It Ain’t Done It

"It ain’t done it" is a documented Southern and Appalachian exclamation rejecting a claim as false - a lively way to say "that’s not true!" or "that never happened."

#SouthernSayings #Appalachia #DialectandGrammar #OldTimers #Southern

synonyms: it ain’t so, that ain’t right, that dog won’t hunt, false, never happened

Hillbilly Dude Says...

Growin' up I heard 'it ain’t done it' whenever somebody was pointing out something wasn't true. This is definitely an old timers thing, I haven't heard it in years.

Pronunciation

[IT AYN’T DUNN IT] /ɪt eɪnt dʌn ɪt/

Meaning & Usage

- Exclamation rejecting a claim as false (Southern/Appalachian idiom)

Elmer:

Did you hear Cletus jumped over the barn with his four-wheeler?

Estel:

It ain’t done it! That boy barely clears a ditch.

variations: none widely recorded

★ Think of this one as the Southern equivalent of "No way!" - it’s short, direct, and just a little playful. ★

Origin

Heard in East Tennessee and Alabama family speech. Documented as a Southern colloquialism. Blends two common Southern speech patterns ("it ain’t so" + "he done did it") into a unique regional exclamation meaning "not true."

Notes

Documented in both East Tennessee and Alabama family speech traditions.
Used to quickly reject a claim as false - especially in informal or teasing conversation.
Not widely recognized outside the Southern/Appalachian region but easily understood in context.
Cross-link to related expressions such as "it ain’t so," "that ain’t right," and "that dog won’t hunt."

Kin Topics

Kin Words, Stories and More

Common Questions

Is "it ain’t done it" really Southern?

Yes - documented in both East Tennessee and Alabama, it’s part of Southern/Appalachian family speech.

What does it mean?

It’s an exclamation rejecting a claim as false - "That’s not true!" or "That never happened!"

Where is it used?

This variant is attested in East Tennessee and Alabama but may occur elsewhere in the Appalachian South.

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