Author |
Message |
Texannie
Member
07-16-2001
| Friday, January 22, 2010 - 8:08 pm
pamy, bless her heart, has the best sense of humor! now that's a compliment.... i could have said 'pamy, bless her heart, certainly has an interesting sense of humor." or if you want to be noncommittal...."bless pamy's heart and her sense of humor"
|
Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Friday, January 22, 2010 - 8:11 pm
Well, bless your heart, thanks for the fashion advice, and don't you look cute today in those boy's workman pants! I should try that look, or do you think it's too young for me? Hahahahaha!!
|
Texannie
Member
07-16-2001
| Friday, January 22, 2010 - 8:14 pm
but you can't forget the most important meaning..."Bless your heart" as a form of empathy. It's like giving someone a great, big hug. When a friend starts complaining about her rotten boss, her no count husband, and how the kids are driving her crazy, just shake your head and look her in the eye and give her a heartfelt "bless your heart." It's our way of saying "Honey, I'm so sorry. I know just how you feel, and I'm glad that today it's you and not me."
|
Texannie
Member
07-16-2001
| Friday, January 22, 2010 - 8:19 pm
this is a pretty funny "bless your heart" essay i read a long time ago..... Bless your heart Someone once noted that a Southerner can get away with the most awful kind of insult just as long as it's prefaced with the words , "Bless her heart" or "Bless his heart." As in, "Bless his heart, if they put his brain on the head of a pin, it'd roll around like a BB on a six lane highway." Or, "Bless her heart, she's so bucktoothed, she could eat an apple through a picket fence." There are also the sneakier ones that I remember from tongue clucking types of my childhood: "You know, it's amazing that even though she had that baby 7 months after they got married, bless her heart, it weighed 10 pounds!" As long as the heart is sufficiently blessed, the insult can't be all that bad, at least that's what my Aunt Tiny Mae (bless her heart, she was anything but tiny) used to say. I was thinking about this the other day when a friend was telling me about her new Northern friend who was upset because her toddler is just beginning to talk and he has a Southern accent. My friend, who is very kind and, bless her heart, cannot do a thing about those thighs of hers, was justifiably miffed about this. After all, this woman had CHOSEN to move to the South a couple of years ago. "Can you believe it?" said my friend. "A child of mine is going to be taaaallllkkin liiiike thiiiissss." Now, don't get me wrong. Some of my dearest friends are from the North, bless their hearts. I welcome their perspective, their friendships and their recipes for authentic Northern Italian food. I've even gotten past their endless complaints that you can't find good bread down here. The ones who really gore my ox are the native Southerners who have begun to act almost embarrassed about their speech. It's as if they want to bury it in the "Hee Haw" cornfield. We've already lost too much. I was raised to swanee, not swear, but you hardly ever hear anyone say that anymore, I swanee you don't. And I've caught myself thinking twice before saying something is "right much," "right close" or "right good" because non-natives think this is right funny indeed. I have a friend from Bawston who thinks it's hilarious when I say I've got to "carry" my daughter to the doctor or "cut off" the light. She also gets a giggle every time I am fixin to do somethin. My personal favorite was uttered by my aunt who said, "Bless her heart, she can't help being ugly, but she could've stayed home." To those of you who're still a little embarrassed by your Southernness: take two tent revivals and a dose of redeye gravy and call me in the morning. Bless your heart! And to those of you who are still having a hard time understanding all this Southern stuff, bless your hearts, I hear they are fixin to have classes on Southernese as a second language!
|
Pamy
Member
01-02-2002
| Saturday, January 23, 2010 - 11:22 am
LOL Annie my fav My personal favorite was uttered by my aunt who said, "Bless her heart, she can't help being ugly, but she could've stayed home." LMAO!!!!
|
Lexie_girl
Member
07-30-2004
| Saturday, January 23, 2010 - 12:07 pm
LOLOLOL Pamy!!! (... and yummy to the red eye gravy)
|
Happymom
Member
01-20-2003
| Saturday, January 23, 2010 - 4:56 pm
lol! This is going to have me really wondering what they mean whenever I hear "bless her heart" now.
|
Texannie
Member
07-16-2001
| Saturday, January 23, 2010 - 5:52 pm
aw...bless your heart, happy, have we made you paranoid?
|
Yesitsme
Member
08-24-2004
| Saturday, January 23, 2010 - 6:08 pm
You guys crack me up!!!! "Bless you heart" covers almost any situation. That's why it is great. Christy, you are exactly right. That's what it means often! Around these parts, if anyone says anything mean about someone else, we almost always say "Bless their heart!" (and if you don't, someone will remind you.) It's almost like you are saying "I know I shouldn't be talking about people, but..." Justifying the wrong, I guess! But since like Texannie says it also can be used for kindness and empathy, it does get tricky. It's all in context...and the underlying feelings of the speaker (which are not always what you think they are from their surface demeaner.) My best friend used to say "I swanee" all the time. It always made me laugh. And while I consider myself a proud Southerner, I don't like red eye gravy. Or grits.
