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Except that, in at least some circles, "y'all" can be used to refer to one person.
by AnimalMuppet 2y ago
Except that, in at least some circles, "y'all" can be used to refer to one person.
- madcaptenor 2y agoWhen this happens the other people are implicit: for example "have y'all got Coke?" to a waiter at a restaurant, where "y'all" refers to all the people involved in the restaurant. (The answer one does not want to hear, at least in Georgia, is "is Pepsi OK?")
- photonthug 2y agoThere’s a lesser known ironic variation where y’all is sort of the opposite of the “royal we”, aka the majestic plural. To take someone down a peg if they seem full of themselves, you can use the majestic singular satirically. As in: I just got a fancy new car! Gosh, did y’all get seat warmers with it too?
- actionfromafar 2y agoBecause Coke is Soda?
- hibikir 2y agoIn said circles you can use the bigger plural, "all y'all". And yes, this is a real expression that is used in parts of the US, not pure comedy.
- paulmooreparks 2y agoI grew up in the deepest of the deep South. Never did I ever hear "y'all" refer to a single person. I don't know where this trope originated. "Y'all" is definitely plural.
- ubertaco 2y agoSeconded. In my entire North Carolina + Georgia upbringing, with frequent visits to Tennessee and back to NC, and some visits to South Carolina, Florida, and Alabama...never once have I heard y'all referring to a single person. It's literally a contraction for "you all". That doesn't make sense for talking to one person.