Reese Witherspoon is “definitely a southern mom.”
During an appearance on “Conan,” the actress talked to host Conan O’Brien about what she’s like as a parent. When O’Brien asked whether she can “drop the hammer when it’s time to get tough,” Witherspoon said her Tennessee roots have influenced the way she parents.
“I never lost the Tennessee in me,” she said. “When you get really mad, you get really southern.”
She then mentioned the different levels of “mad” she gets.
“If I get kind of mad, I’ll give you a ‘sit to,’ which just means you have to sit down and listen to everything I have to say,” she said. “And then if you really make me mad, then I give you ‘what for,’ which is a whole ‘nother thing you don’t want to get involved in.”
According to Merriam-Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary, giving someone “what for” means to reprimand or to punish.
Witherspoon has opened up before about how being raised in Tennessee has influenced her kids. In 2009, she told People that they always enjoy visiting Nashville.
“They’re crazy about the trees and the food,” she said. “A creek runs through our neighborhood and they love to walk up and down it ― just like I used to do with my brother.”
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