Regionalism's

[Mr. Bloom]

OK, all this talk of politics somehow rekindled a memory of an NPR story a long time ago about a comment Bill Clinton made at a press conference. He made a comment using the phrase


"Adam's Off Ox"

In a sentence: " I don't know him from Adam's Off Ox"

So the NPR commentary traced the idiomatic phrase to rural Arkansas although the roots were ultimately traced to 18th century England.

So, what are the idiomatic phrases in your region?

[Crankin]

Let's see: tonic, frappe, wicked pissa, barrel, bubbler, packie, jimmies, dungarees...
Oh and calling everything by some abbreviation that was thought of 200 years ago.

These words are dying out. Nobody I know has a Boston accent and none of my friends use these words. Once in awhile I slip one in to confuse my husband.

[Jolt]

...and let's not forget the use of "wicked" as an adverb--when I am in NJ visiting my family and say something like, for example, "it's wicked hot today", people there ask "where are you from?".

[spotlightmama]

Hehe - I love wicked! I only spent one year in Boston, but I have to keep that one around.

I'm from the South, so ya'll is a big one. "Knee high to a grasshopper" - that kind of thing. :p DH is from the beach area, so "shaka bra" is quite popular around this area (but not this house, lol).

[SlowButSteady]

y'all

yonder

reckon

I have somewhat of an interest in regionalism both in speech and in regional foods. In fact, I enjoy watching true crime shows on television and "placing" an accent to within a state or two based on the speech of the interviewd persons.

Though I have a doctorate, my speech in everyday life retains the flavor of Appalachia, albeit a "mill hill" of the central piedmont version. Actually, I like it, and I can put a damper on it when the need arises.

Given the constant audio and video media in which we in Western civilization exist, I always thought that regional variations in accent and speech would have been erased. However, I notice these variations more.

Perhaps variations help identify us and promote a sense of community and bonding.

[shootingstar]

I still haven't figured out the regionalisms where we are since I've moved.

Methinks my brain is messed up in terms of terminology and accents because of globalism...seriously in Canadian Pacific Rim city...it's different. Maybe I'm in the wrong social circles here in Vancouver..

One thing I have noticed since coming to Vancouver, is a tendency for people to refer to their cottage as a ..."cabin" when it really is not a loghouse cabin/hut at all. :p It could be something...closer to a detached home year-round or ...chalet.

Whereas in Ontario, a cottage is truly a cottage and a cabin really means a roughed place.

Yes Vancouverites do mention sushi WAY more often than Toronto folks..because we are closer to the natural sources.

But may I politely add, Canadian English spelling does lean abit more heavily on British English spelling. So we colour our world different than 'color' your world.

The Oxford English dictionary in a Canadian university or for any large Canadian library would be considered a strong preferred purchase for any English literature/language course vs. Webster's.

I love regionalism and dialects for 1 language. The English language worldwide, of how it manifests itself in different countries is truly interesting.... when various 'patois' are born.

[Geonz]

Grammar Police! Grammar Police!! I have my regionalisms... Actually I can't think of any 'round here... in Culpeper ( in the foothills of hte Blue Ridge) you could be a career "woodchuck" - person who works wiht trees, especially if you take a pickup truck full of firewood into D.C. to sell it ... and my favorite "I feel like a biscuit!" ("I felt like a complete idiot!") ... but I'm not sure that wasn't a family phrase for one of Culpeper's bigger sets of cousins - now *those* I have a fair number of...

[bmccasland]

Baby
Term of endearment to be used with any small child, or adult you're particularily close to - and used by all races with all races.

(when I was reading this thread, I thought of a couple of others, but now they've gone pfft out of my head.)

[kelownagirl]

I still haven't figured out the regionalisms where we are since I've moved.

Methinks my brain is messed up in terms of terminology and accents because of globalism...seriously in Canadian Pacific Rim city...it's different. Maybe I'm in the wrong social circles here in Vancouver..

One thing I have noticed since coming to Vancouver, is a tendency for people to refer to their cottage as a ..."cabin" when it really is not a loghouse cabin/hut at all. :p It could be something...closer to a detached home year-round or ...chalet.

Whereas in Ontario, a cottage is truly a cottage and a cabin really means a roughed place.

Yes Vancouverites do mention sushi WAY more often than Toronto folks..because we are closer to the natural sources.

But may I politely add, Canadian English spelling does lean abit more heavily on British English spelling. So we colour our world different than 'color' your world.

The Oxford English dictionary in a Canadian university or for any large Canadian library would be considered a strong preferred purchase for any English literature/language course vs. Webster's.

I love regionalism and dialects for 1 language. The English language worldwide, of how it manifests itself in different countries is truly interesting.... when various 'patois' are born.

"Cottage" is definitely an eastern word. I always think it sounds funny. We call them cabins regardless of the size.

[bmccasland]

I remembered!
Camp - your vacation home on a lake, bayou, or beach. Can be something close to a shack that is a marvel it survives thunderstorms, to a very fancy home with gold plated fixtures. "go'in to your camp this weekend?"

