“Make a branch” is a euphemism that means “to urinate,” the word branch being a dialectal term for “a small stream.” This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Make a Branch”
Hello, you have A Way with Words.
Hi.
Hi, who’s this?
My name’s Scott. I’m from San Diego.
Hi, Scott. How you doing?
Hey, Scott.
I used to hear my grandmother, who was born in 1895. She told me that when she was five years old and her family crossed parts of the South in a covered wagon, and this little girl, when they needed to use the restroom, her phrase was, she needed to make a branch.
And for her, that was referring to how the water made a branch as it went downhill. I was wondering if you guys could tell me more about where that phrase came from.
Wow, that’s a great family story.
Yeah.
That’s what it immediately brings to mind, this important period of American migration westward.
Yeah, that’s really fascinating.
I’ve never heard anyone use that phrase, although I’ve read about it. Make a branch does mean to urinate. It’s a reference to the word branch, which in the South and South Midlands is a small stream. It’s a branch of a flowing body of water.
So it’s not big enough to be a river, but it’s a little branch. It’s more or less a synonym for creek in large parts of the South.
A stream, yeah.
Yeah, something that’s moving.
So it makes sense. I mean, you can see how a little kid would say they need to go make a branch. It makes perfect sense. And branch can mean water. Like, I don’t know if people do this in other parts of the country, but certainly in Kentucky, you order bourbon and branch.
Oh, yeah. I’ve heard that.
Yeah. Which is bourbon and water as opposed to bourbon and soda water. So branch can refer to water.
I think my grandmother, if she was still around, would get a big laugh from me saying that.
Do you use it yourself?
No.
Okay. All right.
But, you know, I guess as a lot of other listeners, you hear this show with some frequency. You start trying to think of other phrases that you’ve heard along the way that might fit in your show.
And this is one I actually have kind of wanted to know about since I was a kid. So I really appreciate your time.
Well, thanks for sharing it with us, Scott.
We appreciate your calling.
Take care now.
Take care.
Take care.
Bye.
