Reese Witherspoon Teaches You Southern Slang | Secret Talent Theatre | Vanity Fair

On this episode of "Secret Talent Theatre," Reese Witherspoon teaches you Southern slang words and phrases. Find out what "caddywonked," "fit to be tied," "hoecake," and other words mean from Reese herself.
Watch some of the biggest actors and actresses in Hollywood show off their secret talents. From Oprah Winfrey cleaning up dog poop and Emma Stone hopping on a pogo stick, to Natalie Portman translating Hebrew slang and Dakota Johnson sticking things in her teeth, the cover stars of Vanity Fair’s The Hollywood Issue have more than a few tricks up their sleeves.
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Reese Witherspoon Teaches You Southern Slang | Secret Talent Theatre | Vanity Fair

[@Potterverse]

She just got more southern as the video progressed 😂

[@LaPotraBellaca]

Potterverse i love it

[@boohooter23]

A lot of southerners learn to code switch out of our accents to be taken seriously by non-sounterners (because a lot of people think we're unintelligent and uncivilized) but sometimes it's a lot harder to hide it when we're discussing our little lingo.

[@bincerbob]

She started off with a very boring, middle of the road American accent and as she was describing these, she morphed further and further into her Southern accent

[@YoutubeSun1]

I loved it!👏🏼❤️🙌🏼

[@binaryvoid0101]

I grew up in Hawaii where I had a strong Hawaiian Pidgin accent. After my family and I moved to Colorado, my accent slowly adapted into a standard American accent. At 30, my Pidgin accent was entirely absent. When I visit my ohana (family) in Hawaii every other year, my old accent does start to creep its way back in. If you know what its like to go through an accent change, then you can definitely relate to my girl, Reese Witherspoon.

[@JebHoge]

That's her Nashville-ness coming out. Sounds just like my cousin.

[@mindyvfamily203]

Like me when I start talkin' to my mama on the phone

[@sdearing6375]

I have generally adapted to a midwest accent but mine comes back out when I talk to my daddy on the phone or visit him or go back down to memphis or nashville. It also comes out when I get real tired.

[@hi_austin]

As a Tennessean, I’ll say “Bless your heart” can be either a genuine expression of sympathy or a brutal insult. It all depends on context.

[@TheSoftballstar1261]

I live in VA and I hear Bless your heart sometimes too. I agree with you on that.

[@texasmama4248]

Absolutely 💯

[@sccello]

Her accent got way thicker as the segment progressed! Cute.

[@ikarlee6168]

I Cain't hear her 'accent'

[@i.m.4044]

That's also true of her body

[@mankrikswifey]

@@i.m.4044 Oof. Get your body shaming out of here.

[@BloodeeJacob]

@I.M. So clever. Yet she looks fantastic, is a wonderful person and doesn’t put anyone down. Go check yourself inside and out.

[@mars7612]

@@ikarlee6168 Literally everyone has an accent so don't put it in parentheses like it ain't true lol

[@someone-go8ee]

I keep forgetting how southern she is

[@amazingdany]

The Internet says she grew up in Nashville. It may helped to her Southerninessness.

[@thorshammer1815]

I thought she was British 🤨

[@cocotaveras8975]

Andre Not Giant Really?

[@vickyg6182]

Im on a slang marathon and the best thing about these is seeing some actors who had “lost” their accent slowly start to slip back into it with every expression

[@TaushaBrooke]

Also, the most southern term that a lot of people don’t know is “fixin.” It means “about to.” I’m fixin to go to the store, or I’m fixin to do the dishes.”

[@chrisg7137]

TaushaBrooke I was surprised fixin wasn’t mentioned. I knew I’d find it in the comments 😊

[@JoseLuis-su6yo]

Facts they say it all the time in NC

[@douglasvilledarling2935]

Jose Luis they say I'm fixin' to go to the store in New York? Lord have mercy!!!

[@JoseLuis-su6yo]

Douglasville Darling No not New York I live in Charlotte North Carolina

[@00bean00]

Do you reckon? I reckon.

[@anarchy030]

I think she forgot that bless your heart also has a negative connotation to it, like when you have a negative opinion about someone you say "bless their little heart."

[@Z0MBIETACO]

Jason Smith for sure! Ive heard bless your heart in the negative way more than in the positive.