[littlegrasshopp]

BBQ. Here it means to either slow cook (for several hours) with dry rub, or to use a BBQ sauce, and it MUST happen in a grill. In some other areas, BBQ covers anything cooked on the grill. We call that "grilling out." Imagine my surprise when I went to a BBQ that a newly relocated coworker from the North East held. I was expecting ribs, pulled pork, something from a big animal, cooked slowly and yummy. We had hot dogs.

My husband, from Oregon, says "is what it is, is...." He insists everyone says it in his home town.

[OakLeaf]

you could be a career "woodchuck" - person who works wiht trees

The name of the animal itself is a regionalism - just five hours away it's a "groundhog." My sister and I agree that it's an awful garden pest (although the four babies under my porch right now are just too cute), but we can't agree on what it's called!

In the country, a private road connecting a house to a public road is called a "lane." I've lived here 11 years and still call it my "driveway" more often than not... trying to learn.

[Ciao]

This is fun.. :D

What to you get when you mash English with Irish, Polish, German, Greek, and the other large immigrant populations that came right after the war? Pittsburghese from da 'Burgh obviously! :p

nebby (nosey)
yinz (plural of 'you')
yinzer (a blue collar worker with a heavy Pittsburgher accent)
hoagie (submarine sandwich)
redd-up (clean up)
babushka (headscarf)
n'at (and all that)
... far too many to list.

Moved to Northern CA after school, but there's not really a noticeable local dialect in the bay area or Marin. Too many transients.

Now in Florence, I'm learning the different Italian dialects. The locals swap their 'c' with an exaggerated 'h'. So coka-cola becomes hhoka-hhola; cassa (house) becomes hhaza. But they make fun of the other regional accents - especially the more southern ones... and Sicilia?! They're not considered Italian... :rolleyes:

[wackyjacky1]

Here in San Antonio, a convenience store (i.e., 7-11) is called an ice house. And if you're getting ready to do something, you say you're fixin' to do it.

"I'm fixin' to run up to the ice house to get some more beer."

[yellow]

The most classic Utah line...

"Oh my heck!"

I'd never heard that before I lived here. I still giggle to myself every time someone says it.

[AmyO]

Let's see: tonic, frappe, wicked pissa, barrel, bubbler, packie, jimmies, dungarees...
Oh and calling everything by some abbreviation that was thought of 200 years ago.

These words are dying out. Nobody I know has a Boston accent and none of my friends use these words. Once in awhile I slip one in to confuse my husband.

I tried in vain to make my kids call a Coke "tonic". I won't give up, though.

I have a "bad" Boston accent, but my kids don't. I agree that most of these things are getting lost.

Interesting show from WBUR's "Radio Boston" about the accents in eastern Mass....http://www.radioboston.org/index.php/2008/02/11/got-an-accent-2.html

[Aggie_Ama]

Austin is attracting many people from out of state and we are losing our regionalism. It is nice to have a booming job market but I miss the days of my youth when people understood and were not amused by:

y'all
coke (all sodas are cokes, if a native Texan says they want a coke you ask what kind.)
fixin'
darlin', sugar, sweetheart and baby- these are polite if an elder that is a stranger calls you this.
BBQ- like the post above this means slow cooked meat, often brisket. Hamburgers and hotdogs are reserved for grillin' or a cook-out.

These are the only ones I can think of but I know there are more. We have lost the regional naming of streets. People move here and call them by their proper name whereas we call them the old name or a nickname.

[Tuckervill]

We have all those Texas ones, too.

My ex-husband once said to me, "I'm going fishin' in the bar pits."

Okay, what's a bar pit?

"You know, it's where they borrowed dirt to make the road."

In the river bottoms (is that a regionalism?), a highway cut through would be built up above flood stage through the flood plain, and the "borrow pits" would fill up with water eventually. Fish get trapped there, and make for easy pickins (is that another regionalism?). Of course, he being from the woods, "borrow" was shortened to "bar", and thus the misunderstanding.

I moved to Arkansas from Chicago when I was 11. I couldn't understand all the kids in school who said, "I lacked to fall off the slide!"

Being a heavy reader as a child, I searched and searched my brain for why "lack" came to mean "almost". I never got used to it. I finally asked one of them to write it down for me. She wrote LIKED.

Now I'm still confused about how LIKE came to mean "almost" but being an adaptable kid, I learned to use it in context. It sounds funny coming out of a Chicago accent, though!

Karen, about to R U N N O F T

[Thorn]

Don't know how wide-spread this one is, but "tyme machine" for ATM.

Our first ATMs were TYME and that's all we had for years. So many still refer to an ATM as a TYME machine. While in Europe, my brother-in-law had a little cross-cultural discussion when he said, "I really have to find a TYME machine." Yes, don't we all....take me back a few years, please.

[wackyjacky1]

Don't know how wide-spread this one is, but "tyme machine" for ATM.

LOL, I haven't heard that before. Where are you from?

[equus2]

Moved here a few years ago - "Oh, my heck!" is the phrase, here. I thought it was SO funny/odd!

And you hear every variation: "Oh, my biggest, freakin' heck" is one that even made the commercials.

Another one - "any-who-how."

Question: is "My bad!" a regoinalism, or just an annoying type of apology that's been adopted everywhere?

[Thorn]

I'm in Wisconsin. I think TYME was the only ATM in the Milwaukee area for nearly 20 years or so.


