... and other places it's a "whistle pig."Quote:
Originally Posted by OakLeaf
Printable View
... and other places it's a "whistle pig."Quote:
Originally Posted by OakLeaf
Idaho and Utah may as well be the same............Quote:
Originally Posted by yellow
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!
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.
Wackjacky1- I have lived in Texas all my life and I have never heard a 7-11 called "icehouse"!
Well it seems I'm the only one who remains unaffiliated. :DQuote:
Originally Posted by zencentury
OK, here goes with our regionalisms:
you'ns
Coke--used for any soft drink
whichadidja
'muda gra--bermuda grass
paw biscuits
carnies--carnival workers
"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
momnem--my mother and her peers :D
Karen, I noticed how so many say mama around here. Another southern thing wouldn't you say?
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
I'm not sure which is the regionalism:
in AZ its an arroyo - CO its a wash - from wikipedia, dry creek bed.
In Texas, it's known as a "crick".Quote:
Originally Posted by coyote
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.
In South Carolina, it's a gulley
Some of this is going wayyy over my head..
What's a shell?paw biscuits?Quote:
The meal at every wedding you've ever attended was chicken, shells and frenchfries
bermuda grass?
I's jus' a hunchin' that :Quote:
Originally Posted by crazycanuck
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 = ????
I'd say Vodilum and 'bama have a lot in common!Quote:
Originally Posted by indigoiis
In the rural south, family isn't family...they're "your people" as in "what parts is yur people from?"Quote:
Originally Posted by Tuckervill
No. Way. My DH is from Maine, too. They got some nerve, making fun of the way we talk.Quote:
Originally Posted by Eden
Ayup.
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".
paw biscuit= biscuit that fits in your hand :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. Silver
I thought the saying was,"Where are ya'll from? Yur not from around here, are ya? Yur from off." :D
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.
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.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flur
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.
Not in my area, it is a creek.Quote:
Originally Posted by sundial
so lets see hereQuote:
Originally Posted by jocelynlf
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)
You're close to civilization. I lived out in the back 40. ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Aggie_Ama
Spelled "creek," pronounced "crick," the formal name on maps is "run."
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!
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by indigoiis
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.
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
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 :pQuote:
Originally Posted by Eden
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by jocelynlf
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.
LOL! :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Crankin
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tuckervill
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:
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
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."
I have a Mammaw, but it is because my big brother couldn't get out Grandma. ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by bmccasland
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.
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
I "might could" get used to that IF I DIDN'T HATE IT SO MUCH;):pQuote:
Originally Posted by malkin
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:
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)Quote:
Originally Posted by malkin
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.
And the world doesn't know what it's missing... Primanti's in the strip!Quote:
Originally Posted by Eden
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.Quote:
So, really, how many of us are originally from Pittsburgh?? It's uncanny.
The only striking Pittsburgh regionalism I haven't seen mentioned is the use of "slippy" instead of "slippery".