It’s a hair flip.

Of all the lessons I’ve learnt on my Appalachian adventure so far, one of the biggest has been a discovery of language differences. In general, dialects and language differences are very interesting topics based on linguistic achievements and mixing of cultural moments, which 123helpme will introduce you. The most common word used in the Deep South has to be ‘Y’all’- translating as ‘you all’ to refer to a group of people. Other more obvious words used here are ‘super awesome’, ‘lame’ and terms of affection such as ‘sweetie’ and ‘honey’. 
There’ve also been some stumbling blocks between my new flatmates and I. After asking them if they wanted a cuppa, they said yes. Not knowing what I meant, they exchanged suspicious glances, and when I presented them with a cup of tea five minutes later they smiled at each other in realisation that I’d just made them a brew. On the same note, Americans tend to refer to a kettle as a water boiler, and often, if you say kettle in front of an American you will prompt five minutes of giggling and terrible impersonations: ‘KET-TULL!’ 
But alongside the words I’d heard on American sitcoms, there have been a handful of phrases I’d never anticipated: 
‘Whore myself out': To sell yourself out to something, ie ‘I’m revising so much at the moment I’m whoring myself out to the library’
‘Big girl panties': To bite your lip, stay strong or be the bigger person, ie ‘I went and put my big girl panties on and started applying for graduate jobs’
‘Resting bitch face': An constant unintentional grimace, ie ‘Girls think I hate them but I just have a resting bitch face’
‘Do what?': The American equivalent of ‘Yer what?’ or ‘pardon?’
‘Jump his bones': To have sex. Literal translation: to jump on a boner, ie ‘He’s so hot I totally want to jump his bones’
‘It’s a hair flip': An expression of indifference or annoyance, ie ‘She really pissed me off today but I’m ignoring her. It’s a hair flip.’

Tags: America, Appalachia, colloquialisms, England, language, South Carolina, study abroad