Oh, gee....even Wikipedia says Wisconsinites look for time machines http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyme . I didn't know it was that local.

[DrBadger]

Don't know how wide-spread this one is, but "tyme machine" for ATM.

Ha, I know this one too! I grew up in southern Wisconsin, so said TYME machine for the ATM (it is actually a brand and stands for "Take Your Money Everywhere"

Also interesting that some of the words that are common in the Boston area area also common in the Milwaukee area (and no where else!) For example, Bubbler for drinking fountain and Jimmies for the sprinkles on a doughnut.

Huh, who knew that Bubbler was a trademarked name! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubbler

I moved to MN when I was in junior high, and found some other new terms... I was really confused the first time someone asked if they could borrow a "binder"... I figured they meant a 3-ring binder for papers, but in actuality they wanted a pony tail holder!

I now live in Houston, TX and am just getting used to some of the Texas and Southern words... still don't say y'all, but i am sure it is only a mater of time :rolleyes:

[Eden]

This is fun.. :D

What to you get when you mash English with Irish, Polish, German, Greek, and the other large immigrant populations that came right after the war? Pittsburghese from da 'Burgh obviously! :p

nebby (nosey)
yinz (plural of 'you')
yinzer (a blue collar worker with a heavy Pittsburgher accent)
hoagie (submarine sandwich)
redd-up (clean up)
babushka (headscarf)
n'at (and all that)
... far too many to list.


another Pittsburgher here - though I never had the "south side" accent....
a few more words that I remember as only in the Burgh
chipped ham (deli ham sliced so thin it tears aka chip chopped ham)
pop - instead of soda
and btw a hoagie is not only named differently, but *made* differently from a sub, grinder, po boy - what ever you call it in your area. Pittsburgh is probably the only place I've found one done properly. Forget Quizno's and Subway with all their "new" toasted subs.... a real hoagie is made in a pizza shop. The meat and cheese are put on the bun and both halves of it are put into a pizza oven until the cheese is melted and the bun is toasty. Then lettuce, tomato and italian dressing are put on it - the perperchinis are optional... definitely no mustard or mayo or other muck - only the stuff you'd find in a pizza shop. I was appalled, absolutely appalled the first time anyone gave me a Subway sub.... it was cold, pallid, had doughy soft bread and worst of all it had mayo on it...

[OakLeaf]

Question: is "My bad!" a regoinalism, or just an annoying type of apology that's been adopted everywhere?

I thought it was just a translation of "Mea culpa," one of the most ancient of apologies?

[Eden]

Question: is "My bad!" a regoinalism, or just an annoying type of apology that's been adopted everywhere?

I'll bet it started out as a regionalism, but mass media and the internet spreads popular culture so fast these days that it might be hard to pinpoint where it came from.

[Thorn]

Also interesting that some of the words that are common in the Boston area area also common in the Milwaukee area (and no where else!) For example, Bubbler for drinking fountain and Jimmies for the sprinkles on a doughnut.

Huh, who knew that Bubbler was a trademarked name! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubbler


I was surprised to see bubbler appear from someone outside of Wisconsin. But, I guess it doesn't surprise me that, were it a trademark, that it would belong to Kohler since I've always associated it as a Wisconsin-ism.

But, what does one call a doughnut with jimmies if you don't use the term jimmies?

[Eden]

But, what does one call a doughnut with jimmies if you don't use the term jimmies?

sprinkles? I think I grew up hearing both sprinkles and jimmies in Pittsburgh.

[newfsmith]

I grew up in SW Wisconsin, and have spent the past year traveling back every 2-3 weeks to care for my Mom. As soon as you land in Milwaukee, you will hear "you betcha" instead of "you're welcome". This has not changed from my childhood, but some other phrases have disappeared or become less common, while others have become more generally used.
pop (soda)
down yonder & over yonder
rode Hank's mare = rode shank's pony (walked)
I had "ants" not "aunts"
crick = creek (no wonder I had trouble learning to spell)
"douse that glim" = turn out the light (that one facinated my husband,
who insisted it was a British thieves' expression)
My grandfather when badgered for a story would first always recite:
"I'll tell you a story about **** and Norrie, and now my story is begun.
I'll tell you another about Tom and his brother, and now my story is
done."

[NbyNW]

Eden and Ciao,

Another Pittsburgher here, and I'm surprised you didn't mention one of my favorites:

gumband - rubber band

I never thought I had an accent, b ut my New-England-native DH swears that when I say "it's cold out" that it sounds like "it's coowd aht"

[Eden]

Eden and Ciao,

Another Pittsburgher here, and I'm surprised you didn't mention one of my favorites:

gumband - rubber band

I never thought I had an accent, b ut my New-England-native DH swears that when I say "it's cold out" that it sounds like "it's coowd aht"

my husband (also a New Englander - Maine specifically) used to make fun of me for the way I said o's as in stone and thinks my mom says wush instead of wash.

[tc1]

You wait in line. On line applies to computers only.
Get a Starbucks means get a coffee.
The freeways are, for example, I-5, or 5 if you are really lazy. NEVER "the 5".
Microsoft is the evil empire.
I'm trying to remember all the ones that stumped my friend from Iowa, but my mind is fried after 26 miles on the bike and 2 hours of yardwork.

