Subject:Sock/Sock toe
Entries
Entry 4596
Git de bow of 'ls hat, de toe [toes] of 'is dirty socks, see. Put it in a bottle. Git dis Hearts Cologne an' stop it up, see; an' turn it on its haid. Well, it wouldn't be long 'fore he'd be back home an' acknowledge he did wrong.
Entry 4924
(How can you keep this man home?)
Why ah take his dirty sock an' git me some brown sugah an' some sulphuh an' lay 'em down an' turn de foots part up, an' sprinkle dat brown sugah on dere an' de sulphur. Roll 'em up [to you] an' tie an' bury 'em undah mah do'step or in mah bed, in mah mattress. Sew 'em up in mah mattress. (Here's the sock, there's the toe, and there's the heel. How would I roll that up now?) Dis is de toe. Yuh lay 'em bottomside up, de dirty part up, an' yuh take yuh brown sugah an' yuh sprinkle ovah dere on de bottom of de stockin'. Sprinkle yore sulphur on top of dat. An' have yuh a spool of black thread an' yuh roll 'em dis Way [to you]. Roll yore toe up tuh de heel. When yuh git tuh rollin', take yore brown thread [I mean] use black thread an' tie it. Well if yuh haven't got a do'step, lak yore [you are] upstairs [put in mattress].
Entry 5033
Yo' take dat [bath] water - jis' like if yo' had a wife an' yo' wouldn't wan' chore wife, yo' under- stand, an' she be - yo' go off, an' maybe yo' might come back. She kin put down dat sock when yo' go home. An' den [when you come home that's how] she come to git dat [bath water] - "I wan'a take a bath." She take dat water whut choo bath in an' she scrub from de front doah back [into the house]. Den she kin take dis sock of yourn from yer lef' feet, an' she kin measure [flatten out] dat sock under de doah [concealing it under the carpet or linoleum near the door], de length of de foot of dat sock. She take nine new tacks an' put down behind dat, tack it back in de house, an' he's bound to come back, he can't quit. An' she take yer dirty socks [the left one], she put it down, de toe to de doah an' dis heel right on back disaway, yo' see, comin' back.
(The toe is pointing into the house.)
Dat's right. [The informant's demonstration was correct, but her interpretation the reverse because she sat opposite me; hence my annotation.] An' she take nine tacks an' she measure it nine times, de length of de sock, an' dat bound to draw yo' home.
(How do you mean she measures it nine times?)
Jis' like if yo' git a sock, yo' put dat sock down, yo' put a tack dere [in the toe] till yo' put nine tacks - dis de length of de sock. All right. An' den she'll tack a tack at dat end [toe], an' she tack one at de heel, den she'll put dem other nine [seven] tacks between dem tacks, comin' to yo' [in a row coming into the house].
Entry 5047
Jis' wit de socks - de feet of de socks - wearin' it in de weathah like 'tis now [in the 90's], dat it would git wha' chew call mortified [have an odorl. See. yuh wouldn't use de heel but yuh would use de toe part. De [they] would cut dat out. Take dat an' place it in a small tin can what de' git sardine out of. An' de' would take dat an' put a little bita salt watah an' lye salt [= Lysol, trade name of a disinfectant] an' dey would covah dat can back up tuhgethah. De way dis man would take sick: in de firs' place he would feel bad in 'is feet. His feet begin to bob out [break out] jis' like somebody got de smallpox. Little bumps will start from de bottom of de feet, an' de bottom of de feet would begin gittin' sore. Aftah dat he may use duff'run' [different] or'nary [ordinary] things dat he would git till it would be swell an' swell an' swell [it would swell and swell and swell]. If he don' go tuh anothah man - anothah root man tuh tell 'im, splain [explain] 'is condition tuh him, dat feet will come until he [it] gives 'im de worse [worst] swellin' an' drive on [bring on] some othah disease.
Entry 5059
[She] takes 'is socks an' cut de toe out 'is socks an' weah it undah 'er arms fo' a pad, an' [she] pee on it evah mawnin' fo' nine mawnin's an' put it undahneath 'er arm, an' he won't leave 'er. Wear it undah each one of 'em. She gits de toe of 'is socks, de toe of each sock. If she cain't git but one sock take de heel an' toe. Don't make no diff'ren' how she change it - jis' eithah one.
Entry 13137
If you got a husband that runs around, [or] if a man got a woman that runs around, he can take her dirty stockings and wash the toe and the heel - not the whole stocking, wash the toe and wash the heel. In about, well, I'd say about two ounces of water - that's suffi- cient, two ounces of water. And take that water and pour it in a bottle and stop it up, and bury it underneath the steps and that party will stay home all the time.
Entry 13140
Well yo' take de socks tuh bring a man back home. Now, lak yo' got a odd square, a odd square on yore flo'. A old square on yore flo', see, lak dis square heah [square of linoleum in floor of my inteviewing room at the Patterson Hotel for Blacks where I inter- viewed in New Orleans]. All right. Well, yo' take dat sock an' yo' put both toes together an' bring dat sock in - de feet, lak ah walk in heah. Yo' see, de front of mah feet is comin' in. Well, yo' bring dat in an' put dat, an' put dat at de end, an' yo' tack dat undah dere [linoleumlundah de carpet. Dat's right. An' he will come a-hellin'. Yessuh, lak if he's away an' don' wanta come home.