Smack Dab, Smack Jam, and Smack Bang

Hello, you have A Way with Words.

Hi, this is Terry from Omaha, Nebraska. Good to talk to you.

I was talking with a coworker the other day about where a client lives.

She told me the house was going to be easy to get to because it’s smack dab in the middle of a neighboring small town.

And that got me thinking. I know exactly what she meant. My mother said smack dab.

I say smack dab. I just don’t know why we say smack dab.

And I was wondering if you could share some insights.

So you knew what she meant when she said smack dab. What did she mean?

Just precisely in the middle.

Precisely.

Like if you measured it with a ruler.

Yes, like right in the middle.

I’ve always understood it to be right in the middle.

Well, when I think of the words, they’re easy.

You smack your lips, you smack your hand.

I think of a dab of paint.

I think of a dab of something.

I just don’t know what the smacking and the dabbing

Have to do with the center location for something.

Yeah, and is your mother from the same part of the country as you

And your friend who used this term?

So my mom was Southern.

I grew up in Missouri, and I now live in Omaha.

So I don’t know if it’s all Midwest to Southern, maybe.

Well, I’m interested in the fact that you said that she’s Southern because the expression

Smack dab has long been used, particularly in the South and in Appalachia, for emphasis,

Just like we’re talking about, just completely, directly, exactly in the middle, or just

Completely like, I want a big mess of turnip greens right smack now. It’s really emphatic.

And the term smack, you know, for a long time has referred to something that’s sudden or violent,

You know, a smack. But the word dab back in the 14th century actually meant to strike suddenly or

To peck at. And over time, it’s come to be used to make that smack more emphatic, you know, smack dab.

And we have variations of that as well, like smack jam and smack bang.

It’s that idea, as both of you all suggested, of something that’s just completely, directly, exactly there.

Okay.

So it’s the smack, the suddenness of a smack, like a hand hitting something, including the quick motion and the noise of it.

And then dab used to mean something more physical and violent than the little delicate pat that we think of today.

Well, I’ve heard it my whole life, so it’s good to talk about it.

Well, we’re glad you called about it.

Thank you so much. I appreciate the insight.

Yeah, sure. Thank you. Take care of yourself.

All right. You too.

Bye-bye.

Bye, Terry.

Thank you.

You might be slap bang in the middle of something, but put it down and give us a call 877-929-9673 or talk to us on social media. We’re on Threads, Blue Sky, Mastodon and a lot of others. You can find all those handles and nicknames on our website at waywordradio.org.