Well, I won't be dipped in chocolate. . .
May 26, 2010 6:44 AM Subscribe
Is "I'll be dipped" a New Haven regionalism?
Last night I was reading a novel by a New Haven author, which is also set in New Haven. One of the characters, as an expression of surprise, said, "I'll be dipped," and I didn't realize until that moment, when I heard the phrase in my head in my husband's voice, that the only people I've ever heard it from were my husband and his father. (When I told my husband about this, he laughed and said that it's actually a more polite way of saying, "I'll be dipped in shit.")
My husband grew up in the New Haven area, and his dad grew up in the thick of New Haven. I'm from the midwest and have no memory of hearing this phrase while I was living there.
Is "I'll be dipped" a regionalism specific to New Haven? Does anyone know the origin?
Last night I was reading a novel by a New Haven author, which is also set in New Haven. One of the characters, as an expression of surprise, said, "I'll be dipped," and I didn't realize until that moment, when I heard the phrase in my head in my husband's voice, that the only people I've ever heard it from were my husband and his father. (When I told my husband about this, he laughed and said that it's actually a more polite way of saying, "I'll be dipped in shit.")
My husband grew up in the New Haven area, and his dad grew up in the thick of New Haven. I'm from the midwest and have no memory of hearing this phrase while I was living there.
Is "I'll be dipped" a regionalism specific to New Haven? Does anyone know the origin?
Having grown up in Maine and now living in Boston, I think I can safely assert it is not a New England regionalism.
I will say, though, that my dad did use the phrase, "Dip stick" for "dip shit," when I was growing up. But it was usually reserved as an insult for other drivers. And conveniently enough, I always thought it was because of the dip stick used for checking oil and how it gets dirty and dirty equaled bad in my six year old mind.
posted by zizzle at 6:58 AM on May 26, 2010 [1 favorite]
I will say, though, that my dad did use the phrase, "Dip stick" for "dip shit," when I was growing up. But it was usually reserved as an insult for other drivers. And conveniently enough, I always thought it was because of the dip stick used for checking oil and how it gets dirty and dirty equaled bad in my six year old mind.
posted by zizzle at 6:58 AM on May 26, 2010 [1 favorite]
FWIW - I've never heard it, and have been living in CT for 15 years (and in the New Haven area for 5).
posted by smalls at 7:01 AM on May 26, 2010
posted by smalls at 7:01 AM on May 26, 2010
I never heard it growing up on Long Island, but it's used (though not a lot) here in Rochester, NY.
posted by tommasz at 7:05 AM on May 26, 2010
posted by tommasz at 7:05 AM on May 26, 2010
I use it frequently, and can even tell you from where I got it: California Senator Arthur Jellison
...though I do like the alliteration of dipped in dogshit above, and may have to expropriate that, notsnot
posted by namewithoutwords at 7:17 AM on May 26, 2010
...though I do like the alliteration of dipped in dogshit above, and may have to expropriate that, notsnot
posted by namewithoutwords at 7:17 AM on May 26, 2010
I have heard it from someone that grew up in central Florida in the '50s and now lives in Tennessee. Not sure in which area they picked it up, but it definitely exists in the South. The polite phrase is, "Well I'll be dipped in snuff."
posted by komara at 7:22 AM on May 26, 2010
posted by komara at 7:22 AM on May 26, 2010
My Dad has used/uses this phrase (he grew up in New Rochelle & Buffalo). Also, occasionally calls someone "dip stick".
posted by ObscureReferenceMan at 7:22 AM on May 26, 2010
posted by ObscureReferenceMan at 7:22 AM on May 26, 2010
Also heard in Texas, "I'll be dipped, fried, and goddamned."
posted by pickypicky at 7:34 AM on May 26, 2010
posted by pickypicky at 7:34 AM on May 26, 2010
A former co-worker of mine from northern Wisconsin used to say "I'll be dipped in cougar piss" all the time. That's all I've got.
posted by Floydd at 7:35 AM on May 26, 2010
posted by Floydd at 7:35 AM on May 26, 2010
Huh, I always thought it was short for "I'll be sheep-dipped."
posted by bricoleur at 7:37 AM on May 26, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by bricoleur at 7:37 AM on May 26, 2010 [1 favorite]
My dad, who is from KC, MO, says, "I'll be dipped in possum shit." I use it all the time.
posted by jimfl at 7:38 AM on May 26, 2010
posted by jimfl at 7:38 AM on May 26, 2010
Chicago, child of the 70s. Mother used it. She of Eldora, IA, grew up in Missouri.
posted by FlamingBore at 7:39 AM on May 26, 2010
posted by FlamingBore at 7:39 AM on May 26, 2010
To be taken with a grain of salt, this gives the origin as mountain people who would dip themselves in shit for warmth in winter.
More likely, being dipped in shit probably relates to a publicly humiliating punishment somewhat less severe than tarring and fetathering.
posted by jimfl at 7:54 AM on May 26, 2010
More likely, being dipped in shit probably relates to a publicly humiliating punishment somewhat less severe than tarring and fetathering.
posted by jimfl at 7:54 AM on May 26, 2010
As a life-long CT resident, the only person I've heard this from was a mid-westerner. Although I would accept it without comment if Stephen King had one of his rural Maine characters use it, it would sound weird to hear it from my New Haven-area family or friends.
posted by cobaltnine at 7:58 AM on May 26, 2010
posted by cobaltnine at 7:58 AM on May 26, 2010
It's kind of an old farmer thing. My dad used to say "well, I'll be dipped in shellac!"
posted by jgirl at 7:59 AM on May 26, 2010
posted by jgirl at 7:59 AM on May 26, 2010
Oh my god. I was always wondering why people called each other "dips."
