Thought it might be fun to have a dictionary of terms that will be used in my blog. I might have made up a few of them, but I’ll leave it up to you to find out which ones. I also want to give you my description of a redneck. The term redneck has sure been used many different ways in history and the current dictionary definition is a little offensive.
Well here we go —
Frugal: Being frugal means using your money wisely, saving some away and not being wasteful. It also means being able to get by without having a lot of things and learning to use what you already have. It also involves being crafty and coming up with ideas to get things done on a very low budget or even for free. The frugal person is thrifty and economical.
Frugalist: A person who is frugal.
Frugality: Is the practice of being frugal.
Frugalistic: Living a frugal lifestyle.
Frugalism: When you make being frugal a religion.
Frugology: The study of frugalism.
Penny Pincher: Someone who is very careful with their money and how they spend it.
Thrifty: Someone who is economical and manages their money wisely.
Economical: One who is careful and prudent in using their resources.
Tightwad — Someone who doesn’t like to spend money.
Now on to the definition of a redneck. The one below is from dictionary.com —
“An uneducated white farm laborer, esp. from the South. A bigot or reactionary, esp. from the rural working class.”
I have to admit that I am a little offended. Where I grew up most of the farmers and ranchers thought of themselves as rednecks. The term redneck was used because when you mostly worked outside all day your neck would become red from the exposure of the sun. The meaning of the word redneck has changed I believe largely due to TV shows and movies that depict rednecks more like the definition above.
I call myself a redneck because I grew up on a farm and worked very hard. I had up to 27 sheep of my own when I was a teenager. It’s how I made money to buy my horses, sometimes clothes and how I made it through my first year of college.
I loved living that life. It was wonderful. The people all knew each other and they shared their time and farm equipment to help one another. We had great community parties and, best of all, we had a wonderful sense of humor and knew how to laugh at ourselves.
Anyway, this is my view of what a redneck means. You can study the history of the term redneck on the internet. Some say the term came from Scotland and others say it came from the Civil War.
It looks like there are several meanings to the word redneck. Though I don’t like the definition from the dictionary, I do like to listen to a good redneck joke (as long as it’s clean). I especially like Jeff Foxworthy’s definition of a redneck as a person with —
“a glorious lack of sophistication”
I have to admit that growing up I never knew any sophisticated people. I’ve been around sophisticated people since then and find them mostly boring. Sorry, but it’s true. I’d rather be a redneck.