[KnottedYet]

Get a Starbucks means get a coffee.


I grew up here and remember when Starbucks was one little herb and tea shop (no coffee) at Pike Place. I usually say "get some coffee."

(maybe cuz "a" coffee is never enough? ;) )

ETA: I sort of view Starbucks as the evil empire... they have bought out so many other coffee companies, they own their competition! Seattlite trivia: who remembers what SBC stood for BEFORE its name was changed to Seattle's Best Coffee? I'll give you a hint: their logo was a cat.)

[Zen]

Karen, about to R U N N O F T

R-U-N-N-O-F-T:D

That has to be my favorite movie ever.

[OakLeaf]

You wait in line. On line applies to computers only.
The freeways are, for example, I-5, or 5 if you are really lazy. NEVER "the 5".

That's funny, because I think of your versions as standard, and the variations as regionalisms.

"On line" to mean what you're standing in - my DH is the only person I've ever heard that from, and I've lived on both coasts, the Great Plains, the Great Lakes and Appalachia. He's mostly NJ with a little AZ. I suspect AZ, since I've known several people from NJ who stand "in line."

"The 5," exclusively California.

Am I wrong?


ETA: we don't get "some" or "a" coffee, we just "get [or go for] coffee" :)

[Becky]

Let's see...

"Y'all" is actually pretty popular here, especially as you head south. Delaware has a split personality. We get a lot of Philly influence, but there's parts of the state that are most definitely deep south.

"On line", e.g., "I'm on line at the grocery store- be home soon" is something that I picked up from my hubby, who's from northern NJ. I think it's a NJ/NY thing, 'cuz our friends in southern NJ don't use it.

Darn...there's got to be others.....I'll post if I think of them.

[crazycanuck]

R U N O F T ??? Can you explain that one?

[Tuckervill]

It's from the movie "O Brother, Where Art Though?"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1C2gCXo4Gs

It's based on the epic "The Odyssey".

My ex-husband looks just like Delmar. It's my favorite movie, too, in spite of that little fact!

(R U N N O F T -- that's how you spell "She done run off!")

Karen

[divingbiker]

When I lived in North Carolina, people would always say "might could," as in "Would you fix the sink?" "I might could do that."

Fixin' as in "I'm fixin' to go to town" was a big one also.

[SlowButSteady]

How many of you know what a "hose pipe" is?

"Pull the door to" for close the door.

tea = sweet iced tea. You have to firmly ask for "unsweet tea" to get a glass of iced tea without sugar around here. And then sometimes you get the sweet stuff anyway.

I don't know if these are true regionalisms, but as a vet, I hear "running off" for diarrhea, as in "his bowels are runnin' off".

We also hear "she's cuttin' up" for a female dog in heat.

[Geonz]

The name of the animal itself is a regionalism - just five hours away it's a "groundhog." My sister and I agree that it's an awful garden pest (although the four babies under my porch right now are just too cute), but we can't agree on what it's called!

In the country, a private road connecting a house to a public road is called a "lane." I've lived here 11 years and still call it my "driveway" more often than not... trying to learn.

... and other places it's a "whistle pig."

[Flybye]

The most classic Utah line...

"Oh my heck!"

I'd never heard that before I lived here. I still giggle to myself every time someone says it.

Idaho and Utah may as well be the same............

Heck is the eternal fire word and.................

Frick is the substitute "f" word. Can't drop the bomb around here, just the grenade.:p

Rig or Outfit refers to your vehicle. "Which outfit are you going to take?"

For you Texans, our relatives have the whole dinner/supper thing messed up. I never know what we are invited to because one means lunch and the other means dinner.

And a barbecue is not a barbecue around here unless there is a flame involved. That's the way it should be. It's like saying a piece of chicken is a steak because you put A-1 sauce on it. Nope. Meat isn't barbecue because of the sauce, but because of the cooking method - freakin fire!

[indigoiis]

You Might Be From Vodilun (say it aloud) if........

