Better ’n Snuff, and Not Near as Dusty

Hello, you have A Way with Words.

Hi, my name is Melissa Chappell. I’m calling from Charlotte, North Carolina.

Hello, Melissa. Welcome to the show.

Yeah, so I was calling to ask about a phrase that my grandfather used to say all the time.

He used to say, like, wouldn’t, like, if he was eating food or something, and we asked him how it was,

He would always say, it’s gooder than snuff, but not near as dusty.

And I’ve always been interested in where and to where that came from.

He originally was from Texas.

He was a truck driver, and he was transferred up to North Carolina.

So I don’t know if it’s a Texas thing or if he picked it up in North Carolina,

But I’ve always been interested to know where that phrase comes from.

Gooder than snuff, but not near as dusty.

Do I have that right?

Yes.

Snuff as in the tobacco that you sniff up your nose?

Absolutely, yeah.

Was he a snuff taker?

No, but we always had it in the house for, like, bee stings.

Bee stings?

Oh, for bee stings.

Oh, interesting.

Yeah, yeah, because the tobacco in the product would draw out the venom.

Okay.

Right, right.

And it was dusty, right?

Correct.

Yeah, when we’re talking about snuff, we’re talking about that smokeless tobacco product

That’s made from pulverized tobacco leaves or really finely ground.

I’ve seen lots of variants of this.

Like, I’m finer than snuff, but not near as dusty.

Some people say that, you know, when you ask them how they’re doing.

Oh, I’m finer than snuff and not near as dusty.

Finer than wine, but gooder than snuff.

Yeah, gooder than taters, better than snuff.

Yeah, because there was a time when snuff was quite popular.

You know, it was it was a treat for people, that little hit of nicotine.

There was a time in Congress where there were boxes of snuff in in the U.S. Congress.

I remember seeing this because there used to be a box of snuff on the Senate desk of the vice president.

But apparently Senate business was. Yes.

And Senate business was interrupted so often by these long processions of members who were seeking snuff.

And so back in the day, Vice President Millard Fillmore ordered that that box be removed.

And they put boxes on either side of the congressional chamber, one for each party, so that people could line up separately.

So there was a time when this was a really positive thing.

You know, you get that hit that makes you sharp and alert and is kind of a stimulant.

And that’s where we get the expression up to snuff.

It goes back to the early 1800s.

So I don’t know that it’s that popular anymore, you know, once people began to learn about the effects of tobacco.

But in fact, my mamaw in North Carolina, I remember her sitting in a wooden rocking chair on the front porch,

And she would dip snuff.

That’s a little bit different.

You stick it in your lower lip, and then she would spit out the brown juice into a can.

Okay.

Gooder than snuff, sweeter than a Sunday hymn.

I like that one.

Oh, that’s nice.

But, yeah, so we’re talking almost 100 years old, 100 years of this expression.

Oh, that’s really cool.

Yeah.

But it’s nice that you’ve got this memory of your granddad, and it’s something that he used, and it echoes in your mind.

Yeah, it’s funny because my dad started to say it eventually because grandpa would say it all the time.

And do you say it now, Melissa?

I do, actually.

I love it.

And people look at me funny.

They’re like, what?

Yeah, sure.

Own it.

Yeah.

Mm—

So.

All right.

Well, Melissa, thanks for calling.

It was very cool.

We appreciate it.

Yeah, thanks for sharing that memory.

No, awesome.

Thank you so much.

All right.

Take care of yourself.

Bye-bye.

Take care.

Thank you, too.

Bye-bye.

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