Tickled
In Southern and Appalachian speech, "Tickled" first means being amused to the point of laughing (often unexpectedly), and second means pleased or delighted - a regional expansion of the older English word "tickle."
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When I get cracked up, I usually say 'tickled.' This one's common down here. When I get cracked up, I usually say 'tickled.' This one's common down here. Pronunciation
Meaning & Usage
- Amused to the point of laughing (cracking up) (verb / participle)
We were watchin’ that serious play""but I couldn’t help but get tickled at Dracula’s afro.- Pleased or delighted (adjective)
I’m just tickled y’all came to see me.Origin and Etymology
From Old English "ticclian" (to touch lightly). By the 1600s "tickle" could mean "delight" as well as "physically tickle." Southern/Appalachian speech extended this to "got tickled" = "cracked up laughing," documented in rural newspapers and oral histories since at least the late 19th century.
Usage Notes
Still widely heard in Southern/Appalachian speech. "Got tickled" is especially used for laughing when you shouldn’t - at church, in school, at a funeral. Outside the region "tickled" is understood as "pleased," but not often as "cracked up laughing."
Say It Like a Southerner
Say it natural: "got tickled" - used for laughing or cracking up, especially when you shouldn’t. Also "I’m tickled" to mean "I’m pleased."