[@ceceliam9014]

I don't know that it's actually negative though. In the sense that it's not said with any ill will. It's just a little patronizing... because the assumption is that they need some blessing because they're just not too bright... but bless their heart, they really try, lol. Same slightly patronizing, coddling way that "hun" might be used. Well meaning, just slightly holier-than-thou in execution :D

[@anarchy030]

Cecelia M yes, it can be used as a term of affection but usually it's used to make a snide comment under your breath without the other person being aware. Used so you don't come off as rude or a jerk.

[@paulafisher6232]

She didn’t forget. Southerners just don’t like to admit they are also rude and continue to wax on about ‘southern charm’.

[@luceean]

Paula Fisher salty much?!

[@rva]

Reece is a legend. Just look at her!

[@costiant981]

It's Reese

[@akdlg9sjjslk8]

I love how her accent gradually transformed back into an actual southern accent.

[@TheLexieWilson]

Bless your heart in Georgia also means “you’re an idiot” Hahahaha

[@lorenzogonzales4239]

texas too💀, a lot of southern slang are both terms of endearment AND insults and digs at the same time

[@catmartinez7970]

that’s how i use it mostly

[@MikeRoberts1964]

Yeah, pretty much everywhere in the South, it means varying degrees of stupidity.

[@TCOC16]

“Goobers. Those are peanuts. You’re welcome.” I love Reese! Such a sweetheart and so funny!

[@nurlindafsihotang49]

a southern belle with great humour, that is Ms. Witherspoon. yes, she did!

[@johnscroggins7869]

dumbass

[@ozarkmountains4947]

Not a southern belle, she dosent know any thing about the south.

[@ozarkmountains4947]

Dummy

[@echt114]

@ozark mountains: Apparently you don't know that "anything" is one word.

[@luisfelipeorozco7534]

Funny, yes. A belle, NO.

[@icesk8ergal1123]

Okay, but every Southerner knows that "bless your heart" can be the most sincere term of commiseration, most polite f*** you, or just nice comment. It all depends on the context. Northerners do not understand the versatility of the phrase. Also, she's wrong about piddling. That means procrastinating, just piddling around, instead of getting down to brass tacks.

[@scotttexasbornandbred1063]

Agree

[@dnrmoore4124]

Seeing as I'm a southern girl, I love that when she says the phrases her accent really comes out

[@kimskis]

she always gives me a smile to my face when I watch her - such a joyful person and actress

[@GotToBeVV]

"We dont wash it we season it" CHILDDDD I thought it was just my grandma good to know its everyone 😂

[@MikeRoberts1964]

Thought that was common knowledge that you never wash your cast iron frying pan.

[@avidbookaholic1]

here in Texas, I've only heard piddlin' used as wasting time. that's the first time I've heard referring to a person. Example- stop piddlin' and let's go!

[@christinebarnes9589]

It’s the same in Georgia and Tennessee! I thought the same thing when she said that!

[@thusspokeartemidorus6345]

My grandma used that to mean peeing lol

[@BrieannaKeogh]

Same, we always talk about most retired men piddlin' out in the yard. My granddad is good for that, he don't get much done, he just piddles.

[@avidbookaholic1]

BrieannaKeogh yes! my mom is recently retired and whenever I call her to ask what she’s doing she replies “just piddlin’”

[@scotttexasbornandbred1063]

Yes it has been said as ' why did you just PIDDLe your pants" ...

[@Torus202]

Goobers are a brand of chocolate covered peanuts, but the southern slang means "dumb, but usually kind person".

[@LaMonicaHill]

*"bless your heart"* has a few meanings and it depends on how it's used and it's not always used as a insult, but sometimes it can be said in a genuinely and sympathetic way

[@poppyorangeflower]

Can we place a small-town Scottish person and a small-town Southern USA person together in one room and just watch them wiggle with discomfort?

[@MarquessaBuffy]

Little Tangerine I bet you dollars to donuts they won’t. After all many Scots settled in the Appalachians. There’s a lot of similarities in British and Southern slang.

[@squeezie_b8895]

Most of the Appalachian mountains are full of Scots-Irish descendants lol. They might even be kin.

[@poppyorangeflower]

Doesn't mean they will understand each other's accents.

[@feebee3963]

There's only one way to find out!

