sitting on their shoulder blades a position that's closer to lying down that sitting.
a huge live oak tree an evergreen oak.
uh mite too previous In this particular colloquialism, "previous" means "a little too early."
Middle Georgy the middle of the state of Georgia.
Ah'm uh son of Combunction a polite way of swearing; similar to "Well, I'll be a son of a gun. . . ."
All de women in de world ain't . . . teppentine still and saw mill camp free and easy women, women from the lowest level of laborers. Turpentine stills and saw mills were usually located in the woods, removed from town and close to the trees essential for their products.
Isaac and Rebecca at de well This biblical reference is not literally accurate. Isaac never met Rebecca at the well. Isaac's father's servant encountered Rebecca at the well. The servant had prayed for divine guidance in finding a wife for Isaac — that after his long journey to the land of Aramnaharaim, a generous and humble woman would approach him at the community well and offer him a drink of fresh water from her jug, as well as to offer to draw sufficient water for his camels. Rebecca did so and agreed to leave her village and travel to the land of Canaan to become Isaac's wife.
All them dat's goin' tuh cut de monkey in other words, if everyone has finished acting silly.
bell-cow the leader of the herd; here, the most important women in town.
Protolapsis uh de cutinary linin' The reference is to something that upsets the stomach and makes a person nervous. Hurston is pointing out the men's fondness for impressive words, whether they have real meaning or not.
the street lamp Before electric lights were common, cities and towns lighted their streets with gas lamps. The lamplighter would go around at dusk with a small four- or five-step ladder which he would climb to open the globe of the lamp and light the wick.
