the Delta, make squat

[kjc0123]

Where is the Delta in the U.S. and What is the meaning of "make squat" in the following sentences

She was from the Delta, and most of those folks have a good dose of blue blood. That's what the Judge wanted in a wife, but it didn't work too well around here. She thought she was marrying money. Judges didn't make squat back then, so she had to work hard at being better than everybody else."

[jno]

The Delta probably means the Mississippi river delta - the area where a river fans out into different channels, in a triangle shape ('delta' is a letter in the Greek alphabet, triangle-shaped), before it enters the sea. It could refer to another river delta, but in American books generally means the Mississippi.

Squat means 'anything'; usually with a 'not' before the verb - so 'didn't make squat' means didn't make anything (referring to their salary; it means they weren't paid much). It's American slang.

[rampart]

jno is correct. Delta is a region in Mississippi. The Mississippi River goes every which way as it heads toward the Gulf. Here is a site with an arial view:

http://www.cr.nps.gov/delta/themes.htm

People still use the phrase "doesn't make squat" to mean "doesn't make much money" and "doesn't make diddly squat" which, I suppose, is even less!