What is the Oklahoma expression for "Fell off the turnip truck"?
Ever hear, "How dumb do you think I am? What, you think I just fell off the turnip truck?"
What would be the proper colloquialism for interjection into a conversation with a learned employer from Oklahoma
Cotton baler? Forage trailer?
Colloquialism or general parlance is distinct from formal speech or formal writing. It is the form of language that speakers typically use when they are relaxed and not especially self-conscious.
What would be the proper colloquialism for interjection into a conversation with a learned employer from Oklahoma
Cotton baler? Forage trailer?
Colloquialism or general parlance is distinct from formal speech or formal writing. It is the form of language that speakers typically use when they are relaxed and not especially self-conscious.
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could be he falled off........ 0 -
Just go with 'Oklahoman'. 0 -
Well, 'just fell off the turnip truck' is very depression era, but go with that, he will know what it means. Unless he is genX, then you share no common language. 0 -
"Born Yesterday" is what I heard from my Okie relatives growing up. 
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Heard a lot of this in west Tenn. :
"I was born at night, but it wasn't last night".
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forgemonkey wrote:And there's nothing wrong with us 'real' Okies !!!!
I agree forge. OK resident since '96. Our move (from SE MO/SE KS area) was supposed to be for a few years until my wife got some work experience to go along with her Masters Degree and I was going to go to school as well. Well, life happened (health issues mostly) and we ended up staying. At first we lived in the city (OKC) and I HATED it! I hit a point where I told my wife that I love her dearly, but I have to get out of there. I'd really like if she would come to. So, we finally moved out to the country but still drive to the city for work.
I like the political climate, the weather is about what I was used to before, maybe slightly hotter. However, I have a disdain for 2 things here. Sand burrs, and to a lesser extent, red dirt. I grew up around the nice dark brown/black colored soil and here there is red clay everywhere just looks weird to me and sticks to everything. We do have some of the most beautiful sunsets here with the weather though.0 -
Don McManus wrote:Just go with 'Oklahoman'.0 -
I grew up in Oklahoma and I never heard that remark until now. A remark I remember well is " heap big smoke but no fire". 0 -
I'll use "Big heap smoke but no fire" when he is blathering on about getting me paid . . .
"I was born at night, but it wasn't last night" when he's trying to snow me, which is all the time when it comes to money.
He's 35, 10 years Air Force, now a G.C. without the right license (which I have). When he gets grandiose about how much he has decided to pay me, he sounds just like Judge Oliver Whiteside (Charles Watts) in the movie GIANT, in the lawyer's office, when they are trying to buy Jett's land. When I know the 60/40 cut is closer to 70/30, with is fake triple-charged "overhead".
Speaking of jumper cables, I sold a fiddle to a guy recently. Noticed he had a beater car with jumper cables in the back seat. Included a second fiddle for less than ? price, just to get my money back, and also because he seemed like the real deal "broke musician". You'd have to be real sufisticated to pull that trick on me if it weren't real. Heck, I was born at night, but it wasn't last night. I didn't just fall off the cotton wagon!0 -
patt7638 wrote:I grew up in Oklahoma and I never heard that remark until now. A remark I remember well is " heap big smoke but no fire".
The old saying, "I didn't fall off the turnip truck yesterday" was very common among people in Texas during my and my mother's and father's generation, and a lot of our Texas relatives moved to Oklahoma in the late 1800s to the early 1900s. And, my mom was born in Oklahoma.0 -
Don McManus wrote:Just go with 'Oklahoman'.
Classic. :? 0 -
"Heap big smoke but no fire" is not the Oklahoman equivalent to "I didn't just fell off a turnip truck" it's more of the equivalent of "you're as dumb as a bag of rocks", or "you're so full of BS, I thought you were a truckload of manure" or " he's all sail, but no wind"
I would just stick with the expression "I didn't just fall off the turnip truck yesterday". That's not insulting him, it's just letting him know that you're not stupid...
