I’m Fixin’ to Fix Myself, So Just Fix Yourself for a Second
fix [fiks] verb fix or fixt, fix-ing; noun
- to repair, mend.
- to put in order or in good condition; adjust or arrange (She fixed her hair in a bun.)
Though I think of myself as a Southerner, I rarely think of myself as someone incapable of speaking plain English. The “y’alls” and dropped g’s hardly make my speech incomprehensible- at least to my understanding. But occasionally, my Southernisms are met with blank stares and glazed over looks of “you must be crazy, girl” before the listener- polite as can be- turns from me, shrugs, and moves along to talk to someone else. Someone whose English they understand without thought.
It’s an odd feeling, to look on your friend’s faces as you speak and realize they don’t understand a word you’re saying. It doesn’t happen often. But often enough I feel some ‘splainin’ mus’ be done’d. With particular attention to the word “fix.” As in: “I’m fixin’ to, Mama, I just want to finish this chapter of The Member of the Wedding before I do the dishes.” Or, as in: “Oh, thanks… that’s so sweet of you to say my hair looks nice today, I actually fixed it for a change.” Or, my personal favorite, “I’ll have dinner fixed by 6 o’clock sharp so if you’re wanting to eat, that’s when we’ll be eatin’.”
Fix seems a simple enough word to me: something is broken- literally or theoretically- it needs fixing. Whether it be our uncooked, unprepared food that needs making (fixing) into a dinner; my frizzy, curly mess of a head of hair that needs preparation (fixing) to look nice and presentable; or ourselves, any time something needs doing that we are not quite prepared to do (we need to “fix” ourselves emotionally, as we would a painting to a wall, so we feel steady enough for the task at hand).
So now you know. Some other day, I’ll explain what I mean when I say “you look like death on a cracker;” but not today: I have to go fix myself in front of the television. There’s an episode of Louie that needs watching.
(Source: dictionary.com)
