Reese Witherspoon Busts Out Southern Slang in ‘Secret Talent Theatre’

Going through words like ‘caddywonked,’ ‘conniption’ and so many other hilarious terms, Witherspoon claims pride in her slang education by laying out the law for each and every phrase.

Written by Kelly Brickey
Reese Witherspoon Busts Out Southern Slang in ‘Secret Talent Theatre’
Reese Witherspoon; Photo via YouTube

Reese Witherspoon has talent and beauty and everything in between, but even Hollywood couldn’t take away her Southern roots.

Putting her Tennessee knowledge up to the challenge of the Secret Talent Theatre for Vanity Fair, Witherspoon scrolls through a number of stereotypical phrases used below that Mason-Dixon line and gives her best guess at the definition. The actress even slaps her accent on as if she just came back from her home area that raised her right.

Going through words like ‘caddywonked,’ ‘conniption’ and so many other hilarious terms, the Tennessee native claims pride in her slang education by laying out the law for each and every phrase. One of her most spot-on explanations came from ‘dern tootin,’’ which may make some people turn their head to the side in confusion.

“You’re ‘dern tootin’’ means you are absolutely right, I completely agree with you,” Witherspoon said. “So instead of saying ‘totes,’ you’d say, ‘You’re dern tootin’!”

Adding some sweetness to her routine, the movie star became quite endearing while discussing the phrase, “bless your heart.” Claiming it’s what she says about people she knows or recognizes, she confirms that everyone in the South truly does mean exactly what they’re wishing upon others.

Of course, Witherspoon showed some Tennessee pride when asked what ‘vols’ meant. Instantly recognizing it as the short-hand version for the University of Tennessee’s mascot name, the actress cheered with excitement over the Big Orange.

“Vols, as in the Tennessee Volunteers, y’all! Rocky Top, all that, T-E-double N-E-double S-double E. Go Vols,” she exclaims, pushing her fist to the air.

To many people’s surprise, Witherspoon has quite a few connections to the country music world. Not only is she a fan of the genre, she also donated a huge sum over to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library charity for the singer’s birthday recently.