My husband has a favorite saying for when he hasn’t accomplished much during the day: “I feel like a pea picker with a hole in his sack.”

I got to wondering where expressions like that come from, so I Googled the phrase but didn’t come up with an immediate answer. What I did come across were some stories by Business Insider that detailed various idioms and expressions for different parts of the country.

It was pretty entertaining to pore over the articles and learn where sayings such as “she was madder than a wet hen” originated. That particular expression is from the South and stems from a practice of farmers dunking their chickens in cold water to “break their broodiness” so the eggs could be picked.

Southerners also are more apt than the rest of us to say “You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear,” and “She’s as happy as a dead pig in the sunshine.” I’m getting the idea Southerners are somehow obsessed with pigs. The silk purse expression is something I’ve used on occasion, but the dead pig reference left me clueless. Apparently when a pig dies in the barnyard the sun dries out its skin, pulling the pig’s lips back to reveal a kind of toothy grin.

“I’m finer than frog hair split four ways” is another Southern saying, as is “He’s as drunk as Cooter Brown.” Cooter Brown was a legendary character who lived on the Mason-Dixon line during the Civil War. To avoid being drafted to one side or the other he declared he’d stay drunk for the duration of the war so he’d be ineligible for battle.

Business Insider also posted an article about Midwestern idioms. I could relate to some sayings they declared as typical of the Midwest, such as “If I had my druthers” and “For cryin’ out loud.” The article said Midwesterners like to say “Oh, for cute,” or “Oh, for fun.”

Oh, for stupid, I thought; can’t they come up with anything better than that?

And I’ve never heard of this one: “That makes as much sense as government cheese.” Huh? It refers to the blocks of cheese doled out to low-income citizens by the federal government for decades through its commodities program. People hated that cheese, the business magazine stated, so saying “that makes as much sense as government cheese” means something is a really bad idea.

The article also mocked Minnesotans for calling the popular child’s game “Duck Duck Gray Duck” instead of the name the rest of America gives it: “Duck Duck Goose.” I played the “gray duck” version myself as a kid and thought that’s the way it was everywhere.

Other fun Midwest sayings: You betcha! Dontcha know? and the quintessential Uffda!

New England, where rummage sales are tag sales, has its share of colloquial expressions too, though most of those listed by Business Insider are Greek to me. “Just because a cat has her kittens in the oven don’t make them biscuits” is a quirky analogy heard throughout Vermont and Maine that emphasizes the value they place on native status.

“If you were born in New England, but your parents are originally from out-of-state, you can ‘fuhggedabout’ claiming to be a true New Englander,” the article stated.

California also got its day in the sun with Business Insider. Surfer culture has influenced the way Californians speak, so don’t be surprised to hear expressions there such as “it’s pretty gnarly out, bro,” or “I’m stoked.”

I love all of these idiomatic expressions. They may be, well, “the best thing since sliced bread.”

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.