briar patch
In Appalachian and Southern speech, a "briar patch" is a thick tangle of thorny plants - blackberry canes, greenbrier vines, wild roses, or any prickly brush growing close together. It’s a bigger, meaner version of a single sticker bush.
It takes a bunch of 'sticker bushes' to make a 'briar patch.' This one is in everday use in the summer. Pronunciation
Meaning & Usage
- A dense thicket of thorny plants (noun)
Don’t cut through there - that’s a briar patch.Reckon my britches wouldn’t survive it anyhow.Origin
From Middle English *brer* (briar, thorny plant). "Patch" simply means a dense spot or clump. The phrase became common across the South and Appalachia, reinforced by folktales like Br’er Rabbit.
Notes
Still common in Appalachian and Southern talk. "Briar patch" often carries a hint of childhood memories - warnings not to run into one, or tales of hunting, rabbits, and blackberries. Closely related to "sticker bush," but refers to a whole tangle instead of just one bush.
Say It Like a Southerner
Said plain: "brar patch." The "i" in "briar" often drops out in mountain talk.