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Going through the book, page by page, we'll look at idioms, hidden meanings and inferences made throughout the book.
p.3 What is the Weems Weekly? Where did it get its name? What purpose does it serve in the book?

p.4 The last sentence says, "By the way, Idgie says one of her hens laid an egg with a ten-dollar bill in it." What does this reveal about Idgie?
What is a tall tale?

p.16 "...five new hobos showed up at the cafe last week, looking for something to eat." Why are there hobos showing up at the cafe?

p.18 "...babbling out of her head in an unknown tongue."
holy roller / snake handler / "...lost in the Spirit."

p.21"...had not a drink in twenty-four hours." Does this mean he had not had any water, or tea, or coffee?

"He picked up his fork and tried to eat. His hands were still shaking and he was not able to eat his food into his mouth." Why? Why was he having these problems?

p.23 The last sentence says,"Somone had kept it in the oven for him." What does this tell us about the folks at the cafe?

p.31 Was Idgie's story about the man dieing from the money falling on him a true story of was she just making it up? Why? How can you tell?

p.53 ...them Klu Kluxes..." What is a Klu Klux?

p.95 About Eva -- "All the boys made jokes about her...she had slept with whomever she pleased..." What does it mean to sleep with someone?

p.93 Taco Bell: a very popular Mexican fast food chain restaraurant in the US.

p.100 Will Rogers. Who was he? What does it tell us about these people that they would send a pecan pie and a card to him?

p.103 Meals On Wheels: An organization that delivers a healthy, well-balanced hot meal to senior citizens.

p.113 A cap pistol: a toy gun that makes a loud noise when the trigger is pulled. Mostly outdated.

p.117 Slagtown: A section of town in Birmingham that is predominately black.

p.120 Cab Calloway: A very famous jazz musician.

p.121 Flotsam and jetsam: an old-fashioned term for miscellaneous items floating around. Here, as the name of a newspaper, it signifies miscellaneous events that have happened.

p.123 The Depression: the worst economic downturn in American history.

p.131 (at the bottom of the page) "...and there's something I want you to remember. There are magnificent beings on this earth walking around posing as humans." Well, first, this is just such a great quote. But who is Idgie referring to here?

p.134 Hobos: By now, if you have gone to the Hobo page and spent some time there, you are an expert on this subject. If not, why not take some time now and read up on this fascinating subject!

p.137 Greasy-spoon: a little informal restaurant. It implies that the food is reasonably good, cheap, and cooked with a lot of grease.

Soup line / soup kitchen: if you haven't taken a look at the Great Depression page, take a moment to do so now. It will answer questions about these terms.

Wet behind the ears: to be young and inexperienced
To bugger someone: anal intercourse, implied by force.

p.152 Klan meeting: a rally of Kaln members, implies that they are meeting in order to go harrass, harm or intimidate someone.

p.165 Eye-talian: meaning is Italian, but is said with a southern accent. It is common to mis-pronounce this word in the south. Of course, southerners insist they are NOT mis-pronouncing it and have no idea what you are talking about if you bring it up!! :-)

p.168 The Shadow: a superhero of the 30's and 40's. They even did a Hollywood version of this character several years ago. It was very fun and very hokey -- I recommend you rent it if you can!

p.169 Folsom Prison: Next to Alcatraz, it is most likely the best-known prison in North America. This infamous prison is the subject of many folk songs, country songs and blues songs. Download a famous song about this infamous place and take a listen. It's the third song on the list on the left.

p.185 To chomp at the bit: to be anxious to do something -- can't wait to do something.

To do everything short of ________. This means you would do/have done everything but this one thing in order to reach your goal. For example, if you are trying to lose weight, and you have tried everything but sewing your mouth shut, you'd say, "I've tried everything short of sewing my mouth shut."

p.186 Boots: a cat with four white paws is considered especially cute, and often is given the name "Boots". There is a famous western fairy tale about Puss In Boots - a cat (with four white paws) who is so smart he either becomes rich and famous himself (and in some versions becomes Prince or King) or causes his owner to become rich/famous/king. (Dot Weems' cat.)

p.188 "Mr. Puckett and I are Temperance, ourselves..." What does Temperance mean?

p.190 To pitch a fit: to be extremely angry about something and to physically show this anger.

p.191 The Book of Ruth: from the Old Testament (the old part of the Bible). Much of western culture and ideas of marriage come from this part of the Bible. The quote that Ruth sent Idgie is a very popular and well-known part of the Bible.

 

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More idioms and inferences:

p.193 Deader than a doornail: a colloquial expression used to mean "really really dead".

p.202 "Pee Wee" - pee wee means really small or tiny. How big was this boy?

