fix your lips
Get ready to say something, usually something you shouldn't.
Also called fix your mouth.
Updated September 21, 2026
fix your lips pronunciation
/FIX yer LIPS/
Meaning
A warning aimed at somebody whose mouth is about to get them in trouble. "Don't you fix your lips to say that" means don't even start that sentence. Built on Southern fix meaning prepare, same family as fixin' to. Mama, aunties, and anybody with a short fuse lean on it when sass is coming.
How folks use it
- “Don't you fix your lips to talk back to me.”
- “He fixed his lips to lie and everybody in the room knew it.”
Origin and etymology
Grows out of Southern "fix" for get ready or prepare, long recorded in regional English. Pairing it with lips (or mouth) turns preparation into a speech warning. Common across the rural South and in related Black Southern talk; "fix your mouth" is a close cousin.
Frequently asked questions
Is it always a scolding?
Usually yes, or at least a hard side-eye. People also joke with it when somebody is clearly about to say something dumb.