Southerners, especially those from Appalachia, are often portrayed in media as using numerous extravagant similes, such as "meaner than a striped snake" or (taking this from an actual comedic piece) "thinner than a possum with lockjaw." These similes are often greatly exaggerated for comedic effect and usually deal in some way with the rural Appalachian landscape or lifestyle. In most cases, these are inserted into dialogue to suggest that a character is uneducated or unrefined.
Where did this linguistic portrayal originate? Does it have any roots in Scottish Appalachian culture, or is it a largely North American development?
While more can certainly be said, you may appreciate a post from a little while back. The modern source of the uneducated and unrefined Appalachian resident stems (at least partly) from the effort to create Shenandoah National Park in the 1920s and 30s and force out those already living on the land for their own "betterment", which I addressed in a [previous answer] (https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/geqtfz/in_appalachia_has_poverty_always_been_a_problem/) to the question In appalachia, has poverty always been a problem? Or at least perceived as a problem?