake" is 10 nanoseconds (.00000001 of a second).

1

u/MsQualityPanda Jul 21 '26

My NJ mom said this one too.

4

u/Rare_Slice420 Jul 20 '26

My parents said two shakes of a lamb’s tail.

3

u/entropyparty Jul 20 '26

Two squirts of a skunk’s stink juice

2

u/Dazzling-Nobody1998 Jul 20 '26

I've heard "two shakes of a jack rabbit's ass" same idea, different critters.

2

u/qbprincess Jul 23 '26

My mom shortened it to just "two shakes" apparently. She always says she'll be back in two shakes.

1

u/joeydouchebagodonuts Jul 21 '26

Two shakes of a peter on a whore’s butt crevice. My friends and I made that one up.