You've been to Twin Oaks for your birthday.
You reuse the Newport Creamery Gallon container to freeze your meatballs and gravy.
You have a $200 car with a $2000 sound system...
You have an ashtray made from a quahog shell...
You can't take a bath, because there's a saint inside your tub.
You've used an inside out tire as a planter...
Your friends throw you a going away party, because you're moving from Pawtucket to Woonsocket...
The guy you ended up marrying lived no more than 6 blocks from where you grew up.
You've converted the basement of your house into an apartment.
You pronounce it "Warrik" instead of Warwick..
You bump into Roanne from Off Track Bedding at a restaurant and you ask her for an autograph.
You call spaghetti sauce, "gravy."
You've thrown at least one yard sale this month.
You tell friends that something is "on special", instead of on sale.
The meal at every wedding you've ever attended was chicken, shells and frenchfries.
You put celery salt on your hot dogs.
You are never from Providence, or East Providence, but from the East Side, Rumford or Riverside
You've called into a radio talk show at least once in the past 5 days.
You don't eat dinner...,you have "suppa"...
You put vinegar on your french fries.
You order an iced coffee in December.
If 5 flakes of snow fall at 9:00 AM, you're out of there by 10:00 AM.
You read the wedding announcements in the Sunday Pro-Jo and recognize at least 3 couples.
Your favorite adjective is "wicket."
When told surprising news, yourespond, "Geddout!", if you're a male and "Nosuh!" if you're a female.
The seltzer guy delivers bottles to your home on a weekly basis.
People at work wish you a " Happy St. Joseph's Day!
You say "please" if you want something repeated.
A car journey longer than 1 hour is a day trip.
You can curse in Italian.
You know the basic rules of Duck Pin Bowling.
You own garden tools from Job Lot.
You have tried to drive the the measured mile in less than 45 seconds.
You know what the expression "side by each " means.
You've discussed graphic surgery at the dinner table.
You've used the expression " not fa nuthin " in conversation.
You serve bread with every meal.
You feel compelled to hear at least one weather report a day.
You've pulled out of a sidestreet and used your car to block oncoming traffic so you can make a left turn.
Your holiday season isn't complete without a trip to LaSallette Shrine.
There's a bottle of coffee syrup in your fridge right now.
You have given a bottle of Sakonnet wine as a gift.
You own a "Free Buddy" t-shirt.
You go to all the Micheal Corrente or Farrelly Brothers openings, even if you don't think you'll like the movie.
You've gotten sick from eating too many clam cakes.
You own at least one coffee table book with a picture of a light house on the cover.
You've boasted about the money you've saved at The Christmas Tree Shop.
You own a hat with a red " P " on it.
You harbor a secret desire to muss up Doug White's hair.
You still refer to The RI Mall as The Midland Mall.
You've gone to "Leggs and Eggs."
You've slammed on your breaks to discourage a tailgater.
You've dated a girl named Brenda,or a guy named Vinnie.
You've used a breakdown lane on 95 to pass someone.
You've personally met Vinny Pazienza.
You've driven more than 5 miles, just so you could save $2.
You've been on a RIPTA bus less than 6 times in 12 years.
You can still remember the words to the old Rocky Point theme song.
You know what a "governor-preferred " plate is.
You can always find someone to pass your car when it fails inspection.[/B]
You have a degree from URI, CCRI or RIC.
You know how to pronounce Pawtucket,Cowesett, Usqepaug and Narragansett.
You've taken a ride on the Bay Queen.
You refer to the movies as, "the show ."
You know what Allie's makes.
You go to " the package store ", not the liquor store.
You've never wondered why there's no "West Providence", but a "West End."
You think banana, vanilla, and idea all end in the letter " r ."
You give directions such as, "Make a left where Almacs used to be!"
Khakis are something you start the car with.
You think crosswalks are for wimps
You think if someone's nice to you, they either want something or they are from out of town and probably lost
You know how to cross 4 lanes of traffic in 5 seconds
You know that Wootoo is where to go to buy a car.
You think it's not actually tailgating unless your bumper is touching the car in front of you
You know that a yellow light means at least 5 more cars can get through.....and that a red light means 2 more can
The transportation system is known as the RIPTA
Subway is a fast food place
You could own a small town in Iowa for the cost of your house.
There are 24 Dunkin Donuts Shops within 15 minutes of your house.
You believe using a turn signal gives away your plan to the enemy
If you stay on the same road long enough, it will eventually have 3 or more different names
Three days of 90+ heat is definitely a "heat wave".....and 63 degree weather is "on the warm side"
At the creamery, you order a cabinet and call chocolate sprinkles "Jimmies"
Your friend Chevul drives a Camavo
You know who Peter Pan is (not the one in green tights.)
You have bridge tokens rattling around on your dashboard.
You can name all the islands in Narragansett Bay.
You know what a gagga is.
You had an account at Old Stone Bank.

And finally, you know you're a rhode island TE girl when you ride a hundred miles and end up leaving the state. Twice.

[denda]

Wackjacky1- I have lived in Texas all my life and I have never heard a 7-11 called "icehouse"!

[sundial]

R-U-N-N-O-F-T:D

That has to be my favorite movie ever.

Well it seems I'm the only one who remains unaffiliated. :D

OK, here goes with our regionalisms:

you'ns
Coke--used for any soft drink
whichadidja
'muda gra--bermuda grass
paw biscuits
carnies--carnival workers

[Tuckervill]

"How's yo mama n'them?"

My daddy use to call his mother's biscuits "cathead biscuits", because they were as big as a cat's head.

One difference I noticed between Chicago and Arkansas was the way we referred to our parents. In Arkansas, kids always said, "Mama said I can't go." I was so confused by that. In Chicago we always said, "My mom said I can't go." We only left out the possessive pronoun when we were talking to our actual siblings!

Karen

[sundial]

momnem--my mother and her peers :D

Karen, I noticed how so many say mama around here. Another southern thing wouldn't you say?

[Tuckervill]

Mama is definitely a southern thang, but you'll hear it all over.

eta: I just remembered something. My daddy (that's a Southern thing, too--in Chicago I would have said dad) called his mother Maw (we all did), but whenever he referred to her in the 3rd person, he'd say mama, as if it were a title. "We're going down to see Mama."