[@marti5939]

Small-town Southern (Appalachian) USA person here... Some of the words in the Scottish slang video were phrases I already knew or were familiar to me. You wanna see me wiggle with discomfort? Put me in a room with a New York/Boston accent.

[@Grace-E-21]

piddlin' is taking your time doing something, often to an unnecessary extent.

[@douglasvilledarling2935]

Browniebluelue yep, stop piddlin' around 😜

[@inkstatic-bts]

Yes. This. Thank you.

[@henrypotts266]

Agreed. In Texas piddlin means taking ur time and screwing around. Not really doing anything.

[@jamienicole6951]

Yesss my grandma always says “stop piddlin’ around”

[@SB_McCollum]

Piddlin' means small, as in 'ittle bitty, as in doing a little bit of everything but what you're supposed to be doing, as in taking such small steps that it takes you nearly forever to get there. Spoken first to little children to rebuke them for walking so slow (little steps), or taking forever to do their chores (little effort on the duty at hand, but doing everything else instead). Also used by adults to point out relative size or importance. ("She's still whining about some piddlin' thing I did twenty years ago while I'm standing there trying to [something much bigger and obviously more important] )

[@positivenotenetwork9222]

I love Reese and I loved the video BUUUUUTTTTTTT a goober is a silly person and piddlin' is when you're wasting time or going slow on something.

[@jenniferdeaton9288]

Life on a Positive Note But a goober is ALSO a peanut. One of Georgia's nicknames is the goober state because of the peanut crop.

[@rainbow101ily]

Life on a Positive Note omg thank you lol

[@beckysaldana4010]

Life on a positive note, that’s what I was thinkin’!

[@leapintothewild]

Ditto, native of Williamson County!

[@AG-mt3xs]

Definitely a peanut. In South Carolina, my family called boiled peanuts "Goober Peas," which I think is also a chocolate covered peanut candy.

[@honda197056]

Bless your heart can go either way. It totally depends on the situation. For example: June says, my granny fell at church last Sunday and broke her wrist. Sandra responded with bless her heart, is she ok? Meaning I am so sorry to hear that, I hope she makes a full recovery. Next example. Tommy says that Bubba fell out the tree stand and broke his leg. Missy responded with bless his heart, was he drunk again. Meaning: serves the dumbass right. I hope this clears up any confusion. Thank you for your time and attention. This has been a southern public service announcement.

[@1zaidazane]

“Its just something we say about everybody and we mean it we do!” *moves on* i have a feeling she uses this one a lot and does not want that smoke lmao

[@MrTheonlyducky]

Piddlin in South Carolina means something completely different. Piddlin around. To waste time , just messing around. Your mama would yell at you to " quit piddlin around and do your chores."

[@Darthkat6]

Jordan Cates means the same thing in Arkansas...like my parents would say quit piddling and do my chores ^_^

[@tmacshawty]

My mom literally just said “I need to stop piddling around and go to the store.” So I’m right with you, GA raised!

[@morganfreeman9456]

Same here in 'sippi

[@kattstanley4337]

Same in Oklahoma. I don't think she has any idea what it means

[@brittanycarpenter2035]

In Kentucky piddlin also means wasting time, but I’m thinking she might be thinking of piddly! That is something small.

[@louiso.4325]

"And I have one at least once a week" The cheeriness of her voice juxtaposed with that sentence killed me.

[@ericbrown1101]

I always understood "tore slap up" to refer to someone who is an emotional wreck. "Man her cat died and she is just tore slap up." And a "goober" is also a dumb, silly person...usually an affectionate term though. Southerners have a lot of fun, crazy sayings. My dad grew up in North Carolina and practically has a book full of them. Some are more well known (eg: "preaching to the choir") and some are really obscure. I'd say probably 80% of them make no sense whatsoever. One of my favorites is "a possum ran over your grave." You know those little random shivers you get sometimes, usually accompanied by goosebumps? When that happens to you, we say "a possum ran over your grave." I love it because I don't think any other group has ever created a term for that lol.

[@brittanycole2216]

We call the shivers, the frissons. Which is just the chills in French.

[@PasAthene]

In my family (in Georgia) we say shivers means a rabbit ran across your grave.

