Might Could explained: Further adventures in the South.

By now it's probably clear that I tolerate the south more than loving it or hating it. And its partly becuase of the way people speak and a reminder of how much I struggle with snootiness and pride.

But this past week has been particularly challenging. I think I may have finally come to understand my most detested of all detested phrases in Southern: Might Could. Everyone says this here. And it's ambiguous. It's possible, on the spectrum of condition that it could mean something akin to "It's pretty sure to happen, but not 100%. More like 85%." Or it could mean "I'm just using a conditional phrase in an ambigous way instead of saying no. But sorry, this is SO not going to happen."

Here's an example of previous ambiguity, in context. We'll briefly discuss below.

Me:Maybe we could all go to X restaraunt on Y street in Wake Forest.
Southerner #1: We might could go there.
Southerner#2: Lets go to Chick FIl A so the kids could play.
Southerner #1: We might could do that, too.

And then the conversation ends. We end up at Chick Fil A. And I dont know what happened.

But last week this happened 3 times, and each time, we ended up in the opposite of what I suggested ( not an issue. I dont really care, since I'm only suggesting things and have particular objection CFA). And on the 3rd time, the light went on. Might Could means NO in Southern.
Here's the conditions for use in a social setting.

1. The purpose of Might Could is to be negatively ambiguous to avoid offending others, particularly those not from The South.

2.It follows then, that to be ambigous, you need to use Might Could more than once in a conversation, otherwise, the non Southern speaker will know they are being rejected and Southern Hospitality demands that you not reject a person outright. THat's not hospitable. (More on Southern Hospitality later)

3. The order of rejection is not ordinal. Meaning, you do not need to reject with the first Might Could. You could just use it to throw people off.

4. (I still need to test this theory) The other Southerners in the social context of Might Could understand which Might Could is the diverter Might Could and which one is definitive NO. It's part of the southern collective conscious, of which I am not yet a part.

Finally, here is a visual representation of where Might Could falls on the spectrum of Condition.

Yes. (100%- no possibility being a NO in any way.)








Maybe.








Might Could.



No. (100% NO. Never. Nunca. Stop Asking. NO.)


Now that I understand Might Could, it's time to practice using it. But frankly, it's just easier to say NO, or in a round about way, " I would prefer not to do that."

Maybe I can be bilingual.