Karen

[coyote]

I'm not sure which is the regionalism:
in AZ its an arroyo - CO its a wash - from wikipedia, dry creek bed.

[sundial]

I'
in AZ its an arroyo - CO its a wash - from wikipedia, dry creek bed.

In Texas, it's known as a "crick".

[Crankin]

We called it a wash in AZ, too, but I know what arroyo means. My parents got their car "stuck in a wash," when they tried to cross it after a flash flood...

Red Rhodie, your list made me laugh. I think about three fourths of those apply to eastern MA also, with a few that are very specific to RI. I think that most of those expressions you find in blue collar towns in eastern MA, especially where people don't move away and there's generations of families living in close proximity. When I was a kid, everyone used those expressions, but I doubt I'd hear one in Concord, today! Even my students in Hudson don't have any accents or use a lot of regional words (except maybe bubbler), but quite a few of their parents do. Again, this is a community where people stay put and often live down the street from their parents, aunts, uncles.

[SlowButSteady]

In South Carolina, it's a gulley

[crazycanuck]

Some of this is going wayyy over my head..

What's a shell?
The meal at every wedding you've ever attended was chicken, shells and frenchfries
paw biscuits?
bermuda grass?

[Mr. Bloom]

Some of this is going wayyy over my head..

What's a shell?
paw biscuits?
bermuda grass?

I's jus' a hunchin' that :
shell = pasta?
bermuda grass is a type of grass that grows on runners rather than blades - popular in the south, but goes dormant in the winter
paw biscuit = ????


You Might Be From Vodilun (say it aloud) if........


I'd say Vodilum and 'bama have a lot in common!


"How's yo mama n'them?"

In the rural south, family isn't family...they're "your people" as in "what parts is yur people from?"

[NbyNW]

my husband (also a New Englander - Maine specifically) used to make fun of me for the way I said o's as in stone and thinks my mom says wush instead of wash.

No. Way. My DH is from Maine, too. They got some nerve, making fun of the way we talk.

Ayup.

[Flur]

I went to college in NJ, and we had quite a mix of people from different parts of the US. I learned that in some parts of the country, jimmies are the same as sprinkles, but in other parts jimmies are condoms! It made quite a mess when a bunch of us would go out for ice cream....

When I lived in NY and NJ people referred to New York City as "the city" as if it was the only one. Everything else was a town. This drove my family nuts. Now I'm in Minneapolis and it's "the cities", again as if they're the only ones. LOL!

The biggest regionalism from my childhood in MI was "pop". When I moved out east people would either laugh (at me, not with me) or they just wouldn't understand - "pot?", "popcorn?" I picked up "soda" pretty quickly. I've been in MN now for almost 4 years and still say soda, and no one seems to mind, even though here it's "pop".

[sundial]

paw biscuit = ????
In the rural south, family isn't family...they're "your people" as in "what parts is yur people from?"

paw biscuit= biscuit that fits in your hand :)

I thought the saying was,"Where are ya'll from? Yur not from around here, are ya? Yur from off." :D

[divingbiker]

In the small rural midwestern town where I grew up, we ate breakfast, dinner, and supper. When I went to college (same state, population was 40,000 vs. 3,000) we ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I was made to feel like a bumpkin many times when I'd talk about having dinner at lunchtime.

[sundial]

OK, that reminds me......is supper the evening meal or is dinner the evening meal? We have breakfast, dinner, and supper here. :confused:

When I used to live a little more north, we had breakfast, lunch and supper.

[Kimmyt]

When I lived in NY and NJ people referred to New York City as "the city" as if it was the only one. Everything else was a town. This drove my family nuts. Now I'm in Minneapolis and it's "the cities", again as if they're the only ones. LOL!




I think it's habit for a lot of folks that live in the direct area of a large city to call that city by a generic term instead of it's proper name. Maybe it's a more casual way of referring to it, or a way of establishing ones familiarity with it.

I grew up my entire life around Philadelphia and therefore almost always call it 'The City'. 'Hey let's go into the city for dinner' or 'do you want to see a show in the city?'

A friend of mine (who lives in the city, but isn't from there originally) made fun of me once for saying that and it kinda pissed me off.

To me, if you were referring to any city, it was Philly, because that was the closest one, being only 10-15 drive away. If you were going to NY you said New York. But, The City, was Philly.

I would imagine it'd be the same for folks living in the suburban areas of any large city.

I guess I'm saying that most people when they say 'The City' don't mean 'This is the only City, everything else is just a town'... it's just a quick and casual way of referring to 'their' city.

[Aggie_Ama]

In Texas, it's known as a "crick".

Not in my area, it is a creek.

[Eden]

No. Way. My DH is from Maine, too. They got some nerve, making fun of the way we talk.

Ayup.

so lets see here
we are both from Pittsburgh, married to Mainers and moved to Seattle - cue the twilight zone music.... (not to mention we are both rather petite)

[sundial]

Not in my area, it is a creek.

You're close to civilization. I lived out in the back 40. ;)

[OakLeaf]

Spelled "creek," pronounced "crick," the formal name on maps is "run."