[@LaughingOwlKiller]

Its an old superstition dating back before there was an American South. A random shiver with no outside reason for one was 'Someone walking over your grave" But since then different regions have adapted it.

[@frankmachin5438]

I’m in a Australia and the expression “Someone walked over your grave” when you get a shiver is and always has been very common here….

[@wesfreneaux9728]

Some of these I haven’t heard and I live in Louisiana. But we a different kind of south.

[@bonnie3232]

I live in Louisiana also! I can't believe she didn't mention " fixen" as in fixen to do something.

[@breathlesshaste]

Piddlin also means you’re working on something in a leisurely manner. “I’ve just been outside piddlin with the rose bushes in the yard.”

[@PFC2778]

"Piddlin" means like going slow or procrastinating. Just, y'all know.. Bless her lil ole heart!!

[@carolineelizabeth9698]

Wait? June bugs are not something people know everywhere!?!?

[@Revelwoodie]

What we call "june bugs" in New Jersey aren't anything like what she describes. They're big, but not THAT big...maybe the size of a dime. And they aren't iridescent. They're sorta...orange colored. Or brown. Brownish-orange. They fly into your house when you have the windows open in summer, and annoy you all night by tap-tap-tapping on the ceiling as they bumble around trying to find their way out.

[@kckasem3360]

revelwoodie We have those types of june bugs in Canada but do you guys in New Jersey not have screens on your windows???

[@GoblinsAreAGirlsBestFriend]

I mean "everywhere"... they're native to the Americas... I'm fairly sure you're not familiar with all European, African, Asian and Australian bugs yourself?

[@Revelwoodie]

Lol, KC...yes. We have screens. But I'm sure we've all had the experience of an old screen getting a hole or tear, or not being closed properly, or a child who stands there with the door open too long, etc. Even in Canada. :)

[@o.aldenproductions.9858]

Caroline Elizabeth No!

[@tobarstep]

I've never heard the term "hot chicken", and I've lived in the south for over 40 years.

[@monkeybearmax]

tobarstep me neither ... we stand in line for double battered fried chicken y’all

[@TheMVCoho]

Yeah, that was misplaced. Nashville Hot Chicken is a thing which describes a style of chicken made popular in Nashville but, its not southern slang.

[@TigerDude333]

this is Nashville people thinking that their things are southern things, not Nashville things.

[@jacquedenise86]

People are assuming She's giving the wrong definition to bless your heart, but all she said is it's, what we say about everybody, and we mean it. Which are both factual statements. I've thought or said it about most everyone at some point, and I meant it when I said it.

[@southern9016]

Idk who made this list of words but bless y'alls hearts... Most of these I've never used a day in my life. 🤷‍♀️

[@IjusVindrBjorr]

Honestly she sounds so sweet and these slang words are pretty cool

[@TheThissalantine]

Piddlin means to procrastinate or go slow or get distracted easily. Like Piddlin in the grocery.

[@sdearing6375]

That is how my family used it as well

[@NahB0ii]

She’s so precious 😭 I love her 💕

[@Z0MBIETACO]

Im definitely not Texan enough for this. And also june bug can be pretty much any shiny bug you dont recognize in my social circles. Its green? June bug. Its shiny? June bug. It look like a cockroach but you arent sure and you dont want to admit theres a cockroach in you house? June bug.

[@nidhivaidya6485]

lol Texan southern is a different breed of southern

[@oliviagarza6959]

Nidhi Vaidya Deadd 😂😂💀

[@Revelwoodie]

Yeah...when they say "Southern" they aren't just talking about anyone in the southern half of the country. They're talking about the South. And Texas is not part of the South.

[@celiashen5490]

I was fixin' to jump in here with some Texas Pride, but it's February. I'm already slower than molasses on a cold day normally (by Texas standards) and, in winter, I look like I'm in a fugue.

[@jordynharris5585]

revelwoodie Texas is a part of the South though...

[@ttegirbmablayo5067]

Beautiful as always! 💖

[@rgarlinyc]

Such a doll, RW, always loved her. 😍 Ah... those "southern girls and they way they talk..." - what's not to love?

[@ScarlettJ1221]

I love Reese she is so beautiful and very talented actor

[@Emilydee456]

her enthusiasm when she pronounced dern tootin' had me rolling

[@692ALBANNACH]

By watching this and the others in the series you see how these slang sayings have travelled across the continent!

