[Vocabulary] southern card

[maiabulela]

In a restaurant where a middle-eatern cook is doing the southern classic recepie his way, one of the people eating there saying:

"This is better than (Hoppin John), I'm gonna get my southern card taken away from me."

What does that mean? I have found many results in google, on of them were in a context a bout food too but i haven't got it"

Thanks.

 

[maiabulela]

Who said that was not the cook, but it was said by one of the visitors. So I got that it is a joke but i'd be gratel if u profided more ex[alantion coz it's not clear.
Thanks.

 

[maiabulela]

This is clear enough :up:

 

[BobK]

Or it could be another type of metaphorical card - the sort that gives you a competitive edge in any situation. Someone who has lost his parents (for example), and tries to cash in on his status, can be said to be 'playing the orphan card'.

By this interpretation, the speaker's 'southern card' is the status of being the person known for their southern cookery. If someone else has cooked a southern dish that is thought to be better, the speaker might lose that recognition.

(But I know nothing about Tex-Mex cooking, and will happily defer to higher authority ;-))

b

 

[Barb_D]

Oh, Bob, Bob, Bob... we have to get you here from some fried chicken, fried okra, fried something else, with some collard greens, black-eyed peas, and grits so you can learn the difference between Southern cooking and Tex-Mex.

 

[Ouisch]

In a restaurant where a middle-eatern cook is doing the southern classic recepie his way, one of the people eating there saying:

"This is better than (Hoppin John), I'm gonna get my southern card taken away from me."

What does that mean? I have found many results in google, on of them were in a context a bout food too but i haven't got it"

Thanks.

The person speaking is from the American South, where Hoppin' John is a specialty dish. In your scenario he has tasted a Middle-Eastern rice dish that, to him, is even more delicious than his cherished Hoppin' John. But he (humorously) worries about praising the Middle Eastern dish, fearing that he'll be "stripped" of his Southern credentials. ("Southern card" is just a metaphor for someone who hails from the South and is proud of it - it implies that he carries a "membership" card that confirms his Southern identity.)

Another example: My husband was born and raised in the American South. When we first started dating (he had moved to the North, where I lived), several people giggled whenever he would say the word "pecan," because he pronounced it "PEE-can," whereas we all pronounce it "pi-CAHN." So he started saying "pi-CAHN" in order to fit in with the rest of us. When we went back to Georgia to visit his parents he happened to ask about Grandpa's pecan ("pi-CAHN") trees. Well, you should have seen how his mom, dad and brothers all literally froze for a second with eyes wide when he said that. His father then asked "What did you say, boy?" Mr. Ouisch looked sheepishly at his feet and quietly repeated "pi-CAHN." His family all looked disgusted and his dad muttered "She's turning him into a Yankee..." Mr. Ouisch felt at that moment that he had relinquished his "Southern card." :-D

 

[maiabulela]

The person speaking is from the American South, where Hoppin' John is a specialty dish. In your scenario he has tasted a Middle-Eastern rice dish that, to him, is even more delicious than his cherished Hoppin' John. But he (humorously) worries about praising the Middle Eastern dish, fearing that he'll be "stripped" of his Southern credentials. ("Southern card" is just a metaphor for someone who hails from the South and is proud of it - it implies that he carries a "membership" card that confirms his Southern identity.)

Another example: My husband was born and raised in the American South. When we first started dating (he had moved to the North, where I lived), several people giggled whenever he would say the word "pecan," because he pronounced it "PEE-can," whereas we all pronounce it "pi-CAHN." So he started saying "pi-CAHN" in order to fit in with the rest of us. When we went back to Georgia to visit his parents he happened to ask about Grandpa's pecan ("pi-CAHN") trees. Well, you should have seen how his mom, dad and brothers all literally froze for a second with eyes wide when he said that. His father then asked "What did you say, boy?" Mr. Ouisch looked sheepishly at his feet and quietly repeated "pi-CAHN." His family all looked disgusted and his dad muttered "She's turning him into a Yankee..." Mr. Ouisch felt at that moment that he had relinquished his "Southern card." :-D

I really can't thank you enough!!! You really helped me with this word "stripped". Thanks a lot. The other example that you kindly provided is amazing and even makes it clearer. :up::up::up:

 

[Tdol]

Another example: My husband was born and raised in the American South. When we first started dating (he had moved to the North, where I lived), several people giggled whenever he would say the word "pecan," because he pronounced it "PEE-can," whereas we all pronounce it "pi-CAHN."

I say PEE-can; do I get an honorary Southern card?

 

[Ouisch]

I say PEE-can; do I get an honorary Southern card?

LOL Yes, indeed. Now all you have to do is develop a taste for grits. ;-)

 

[Barb_D]

(But I will never like okra.)