[Crankin]

I can always tell when someone is not from New England, because they refer to Boston as "the city." We say "town," as in "I'm going in town for dinner." A native would never say "into town," as it seems like we abbreviate everything. So, "in town" is like going "down the Cape," or "down Maine," or (not heard much around where I live) " down the corner."
My husband says "city," which marks him as the Philadelphian he is. My NY friends call it the city, too.

As a kid, we called the evening meal supper. Lunch was lunch, but when I moved to Florida, some people called it dinner. I stopped saying supper years ago.
My kids have no accent; they speak standard American (midwest) English. When we moved to MA from AZ they both sounded like they were from Chicago, but that sort of flattened out as the years went on. The younger one started talking with a thick Boston accent from listening to friends and teachers, but we put a stop to that. He was doing it on purpose to fit in. All I know is that after moving away when I was 15 and working really hard to rid myself of that accent, I still do not pronounce "r's" at the end of words naturally. It is a forced sound. If I am angry or rushed, the accent comes out. One time, on one of my first job interviews for a teaching position in AZ, I introduced myself to the principal, shook his hand, and he looked at me and said "Cape Cod." I was like, "huh?" He had detected that whiff of accent no matter how hard I tried to get rid of it!

[Beane]

You Might Be From Vodilun (say it aloud) if........


And finally, you know you're a rhode island TE girl when you ride a hundred miles and end up leaving the state. Twice.

I have to say, having lived in the DC suburbs, Philadelphia, RI, and now Wisconsin, lil Rhody (with its lobstahs and mobstahs) has the most and wackiest sayings I've ever encountered! And with the accent many are very hard to figure out.

My favorite is definitely "pasta and gravy", especially if you wake up at 9 am to start cooking.

...such a fun place though. And i did make my mom bring a dozen donuts (from DD, not Allie's.. btw, we had a GIANT allie's donut as the cake at my 21st b-day party) across the country the last time she visited... they didn't make it very well. but hey, a squished donut is still a donut.

[Tuckervill]

We say "go to town" when we want to go to the biggest city nearby, even though we live in a town. In some cases that could mean Pine Bluff or Little Rock when we lived between the two, and now it means we have a choice of Fayetteville or Bentonville/Rogers, cuz that's where all the best shopping is. Sometimes we don't decide which town until we're in the car. (Um, 50,000 people in three of those "cities".)

I have a friend in NY state who uses "crick" for creek. I thought she was making fun of me when I first heard her say it--or "puttin' on airs", like she was now some kind of country-folk, having moved from The City. Then the more I heard it I thought she must be illiterate, because surely she can see it is spelled with two e's! Then I realized that's just how they say it up there.

I had some regional immersion today. I read a book of my son's grandmother's letters she had written to her daughter over the daughter's life. They were put together in a binder for everyone on that side after the grandmother passed. (Isn't that sweet?) The most quaint expression she used was "Myrtle's waiting." Every fourth letter had a phrase about Myrtle waiting for her baby--Grammaw's first grandchild--to be born. "Myrtle's still waiting." Just that phrase and nothing more about Myrtle or a baby. I had to divine what she meant by the dates, and then of course, the baby came and got his first mention in the letters!

Karen

[NbyNW]

so lets see here
we are both from Pittsburgh, married to Mainers and moved to Seattle - cue the twilight zone music.... (not to mention we are both rather petite)

well . . . Pittsburgh and Maine both export people (DH thinks that's part of what we have in common: industrial/extraction economy that went into decline) . . . and Seattle (still) has jobs . . . can't really explain the petite thing, though :p

[Eden]

well . . . Pittsburgh and Maine both export people (DH thinks that's part of what we have in common: industrial/extraction economy that went into decline) . . . and Seattle (still) has jobs . . . can't really explain the petite thing, though :p

I met my husband in college. Neither of us would have had a job had we moved back to his small Maine town (he's a programmer, I'm a medical photographer - neither conducive to employment in lumber or in the paper mill) and though we probably could have lived in Pittsburgh, most of my family was gone from there already and heck, I grew up there, why not experience somewhere else.

[bmccasland]

In Cajun country your grandparents most likely would be called Mawmaw and Pawpaw.
I'm not sure how all this works with the ethnographers, but my family is from north Louisiana, and I remember calling one of my greatgrandfathers Pawpaw. He was originally from Mississippi, but I can't quite remember where. Mawmaw had passed before I was born. They weren't Cajun (Acadian), but were Scotch-Irish.

Which sort of brings me to the euphamisims we use for when someone dies. We NEVER say so-and-so died. They "passed."

One of the things I've noticed is the way people pronounce the "ou" or "oa" combination, as in the word "house" or "coast". I'm not quite sure how do describe it, but the "ou" sounds more like the vowel in "ouch". And in coast, the o is more a round "oh" sound.

[sundial]

The younger one started talking with a thick Boston accent from listening to friends and teachers, but we put a stop to that.

LOL! :D

[7rider]

We say "go to town" when we want to go to the biggest city nearby, even though we live in a town.

Gloucester, Massachusetts (northeast of Boston) is on a little spit of a cape that sticks out into the Atlantic. There is a highway, Route 128, that connects it with nearby towns and the main interstate (I-95). Locals refer to going "up the line" when they plan to make the trek off-Cape (gasp! :eek:) and visit nearby Peabody, Danvers, Salem or where ever.