posted by anniecat at 8:20 AM on May 26, 2010
posted by anniecat at 8:20 AM on May 26, 2010
I don't really see it around here in Central PA, but I have heard it from my friends that live in Kentucky.
posted by PlutoniumX at 8:43 AM on May 26, 2010
posted by PlutoniumX at 8:43 AM on May 26, 2010
Wow, never, ever heard that growing up in Minnesota and now living in Seattle. I would have no idea what you meant.
posted by GaelFC at 8:45 AM on May 26, 2010
posted by GaelFC at 8:45 AM on May 26, 2010
I strongly doubt that the "mountain people dipped in shit" is anything other than a folk etymology. "Dipped" is just a somewhat archaic euphemism for "damned", and the things one gets dipped in are back-formations, if my money's any good. One of the earliest Google Books cites is a 1909 story by Sewell Ford in which a character expresses surprise, "Well, I'll be dipped in glue!" By the 1930s the word "honey" appears, by World War II "shit", "spit", "mud", and other distasteful substances appear.
Earlier uses of the phrase have "dipped" as slang for baptism, which probably figures into this derivation.
posted by dhartung at 8:46 AM on May 26, 2010
Earlier uses of the phrase have "dipped" as slang for baptism, which probably figures into this derivation.
posted by dhartung at 8:46 AM on May 26, 2010
Another data point for rural Indiana, at least in the 70's and 80's. I kind of have it associated with older folks.
posted by Michael Roberts at 8:59 AM on May 26, 2010
posted by Michael Roberts at 8:59 AM on May 26, 2010
I grew up hearing it from my father, who grew up in Kansas and Houston, and whose family were farmers in southwestern Missouri. "I'll be dipped" was the most common form, but frequently elaborated to "I'll be dipped in shit". There was definitely no Yankee connection for my father's family -- I think I'm the first one of them ever set foot in Connecticut.
posted by katemonster at 9:13 AM on May 26, 2010
posted by katemonster at 9:13 AM on May 26, 2010
I was always wondering why people called each other "dips."
Now "You dip", as in You idiot, is something I heard a lot growing up in New England in the last millennium.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 9:52 AM on May 26, 2010
Now "You dip", as in You idiot, is something I heard a lot growing up in New England in the last millennium.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 9:52 AM on May 26, 2010
Grew up a half hour north, had a father who worked there a good portion of his life, hit the clubs when I was of age, and never ever heard that phrase.
"Don't be a dip" (rarely) and "Dip stick" (more usually, "Dip shit.") Sure. But never that. Might be an age thing, but I suspect it's more a family/neighborhood thing.
I don't actively use a lot of NE regionalisms (e.g., "elastic" for "rubber band") but they're definitely part of my passive vocabulary, since various friends and relatives did use them. (I realized much later that my mom was a bit of a vocab nut. I was the only kindergartener to use 'facetious' regularly.)
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 11:03 AM on May 26, 2010
"Don't be a dip" (rarely) and "Dip stick" (more usually, "Dip shit.") Sure. But never that. Might be an age thing, but I suspect it's more a family/neighborhood thing.
I don't actively use a lot of NE regionalisms (e.g., "elastic" for "rubber band") but they're definitely part of my passive vocabulary, since various friends and relatives did use them. (I realized much later that my mom was a bit of a vocab nut. I was the only kindergartener to use 'facetious' regularly.)
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 11:03 AM on May 26, 2010
Just to confirm what everyone else has already said - I've never lived in New Haven but I've lived in Southwestern, Southeastern, and Northeasten CT, and I have never heard it. (Oh and I've also lived in the Midwest and never heard it there either!)
posted by DestinationUnknown at 11:37 AM on May 26, 2010
posted by DestinationUnknown at 11:37 AM on May 26, 2010
Just as a side note, I had never heard the term before your posting and thought it was a funny expression, so I posted "Well, I'll be dipped in shit" to facebook as my status update with no explanation of why and the response I got was overwhelmingly of disgust...
posted by anoirmarie at 12:48 PM on May 26, 2010
posted by anoirmarie at 12:48 PM on May 26, 2010
Lifelong [48] Minnesotan. I've heard both growing up ["dip stick" more so than "i'll be dipped"].
posted by chazlarson at 12:59 PM on May 26, 2010
posted by chazlarson at 12:59 PM on May 26, 2010
I've lived in New Haven for 8 years and I can't recall ever having heard that phrase. From anyone from anywhere.
posted by eunoia at 1:25 PM on May 26, 2010
posted by eunoia at 1:25 PM on May 26, 2010
I'm a lifelong resident of the New Haven area and I've never heard the phrase used locally. The only thing that came to mind was the I Love Lucy episode (around 9:03) where Lucy is explaining the concept of a "rollaway bed" to Tennessee Ernie Ford who replies, "Well I'll be sheep dipped!"
posted by contrariwise at 3:08 PM on May 26, 2010
posted by contrariwise at 3:08 PM on May 26, 2010
I've heard it as "Well I'll be dipped in shit and rolled in cookie crumbs" (or cracker crumbs).
posted by jewzilla at 11:06 PM on May 26, 2010
posted by jewzilla at 11:06 PM on May 26, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
However, my wife says I'm weird and use localisms (like "wicked" as an intensifier; "copasetic" and "fixin' to" even though I'm not from the south, and "bro" like I'm from Cali) inappropriately.
One time on the factory floor I was surprised to find someone's ad-hoc repair had held and, bug-eyed, blurted out,
"I'll be dipped in dogshit."
My boss, after a beat, replied,
"That can be arranged."
I looked at him a little odd, and after another beat, he muttered,
"Need a big dog, though."
posted by notsnot at 6:57 AM on May 26, 2010 [1 favorite]