How Southern Are You Quiz
Questions: 16 · 10 minutes
1. At a restaurant, a server asks whether you want sweet or unsweet iced tea. What distinction is the server making?
Whether the tea has been prepared with sugar or left without sweetener
Whether the tea contains lemon or mint
Whether the tea is carbonated or still
Whether the tea is made from green or black tea leaves
2. At a Southern diner, the menu advertises a “meat-and-three.” What would you normally expect to order?
One main dish accompanied by a choice of three side dishes
Three kinds of barbecue served with one sauce
A sandwich made with three sliced meats
One steak divided into three tasting portions
3. A summer lunch consists of ripe tomato slices, mayonnaise, salt, and pepper between pieces of soft bread. What Southern favorite does this describe?
A Hot Brown
A pimento cheese sandwich
A muffuletta
A tomato sandwich
4. A community gathering includes sacks of crawfish, corn, potatoes, and seasoned cooking pots spread across outdoor tables. With which state is this tradition especially associated?
Kentucky
Virginia
Tennessee
Louisiana
5. A travel article groups Beaufort, South Carolina, and Savannah, Georgia, within the Lowcountry. Which shared feature best explains that grouping?
Their position in the highest section of the Appalachian Mountains
Their location on a low-lying coastal plain shaped by tidal rivers and marshes
Their location along the Mississippi River’s alluvial plain
Their shared border with the Gulf of Mexico
6. Someone driving the Blue Ridge Parkway passes long mountain ridges in Virginia and North Carolina. The Blue Ridge belongs to which larger mountain system?
The Rocky Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains
The Sierra Nevada
The Cascade Range
7. In conversation, someone says “Bless your heart.” What is the most accurate way to interpret the phrase?
It is used only during formal religious services
It is always a direct insult, regardless of the situation
It is always a compliment showing complete approval
Its meaning depends on tone and context; it can express genuine sympathy or soften criticism
8. A museum exhibit describes the December 1955 arrest widely recognized as the immediate catalyst for the Montgomery bus boycott. Whose arrest is it describing?
E. D. Nixon
Martin Luther King Jr.
Claudette Colvin
Rosa Parks
9. A barbecue stand serves pulled pork with a distinctly yellow, mustard-based sauce. Which regional style does that sauce most strongly suggest?
Eastern North Carolina style
South Carolina style
Memphis style
Central Texas style
10. The Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor chiefly preserves the heritage of which community?
Descendants of West and Central Africans in the coastal Southeast
Scots-Irish settlers concentrated in the Appalachian backcountry
Cuban immigrants who formed communities along Florida’s Gulf Coast
Acadian settlers whose descendants developed Cajun culture
11. Two college football fans are discussing the annual Iron Bowl. Which teams are preparing to play?
Georgia and Florida
Texas and Oklahoma
Alabama and Auburn
Clemson and South Carolina
12. A host tells several guests, “Y’all can leave your coats in the hall.” What grammatical role does “y’all” fill?
A possessive form referring to the guests’ belongings
A third-person pronoun referring to absent people
A second-person plural pronoun addressing the group
A formal title used for the eldest guest
13. At a Charleston-area market, a craftsperson coils local plant fibers into a basket using a long-practiced Lowcountry technique. What craft are you most likely seeing?
Sweetgrass basketry associated with Gullah Geechee artisans
Willow basketry introduced through Great Plains homesteads
Birchbark basketry rooted in Great Lakes traditions
White-oak split basketry associated primarily with Appalachian farms
14. Which instrument is especially associated with the rapid three-finger picking heard in many bluegrass performances?
Fiddle
Mandolin
Banjo
Dobro
15. A celebration features krewes, parade throws, and events leading up to Lent. Which Southern city is most famously associated with this Mardi Gras tradition?
Charleston
Nashville
New Orleans
Atlanta
16. Hoppin’ John, traditionally served by many Southerners around New Year’s Day, is primarily made from which combination?
Cornmeal and okra
Black-eyed peas and rice
Grits and shrimp
Sweet potatoes and pecans