I grew up in Connecticut, and when I was in Massachusetts, decided to have a "tag sale" to unload some household stuff. I plastered signs all over the place - even on my car's windshield - pointing the way to my tag sale. I actually had folks show up and ask me what a "tag sale" was. In Gloucester (and MA in general), they are "yard sales." :rolleyes:

[Tuckervill]

I've been to Gloucester! Whoopie Goldberg was tending bar in a little restaurant at the pier where we went whale watching. No lie!

Karen

[malkin]

When I lived in North Carolina, people would always say "might could," as in "Would you fix the sink?" "I might could do that."

Yes! Utah folk do that "might could" (double modal construction, if you want to sound like a linguist) too!

But instead of asking "Would you fix the sink" they'd be more likely to say:
"That sink needs fixed."

[Aggie_Ama]

In Cajun country your grandparents most likely would be called Mawmaw and Pawpaw.


I have a Mammaw, but it is because my big brother couldn't get out Grandma. ;)

Both of my grandpas were Pawpaw. My husband called his Grandpa Poo-paw.

My Dad's mom is Nanny. She wanted to be called Nan because she thought she was too young to be a grandma but my brother thought she would be Nanny. :)

In the Hill Country there is a large German influence so there are Opas and Omas. Opa is really fun for kids to say it seems by watching my nieces.

[Tuckervill]

Having grown up in Chicago, but finished off in Arkansas, the only thing I ever wanted to be called as a grandmother was Gramma. You have to say it like you're from Chicago, though. Emphasis on the first syllable and a short A clipped off at the end.

NOT gram-maw, with equal emphasis on both syllables!

It's what I called my Chicago grandmother until we were teens, and then we called her Gram. My mother became Gram right away, because my Gram was gone by that time. So that left Gramma for me.

My poor Arkansas born-n-bred DIL could not understand it at all. Having never heard anyone but me say it like that, she didn't quite get it. But my son, I can tell, worked hard to get it right for their son to emulate.

Except it came out of grandson's mouth as AMA. Short A on both sides. It's really close to Oma. As I've said, it just melts me.

Karen

[Mr. Bloom]

[I]When I lived in North Carolina, people would always say "might could,"

I "might could" get used to that IF I DIDN'T HATE IT SO MUCH;):p

Silver used to be able to "might could" do anything.

I got her past that:cool:...she trained me to put the toilet seat down:rolleyes:

[colby]

When I lived in North Carolina, people would always say "might could," as in "Would you fix the sink?" "I might could do that."

Yes! Utah folk do that "might could" (double modal construction, if you want to sound like a linguist) too!

Idahoans (we call them 'hoans) do that, too. They also say "beg" instead of "bag" and "mey-sure" instead of "me-sure". (I don't exclusively work with people from Idaho, but they do seem to stand out more, since I am a Seattle girl myself)

We don't get the "oh my heck" up here in Northern Idaho, but we do have some Utah and Northern Utah (Southern Idaho) transplants that are trying their darndest to spread it ;)

I have learned that my frequent use of "totally" is apparently a Seattle thing. I didn't realize it until someone else from Seattle came to our office and we were (apparently) speaking a language entirely different from the people I work with (who are mostly from Northern Idaho and Eastern Washington), which involved a lot of "totally" and "sweet" and "awesome" among other things that I can't really remember. I felt right at home, but a coworker commented that we were in another zone entirely. It's amazing what a difference 300 miles across the state makes, especially when you start mixing in the 'hoans.

[Ciao]

another Pittsburgher here

And the world doesn't know what it's missing... Primanti's in the strip!

So, really, how many of us are originally from Pittsburgh?? It's uncanny.

[callmecrazy]

So, really, how many of us are originally from Pittsburgh?? It's uncanny.

I knew I hadn't seen any Pittsburghers in all my lurking, but there is an uncanny number of "at one time" 'burghers! I'm just the opposite, not a native but have been here half my short life.

The only striking Pittsburgh regionalism I haven't seen mentioned is the use of "slippy" instead of "slippery".

[VeloVT]

I just got back from a week in Xenia, Ohio visiting my bf's family. It was my first trip to Ohio save the Cincinnati airport (which is actually in Kentucky). A few things I noticed:

1) "fire plug". This is used to refer to a fire hydrant. I was puzzled the first time or two I heard this.

2) Dropping the infinitive. As in, "the house needs painted" or "the dog needs fed" rather than "the house needs to be painted" or "the dog needs to be fed."

3) "warsh, warsh, warsh."

and of course, everyone calls soda "pop."

I had fun :D. Xenia is "the bicycle capital of the midwest", at least according to a water tower on the outskirts of town. We couldn't quite figure out why -- maybe some of you Ohio gals can help -- but there are hundreds of miles of paved bike trails in Ohio (pretty cool!) and there is a hub (a beautiful old train station with restrooms, maps, etc) for the trails in Xenia.

[beccaB]

Now in Michigan for the last 20 years, origionally from the south- took some getting used to people calling a carbonated beverage "pop"- I always called it "soda."
People in Michigan talk weird, even my own children who were born here! They do something funny to the vowels, making them all nasally.
Try listening to a local choir that hasn't worked on diction!