Barking Up The Wrong Tree
This is a phrase that most people in the English-speaking world are familiar with. But how many people know that the South is to thank for its creation? While we are unsure of this phrase’s origin, we can only presume that someone with a dog observed their pooch barking up the tree that did not contain an animal of interest and thought that many humans behaved in a similar fashion quite often. When a person is pursuing a fruitless venture, or has chosen an inappropriate topic to debate, they will be “barking up the wrong tree”.
Barking Up The Wrong Tree
Cattywampus
While we all might be familiar with some of the phrases on this list, how many of us know what “cattywampus” means? Indeed, the strange word has been inappropriately used by many people. To describe something as cattywampus means that it is askew or disordered. For example, if you happened to be installing a bookshelf with your Southern friend, and you got the leveling wrong and your books slid off when you put them on, they might say that the bookshelf “turned out cattywampus”.
Cattywampus