If you say "him big smoke, but no fire"... that's an insult to him. That term means that he's a second-class Indian. If he's your boss, do you really want to insult him? I mean he could really make your life miserable at work. But if you want to insult him and make your life miserable work, are you sure you didn't just fall off the turnip truck? That is if you still want to work for him.
If you really want to let him know that you're not stupid without insulting him I would just stick with that "I just didn't fall off the turnip truck" Or "I were born at night but not last night"
good luck, I hope you use some diplomacy where he's your boss. And saying that "him big smoke but no fire" is not very diplomatic
This song by Arthur Godfrey might explain what you would actually be saying to him if you used "him big smoke, but no fire" cute song, but listen to it to the end.https://youtu.be/maK_XllrX5M0 -
I would just stick with the expression "I didn't just fall off the turnip truck yesterday". That's not insulting him, it's just letting him know that you're not stupid...
If you say "him big smoke, but no fire"... that's an insult to him. If he's your boss, do you really want to insult him? I mean he could really make your life miserable at work. But if you want to insult and make your life miserable work, are you sure you didn't just fall off the turnip truck?
Or maybe go with "I was born at night, but not last night". Again no insult to him
This song by Arthur Godfrey might explain what you would actually be saying to him if you used "him big smoke, but no fire"https://youtu.be/maK_XllrX5M0 -
[/quote].... OK resident since '96. .... I like the political climate, the weather is about what I was used to before, maybe slightly hotter. However, I have a disdain for 2 things here. Sand burrs, and to a lesser extent, red dirt. I grew up around the nice dark brown/black colored soil and here there is red clay everywhere just looks weird to me and sticks to everything. We do have some of the most beautiful sunsets here with the weather though.
[/quote]
I spent a lot of time in OKC and surrounding area during my career, 1976-2008 (FAA Academy in OKC).
The most important thing (to me) I noticed -- Some of the greatest people in the world live in Oklahoma ,,,just not in Oklahoma City!
I made some great memories in Canton, Davis, Chandler, Eufaula, Clairmore, Oologah, Stillwater, Gutherie, Kingfisher, Fort Sill, Watonga, Duncan, Talihina, Sallisaw, and Anadarko to name a few places.
I hunted, fished, explored history and visited with folks all over the state and until now I did not realize exactly how much I miss OK.
I remember "OK is ok" (keep saying it to reassure yourselves). Haha, and I heard many times, "Oklahoma is the buckle on the Bible Belt", but I never recall seeing a turnip truck.0 -
I have been going to the Tulsa Arms show once or twice a year since 2005. I am getting around Tulsa/Broken Arrow pretty well now. It has occurred to me that knowing Oral Roberts home town well is not necessarily a good thing. Buckle on the Bible belt indeed! 0 -
.... OK resident since '96. .... I like the political climate, the weather is about what I was used to before, maybe slightly hotter. However, I have a disdain for 2 things here. Sand burrs, and to a lesser extent, red dirt. I grew up around the nice dark brown/black colored soil and here there is red clay everywhere just looks weird to me and sticks to everything. We do have some of the most beautiful sunsets here with the weather though.bustedknee wrote:
[/quote]
I spent a lot of time in OKC and surrounding area during my career, 1976-2008 (FAA Academy in OKC).
The most important thing (to me) I noticed -- Some of the greatest people in the world live in Oklahoma ,,,just not in Oklahoma City!
I made some great memories in Canton, Davis, Chandler, Eufaula, Clairmore, Oologah, Stillwater, Gutherie, Kingfisher, Fort Sill, Watonga, Duncan, Talihina, Sallisaw, and Anadarko to name a few places.
I hunted, fished, explored history and visited with folks all over the state and until now I did not realize exactly how much I miss OK.
I remember "OK is ok" (keep saying it to reassure yourselves). Haha, and I heard many times, "Oklahoma is the buckle on the Bible Belt", but I never recall seeing a turnip truck.
[/quote] Ok... https://tinyurl.com/y65xfycz
https://tinyurl.com/y2het3yn0
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