|
Mameblanche
Member
08-24-2002
| Saturday, January 23, 2010 - 6:49 pm
I've always liked the phrase 'bless her heart' or 'bless your heart' and mean it strictly to emphasize fondness. I had no clue that it could be misconstrued as a putdown and will now try to be more careful about using it. If I forget and use it here again, and I know I have in the past, it's always meant kindly and with great affection! As for the leggings, I live in them, the way most folks live in bluejeans. I find jeans just too heavy, stiff and uncomfortable and rarely wear them. I intend to wear leggings til the end of time, thank you very much. (And I'm 54 now.) Leggings are just too comfy for me to worry if my old, fat arse and thighs aren't 'supposed' to be in them and I'm creating a fashion faux-pas! (Although I always do wear them with nice long tops to cover the worst of the jiggly bits where the cellulite has made itself at home.)
|
Tishala
Member
08-01-2000
| Saturday, January 23, 2010 - 7:35 pm
What does I swanee mean? I've never heard that.
|
Mameblanche
Member
08-24-2002
| Saturday, January 23, 2010 - 7:39 pm
Tish, this curious Canadian would also like to know the answer to that. 
|
Serate
Member
08-21-2001
| Saturday, January 23, 2010 - 7:44 pm
What does I swanee mean? I've never heard that. My gramma used to say it. When she used it, the meaning was "I'll be darned" or something like that.
|
Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Saturday, January 23, 2010 - 8:02 pm
Not to worry, MB. I am pretty sure Canadians can say bless your heart until the cows come home, and it will only mean a generic blessing. Just know that if you go to the southern USA, and somebody smiles and says it to YOU, you should probably go short-sheet their bed. Or worse.
|
Naja
Member
06-28-2003
| Saturday, January 23, 2010 - 8:17 pm
You guys are funny. I mostly remember "Bless her heart" being used by Kate Gosselin before she would insult her SIL. Like when her SIL would babysit and everything didn't go exactly the way Kate wanted it to, Kate would start off her complaining with "Bless her heart, but... -insert complaint here-."
|
Happymom
Member
01-20-2003
| Saturday, January 23, 2010 - 8:49 pm
"aw...bless your heart, happy, have we made you paranoid?" Now more than ever! 
|
Mameblanche
Member
08-24-2002
| Saturday, January 23, 2010 - 9:01 pm
Just know that if you go to the southern USA, and somebody smiles and says it to YOU, you should probably go short-sheet their bed. Or worse. That's hilarious Jooj, AND duly noted!!! 
|
Texannie
Member
07-16-2001
| Sunday, January 24, 2010 - 6:40 am
tish, mame bless your heart for not knowing...i don't use it or hear it very often, but it's instead of cussing. my grandmother always said "hell's bells" (she was very progressive! LOL)
|
Maplsyrp
Member
02-10-2009
| Monday, January 25, 2010 - 12:04 pm
I usually use bless your heart before I'm about to insult someone. Hubs says when he hears me say that he knows something sarcastic is going to follow. I dug around in my closet this weekend and found all kind of outfits to wear with leggings. Bless her heart, she might rue the day she said I was told old for leggings!!!! (insert my nerdy laugh here)
|
Texannie
Member
07-16-2001
| Monday, January 25, 2010 - 12:48 pm
It's also good for when you truly don't know what to say. I now work as a receptionist for an alcohol and substance abuse center. i hear alot of amazing stories and bless your heart is about all i can say.. LOL maplsyrp!
|
Sia
Member
03-10-2002
| Monday, January 25, 2010 - 2:45 pm
My late great-aunt was born and raised in the South, and she said "Bless your heart" a lot. She also asked me to cut out the lights when I left the room. How I miss my Aunt Mag. She was a true southern belle, and I loved her. My favorite story was about what my great-uncle said to her the first time she asked him to carry her to town. My uncle was, btw, a Yankee!! Oh, no, make that a Damned Yankee. They told me that a Yankee is a visiting northerner, while a Damned Yankee is a northerner who came for a visit and refused to go home!
|
Mameblanche
Member
08-24-2002
| Monday, January 25, 2010 - 4:03 pm
LMAO! Sia, do tell, what DID your great-uncle reply to your great-aunt? I'll bet it was a doozy. 
|
Twiggyish
Member
08-14-2000
| Monday, January 25, 2010 - 5:25 pm
We always said, "Bless your heart"..just the way Texannie says it.. "Well Bless their heart they can't help but live in that old shack, but they do drive a nice caddy....LOL
|
Texasdeb
Member
05-23-2003
| Monday, January 25, 2010 - 6:32 pm
to me "bless his/her heart" implies sympathy
|
Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Monday, January 25, 2010 - 7:42 pm
"Bless her heart" does indeed indicate a small to large insult is coming....
|
|