Using "fixing to"

Had a discussion earlier (not the first, nor the last time i'll have this discussion i'm sure) about using the phrase "fixing to" in the sense that I and many others (particularly in the South, i suppose) use it--as in "preparing to" or "about to"....such as "I'm fixing to box your ears" or "I'm fixing to leave and go home". Doesn't everyone say (at least sometimes) "I'm fixing dinner"? The meaning is the same in that sentence as "I'm preparing dinner". And since "preparing" can have alternate meanings as well, such as "getting ready to" ("i'm preparing to brace myself for some bad news" or "i'm preparing to leave").....we have just taken the word "fixing", which we have established is synonymous in a sense with "preparing" or the phrase "about to" and carried it to its logical conclusion. Anyway.......many people look at you like you're from another planet when you say "I'm fixing to leave", and it really isn't illogical at all (IMHO).

I'm from Indiana and have heard it said and probably used it myself.....although not regularly. I wouldn't look at you strange, I would know exactly what you were saying.

I am originally from England, lived in Virginia for 20 years and now live in WA State. I have heard all kinds of phrases, terms, and some have come from me. I have heard 'fixin' to' and plenty of others and I completely understand what it means. When I was chastised for not pronouncing the word 'yogurt' correctly to the person listening to me, I realized that some people just want to be in control and can be quite idiotic (I pronounced it with a short 'o' instead of a long, drawn-out 'o'). Anyway, welcome to planet Earth!

Those of us that live in glass houses...or should I say Minnesota Ice Houses...shall not cast aspersions on how others speak.

If "fixin to" were the oddest thing we say down South we would be in excellent shape. One of my favorite phrases is "If he ain't a mess." That's it, that's the whole sentence.

And don't forget our usage of "Bless your heart."

We have a lady here that says oTay instead of okay, bless her heart.

I use fixin' to depending on the situation and people I'm with. Bless Your Heart is an excellent phrase! It has so many meanings.

There's a trivia game called Bless Your Heart. We played it with our adult kids, who have actually never lived in the south, but they still did pretty well with it, having been raised by southerners.

What she said ^^^

"fixin to" is a staple, and in certain southern locales, has even been morphed to "fittin to"

many strange saying down south...

mashed taters=mash potatoes
hose pipe = outside faucet
clothes powder or soap powder = laundry detergent
zinc = sink
coke = any type of carbonated soda beverage
dungarees = jeans (yes, people still say that)
earl = oil
how's your mom an dem = how is the family

I could go on, but you get the point

people still us BC powders? My husband is from Texas originally and his mother always had headaches and had to get her BC powders LOL

Fixin' to is super common around these here parts.

Soup beans - Pinto beans (FWIW, this is my favorite home-cooked meal)
If you order a tea, it will be assumed you want it sweet unless otherwise stated.
I live in the head of the holler - hollow
Crick - creek

I have to counter Happy, just a bit. KY is supposed to be known for Coke = any soda. But in my little corner of the state, we say pop. If you order a Coke, you'll get a Coke.

Around here, we call pinto beans "red" beans.

My wife, who is as smart and as logical as anyone who I've ever met, is from the south and says some things that I had never heard before. One of my favorites is the one she uses when she doesn't know the answer to a question, "I don't guess so." Sometimes it's like living with Starfire.

MB Guy.... I hate to admit it but I say that waaaaay more often than I should.

What about a shucky beans or leather britches?.... Dried green beans pretty much cooked the same as pinto beans. Not quite as good, but pretty dern close.

"I don't guess so" isn't normal? Huh. Learned something new today.

I say "i don't guess so" all the time....didn't realize that was odd.

Haven't heard those terms, but yeah, i've had them.

As for "oil"....i say (and pretty much everyone else i hear around here says) "oll".....or maybe "o-uhl" is closer.

I still two things where to this day people look at me funny. I always thought they were a local thing from where I grew up, but maybe just a family thing, I dunno:

When at the end of a conversation, I say "I'll see you shortly", to me meaning until next time or bye, but everyone seems to be confused and take it to men like "oh, do we have another call this afternoon? meeting?" or "when? Today yet?"

Other one, "start with me last" meaning, go to the next person and come back around to me. I cannot describe the odd looks I get with this one.

"I'm fixin'" to know WTH y'all are talking about. New Englanders don't understand y'all! It's WICKED hard to understand!

Fixed.

PP- you forgot New Englandahs!

Rookie mistake.

Yah, you betcha.

Bless your heart. We'll pray for you.

HA! Perfect response.

There is a series on youtube "Sh%t Southern Women Say" They cover most of the phrases

Episode 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUFL2GT1-2g

Ha ha, this is awesome! So many good ones, but one of my favorites: "Yer back'll feel better if you rub some Jack Daniels on it from the inside."

This made me grin.