I Might Could Come See Your New Early Attic if I Didn't Have a Hitch in My Getalong

Welcome to the latest in my occasional series on southern expressions! Seriously, one of my favorite things about living in the South is hearing all the interesting things that people say here. I've picked up on a couple more since my last post on the topic.

Might could

Meaning: might be able to
Example: I might could stop by your house on Saturday after the kids' soccer game.

I actually first heard this expression in Seattle. I had a coworker who I believe was also from the Northwest, but her parents were from the South. One day I heard her on the phone with a customer discussing when a product would arrive, and she said, "We might could get that to you by Friday." I was seriously scratching my head over that one and figured she had mis-spoken, because what in the heck was "might could" supposed to mean? Would the product arrive by Friday or not??

In the South, though, might could is alive and well! There are many variations of this phrase, I've discovered. For example, you can say, "might ought to" (which is actually pronounced might otta).

Example: We might otta leave soon or else we'll miss seeing Suzy.
Translation: We should leave soon

It can also be used in the past conditional tense, like this.

Example: Oh, I wish I'd known you were coming to Memphis last weekend! We might coulda [could have] met up for some BBQ! 

Early Attic
This phrase is so unique that I can't really find many references to it on the internet, at least to its definition. I feel as if I've stumbled upon a cultural relic, a rare archaeological-linguistic discovery! I just heard this one last week when a group of ladies were discussing furniture. One said, "Oh, when we first got married, most of our pieces were early attic." Another said, "Our house was full of early attic!" A couple of them laughed. I was really confused. I wondered if "Early Attic" was a brand of furniture or something, so I asked the person I was sitting by. She explained that it's a Southern expression meaning "hand-me down" because it refers to items that have collected in someone's attic. It's like a joke on "Early American" style furniture and is supposed to make your hand-me-downs sound fancier when you call them "Early Attic."

Ha ha! I like it!

A Hitch in Your Getalong
Meaning: you're moving/working/doing something too slowly, perhaps because of some impediment, whether temporary or permanent

I'm not 100% clear on the meaning of this expression. It was explained to me thusly: a person is walking too slowly and not keeping up with the rest of the group. One group member might turn back and say, "What's the matter? You got a hitch in your getalong?" I think that's a way to tell the person to hurry up.

However, the internet is now telling me it could mean the person has a limp or other type of problem that prevents them from moving as quickly as desired. It seems further field research is required on this topic...

Good thing I like field research :)

Southerners - if I have mangled any of these, please correct me! I'm trying to be a good anthropologist/social observer!