[@bert1029]

Piddling in the U.K. is different! It means someone's spending time in a "wasteful, trifling, or ineffective way." Like dawdling.

[@douglasvilledarling2935]

Same in Texas

[@sharihardin1]

Same in NC as in UK.

[@MarquessaBuffy]

bert1029 It means the same thing here. They should get a roomful of ordinary southerners and ordinary brits to answer these things I’m telling you there are so many words that are the say

[@jacquedenise86]

Same in TN

[@squeezie_b8895]

That’s that it means here too. BUT someone can be a “piddler,” so that might be what she meant. It’s can also be a very small amount of something.

[@iamaliseya]

I’m a born and raised Georgia girl, so this made me happy 😊 Though, I can say that some of these I’ve never heard of..😂

[@justinholloway1659]

What about "reckon" or "fixin to"? I reckon they only have time to do so many.

[@celiashen5490]

Wrong side of the Mississppi

[@tacosmexicanstyle7846]

Is reckon not used everywhere?

[@00bean00]

Ah do declahhh

[@justinholloway1659]

tacos mexicanstyle Possibly. I think people have moved so much within the U.S. that different words have spread throughout.

[@tacosmexicanstyle7846]

Nah, I meant that it's a common word in Australia and is apparently used in British English more extensively than American English. I don't think it's actually a US English unique word

[@juliajohnson4994]

This was actually really entertaining.

[@lxwood505]

She can say "bless your heart" to me all darn day...that drawl at the end will been flavoring my beans, corn and greens.

[@Nmbr1fan]

I live on the other side of the world, and even I know that bless your heart is mostly a condescending term. And if you throw in a "little heart" it gets even worse of an insult.

[@squeezie_b8895]

It’s not, though. The phrase is absolutely versatile and depends on the context. It all depends on the type of people you associate with.

[@LaughingOwlKiller]

Generally if it starts with "Well, just...." its condescending. If it starts with "Aww..." its sincere.

[@rachelmendez5975]

Exactly. You’d have to be southern to know this. 95% of the time I say bless your heart I really mean it kindly.

[@abbieperritt58]

Ughh 😭❤️ so nice to hear ....

[@JamieJSanchezSF]

Loved this.

[@Miniangi87]

I love her so, so much! ❤️

[@2HRTS1LOVE]

We always said "conniption fit", I guess it can be an adjective or a noun, lol!

[@briar5]

She’s adorable 💛

[@GregoryTheGr8ster]

"Yer dern tootin'" is my fave! I am careful use it only sparingly--like when I REALLY mean it.

[@maddie3239]

They need a part 2 to this video there’s so much ss (southern slang) out there😂🤟🏼

[@hamzahalasadulloh7779]

This needed to be longer.

[@Bageera63]

Piddlin' means to waste time. But not necessarily in a bad way. Example: Dad's piddlin' around in his shed. It also means to pee.

[@jeffc9673]

Love it!!

[@melissasaint3283]

Hoecakes are SO delicious!! Go find a recipe right now!! And they're a historical American cuisine. G. Washington ate them while president, and they were famously one of Abe Lincoln's favourite foods: he said he could "eat them twice as fast as anyone could make them" (though he also made them, being quite a fair cook himself)

[@1204nedes]

Her accent comes and goes. Also Britney Spears,her accent seems to be gone most of the time but sometimes it comes out when she's with family. Weird

[@douglasvilledarling2935]

1204nedes when southern people get around southern people it comes out more

[@randihigginbotham5070]

1204nedes Called comfort 🤗

[@awearysolace]

I don't have much of a southern accent unless I'm around family or friends with a strong accent. It just comes and goes sometimes

[@jessicak.3959]

That's normal when a southerner is brought back in touch with their southern roots. She likely wouldn't have gotten all of those roles had she been a dubbed the girl with the southern drawl, so she trained herself to speak another way. It's sort of like being bilingual and being able to flip flop between two languages.

[@flamencomagick3260]

No my Southernness comes out when I’m around other Southerners or family. Though I grew up in other parts of the country. It just happens!

[@eileenarmstrong5267]

Well I love it bless your heart

[@Bredaxe]

I miss living in Nashville. Some of the nicest people I ever met.

