I'm reading Robert Penn Warren's novel, "All the King's Men," and in chapter one, Willie Stark is giving a speech to a crowd when he says to them in regards to his governorship, "It's not any worse'n boils. Now is it?"
No one answers him, so Willie says, "Cat got yore tongue?"
To that question, someone in the crowd replies, "Boils on the tail!"
Willie counters that statement with "Dammit, lie on yore stummick and go to sleep!"
My question is this: is Willie's "lie on yore stummick" comment a Southern saying with specific vernacular meaning, or is he simply saying that because the person in the crowd said that he's got boils on his tail (so naturally he should lie on his stomach instead of sitting on his tail). If it is a saying known in the South, what does it mean?
Thanks for any help you can give.
2007-08-31
08:51:31
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