Hope you're satisfied!: means something like "You caused this problem and you should have been able to notcause it, so it's your fault that it happened." Also implies "If you had listened to me/done what you were supposed to have done this would not have happended!!!!!!"

p.204 To shake someone up: to scare them.

p.205 Guaran-damn-tee: inserting the work "damn" in the middle of "guarantee" is a way to emphasize it. You can also see this usage in words like "Fan-damn-tastic!" or "No-fucking-way!!" or "No-Goddammed-way!!

p.209 To know someone in the biblical sense: in the Old Testament (the old part of the Bible) to know someone meant to have had sex with them. I guess the idea is if you have taken off your clothes and had sex together, then, well, you really did "know" them!! :-)

p.210 To be sissified: comes from the word "sissy". It is a derogatory word that means the boy is a coward or is too effeminate (girl-like).

p.212 To have to get up early [in the morning] to fool // pull one on // put one over on someone: means that the other person is experienced and wise and cannot be fooled easily. The only time you might be able to fool that person is to get up really early, while they are still asleep or sleepy and not thinking too clearly. Any other time, this person is too sharp and experienced to be fooled.

p.213 "...don't look too good in black and white.": black and white means the printed word -- black ink (words) on white paper. Means the actual facts (without emotion or background information) are not very good or not very promising.

p.218 Ginger Rogers: a very famous dancer/singer/actress from the late 30's and 40's.

p.219 Mary Kay cosmetics / Pink Cadillac: Mary Kay cosmetics are best known for being sold in homes rather than in a store. If the sales representative is very successful, the company gives that sales rep a pink Cadillac as a prize (or, today, a choice of cars).

Liver spots: (also called "age spots") are brown spots that develop on your skin as you get older.

p.220 To break someone's camera (from taking a photo): it is a common phrase when someone is taking your picture. You say,"Oh, no! Don't take my picture! It might break the camera!!" meaning that you are so ugly that a picture of you would make the camera stop working.

p.224 The Windy City: a common nickname for Chicago.

Ellington: Duke Ellington, a very famous jazz musician.

p.227 Kudzu vine: a vine that was imported from Japan as cheap livestock feed and to stop erosion. The problem is that it worked too well!! In the southern United States, there is no winter to kill this plant. As a result, it grows and grows and grows and covers anything that stands still. It can cover trees and barns, and it keeps road crews busy keeping it off the roads and highways. It is one of the most famous Botany mistakes in history.

p.231 Piggly Wiggly: a supermarket chain in the south. Strange name, huh?

p.237 Kike: derogatory word for Jew

Jap: derogatory word for Japanese

Chink: derogatory word for Chinese

Spic: derogatory word for Mexican

Wop / Dago: derogatory words for Italians

p.239 Jerry Falwell: some say "famous", others say "infamous" TV Evangalist/Preacher. No one has a neutral feeling about this guy!!!!

p.241 Uncle Sam: the United States Government (notice Uncle Sam and the United States have the same initials!)

Victory Garden: during WW II, the government urged the folks at home to grow food in thier own gardens, allowing the government to send all the crop foods to the soldiers in the war. The idea was that is was a way that everyone could contribute to victory against the bad guys.

p.246 Shirley Temple: a very famous child actor of the 30's. The Good Ship Lollypop is one her most famous films.

p.248 > Fibber McGee and Molly, Amos and Andy, Fred Allen: These are all very famous radio show stars. They are so famous that, even though I (and others my age and younger) have never heard their shows, we all still know their names.

p.249 To give someone the finger (to flip someone the finger / to flip someone off): to extend the middle finger toward someone, meaning "fuck you".

P.T.L. Club: Praise The Lord Club: A famous (infamous) TV Evangelism show (now defunct due to sex and financial scandals).

Oral Roberts and the Seven Hundred Show: another famous (infamous) TV Evangelist. The 700 refers to the belief of some that only 700 souls will be admitted to heaven (so if you send this TV show a lot of money then you might be one of the 700 allowed to go to heaven. What a scam!)

p.271 > Joe Louis: Boxing champion who was undefeated for a long long time.

p.277 > Lucille Ball: very very famous actress/comedian. Had her own TV show for many years: I Love Lucy.

p.280 A "gal-boy" in prison: one dominant, aggressive man takes a weaker submissive man as his sex-mate/gal-boy (meaning the weaker man is habitually raped/sodomized/buggered by the dominant male). (Heterosexual men sometimes have homosexual relationships in prison. When they leave prison, they return to strictly heterosexual relationships.)

p.285 Said about Ruth "...always a lady and always knew when to leave a party.": There is some common advice about "Leave the party while you are still having fun". It is considered a bit unrefined to stay and stay at a party and be the last one to leave. It also means that one knows when and how to get out of a situation before it becomes bad.

p.294 To be a goner: here it means that he has totally and hopelessly fallen in love. :-)

p.296 To be passing / to pass: here it refers to people who's parents were both black and white (unfortunately, often because of a white slave owner raping a black slave) and whose skin and facial features are white or almost white. This person would take advantage of their appearance and "be" white: taking the white elevators, eating at the white-only restaurants, and generally accepting all the advantages of the whites of those days.

p.319 Sambo: derogatory word for blacks.

p.330 To be down on one's luck: to have a period of time of bad luck, where everything goes wrong. Sometimes the bad luck would be for a week or a month, sometimes for one's lifetime.

p.331 To go parking (young people): A boy and a girl take a car to a secluded spot to kiss and perhaps fondle each other. Sometimes it would lead to having sex, sometimes not.

p.360 A fat farm: a spa for losing wieght. These places are usually a bit expensive.