[@morganscallorn719]

I live in Nashville and Ive only heard one of these slang terms in my seventeen years of life. I also go to a school with super southern raised kids...

[@erinlier2542]

Bless her heart

[@oceans80]

We have a lot of the same expressions in Nova Scotia (Atlantic Canada). I'm guessing their origins date back to when the Acadians were kicked out by the British, moved to Louisiana and became Cajuns.

[@rachael1846]

love her

[@zainkhan179]

Every time she swipe that screen makes me feel happy dunno why😅

[@jddiggy2343]

She literally is that Southern Bell

[@Manilovesmovies]

Conniption is a southern word?

[@areeoree3059]

I mean it is a word so anyone can use it. But they say it A LOT instead of tantrum, fit, freak out etc.

[@luceean]

Katie Logan well there you are again, bless your heart!

[@douglasvilledarling2935]

Conniption and hissy-fit. All states have mixed so much some words have become universal

[@CeeCeeB.]

Imani Gaddy good call...conniption is Jewish slang...snit or throw a hissy fit or pitch a fit would be the Southern way to say it. Conniption is a great word also...

[@kari8187]

I usually say , conniption fit lol but Im southern too

[@jordonwinn7661]

I am so in love with Reese lol

[@devlin7575]

Excellent ... totally foreign to me ... v much enjoyed this one

[@russhendrix9674]

Reese Witherspoon's drunk accent in Georgia - "Get me out of this police car. Do you know who i am."

[@DindieMarie]

It's like listening to my mother (who grew up in the panhandle of Texas).

[@jefftucker9225]

I was born and raised in TN, until I was 9 then moved Illinois, I used to have a very heavy southern accent but as I grew up it disappeared, but my mother still has hers, and when we go to visit family it gets really heavy

[@MisfitsFiendClub138]

In North Carolina I kept hearing 'My land!'

[@viennagatti5083]

Her accent kills me. She is so cute! it starts of with her american accent and then slowly goes into the southern accent. LOL

[@elisabethhoward144]

I never realize how many southern slangs I say until I watch these videos haha

[@clayer1108]

this might ought to be my favorite videyuh

[@xx3voXguyxx]

I've lived 90% of my life in the South (between Georgia and Texas) but some of these I've never heard used before. Of course, I know "Bless your heart", Goobers (like the candy), hot chicken (very obvious) and June Bug.

[@jimmymac383]

I love this lady ❤

[@WillBlindYouWithLight]

Lol she's being so nice for the bless your heart lmao

[@Dreadandcircuses]

My wife and I talked about the origin of "holler," meaning "yell." Two schools of thought: One is Appalachian: You live in a "holler," or small valley, and when you yell at your neighbor who lives at the other end of the holler, they can hear you. The other is 16th-17th century England: Variation of "halloo," also meaning to yell. I'm pretty sure Shakespeare pronounced it "holler," just like people in Tennessee still do.

[@johngonzalez4298]

Reese Witherspoon 🌹😍

[@AbteilungsleiterinBeiAntifaEV]

Some people are lonely, she's always Witherspoon

[@brianarabie1667]

Hattie B's is amazing omg

[@recentral48]

Bless your heart! - "Poor Thing!" Bless your heart! - "You're a dumbass!" All depends on context...lol

[@dragonmaid1360]

Actually that sorta made sense. Might get the hang of that if I ever go there

[@MartVale1]

Reese Witherspoon my favorite southern person 💝

[@kalaacko]

I live in British Columbia, Canada and we say atleast half of these

[@alyssasofield501]

Go Big Orange!!🙌🏽

[@quiedajoseph6270]

I've been living in Florida for 13 years and I've only heard one or two of these terms

[@Lucasyoshidaaa]

LOVE IT

[@Kane-ib5sn]

thank God for youtube, can't immortalize this stuff any other way.

[@debadev2179]

Tore slap up lol

[@MichaelSmith-tc2dk]

Hello Reese.... I need to tell you something and its urgent. You are a terrific person with a great heart.

[@isabelflanagin6071]

"Bless your heart" is shade

[@kari8187]

You forgot about ... make ya slap ya momma , means it tastes REALLY GOOD

[@Midway2RealityASMR]

Piddlin was always used as like “piddlin around” like not getting to the point or getting right to the job.