Regional slang and phrases

[zoebartlett]

I''m getting a kick out of reading the "grammatical nightmares" thread that Deco started! It reminded me of some regional slang and phrases that are out there.

What do you notice in your area?

I''m from New England and "wicked" was popular a while back. I heard that it originated in RI but that could just be a rumor. Who knows?

For some reason, a popular phrase I used to hear often was "down cellar." This means "in the basement." I hate hearing "down cellar!" It''s a big pet peeve!

 

[Kaleigh]

Where are you going this summer?? Down the shore. That''s a biggie in my area. I''m sure I''ll think of some more.... Fun thread!!

 

[zoebartlett]

Date: 11/15/2007 9:34:53 PM
Author: Kaleigh
Where are you going this summer?? Down the shore. That''s a biggie in my area. I''m sure I''ll think of some more.... Fun thread!!

Not "to the beach?"

I say dinner, not supper.

I say basement, not cellar.

I say beach, not shore (In my state, the beach area is known as the seacoast. I used to live on the seacoast, meaning thea area of the state, not the actual beach.)

I hate it when people try to imitate how people from Massachusetts and Maine speak. It''s so fake. I think it''s funny that there seems to be two accents in MA. One is more refined, like the Kennedy''s (for example, pronouncing "can''t" as "caunt"), while the other one sounds almost like a NY accent.

NH has somewhat of a variety too. I don''t think I have an accent at all. My FI''s mom however (who was also born and raised in NH, same as me) has the latter accent I mentioned above. It drives me nuts.

 

[Lynn B]

OK, Pittsburghese here... we say "YOU''NS" (sp???!)

As in, "Are you''ns comin'' over tonight?" (It''s generally spoken as one syllable, though, sounds kind of like, "yunz".) I know, I know... it''s dreadful and I''m not proud of it!!!

 

[AGBF]

Date: 11/15/2007 9:30:38 PM
Author:zoebartlett

I''m from New England and ''wicked'' was popular a while back. I heard that it originated in RI but that could just be a rumor. Who knows?

I always thought that "wicked good" came from Maine. Maybe because I encountered it on summer vacations there.

Deb

 

[Dee*Jay]

Having grown up in Pittsburgh this is the one that always got me: YOU'NZ

Contraction of You and Ones, Similar in usage and definition to y'all, but local to south-western Pennsylvania, including Pittsburgh.
Alternate spellings:
younze
younz
yins
yinz
youn'z
Are you'nz gonna ride rollercoasters at Kennywood?


ETA: LOL, maybe we were neighbors or something!

 

[basil]

I was born and raised in MA. Until now, I didn''t really realize that "down cellar" was a regional thing? I''m pretty sure I would say "put the cat down cellar before we go out" or somesuch.

The other one I do use is "bubbler" for a water fountain.

Otherwise, I''ve escaped without an accent - I no longer live in New England and people always comment on my lack of accent.

 

[zoebartlett]

Basil, I think it''s interesting that people from the same regional area say things differently. I''ve heard "bubbler" (or "water cooler") but I say "water fountain."

 

[Elmorton]

Ooooh, I just love this topic! Dialectal variations are so interesting.

Central IL: Supper/Dinner
Dinner=largest meal of the day, Supper=the meal you''re having in the evening
"Crick" instead of "creek"
I went to school with a LOT of Chicagoans, and they always said "freeway" when I said "interstate."

Rrrrrg, I''m drawing blanks now. I''ll try to think of some more of our weird midwesternisms! My grandma has a very "Missouri" dialect, so I''m sure I''ll have some excellent ones after Thanksgiving.

 

[zoebartlett]

I know Californians say "freeway" but we use "highway" in the northeast.

 

[surfgirl]

I never could understand two issues:

1. Submarine (subs) sandwiches vs. Grinders vs. Hoagies
Why, for the love of god, does there need to be THREE names for the same sandwich, depending on where one lives?!

2. Soda, pop, sodapop
Again, cant we all just call it one name??

As for regional slang...My grandfather lived in Queens and always said:

"ruff" (roof)
"terlit" (toilet)

One thing that IS a pet peeve of mine since I travel a lot is WHY cant people all call cities by the same freak''in NAME? And why (sorry British PSers) do the Brits always bastardize names and mispronounce them? Drives me batty! For example, If the Italians call their country "Italia" then why cant we all call it that? Why cant we call Fiernze instead of Florence? I mean, if the name is Fierenze, I can say that just fine. Where did they get Bangkok from "Krungtep"?! I like when countries like China and India start taking back the original names from their cities...Like Beijing instead of the old anglo Peking. Or Mumbai instead of Bombay...It''s just not that difficult to say the name of a foreign country/city but the name the native people call it. Why not call Prague Praha, as they call it there? I dont get it at all and it drives me batty.

 

[Haven]

I''m a Chicagoan and I say "highway"--I''ve never heard anyone say "freeway" or "interstate"--how interesting!

Chicagoans say "pop" instead of "soda" (my best friend''s father is from Texas and he calls all soda/pop "coke"--is that a Texas thing?)
"Gym shoes" instead of "sneakers" or "tennis shoes"
"Sprinkles" instead of "jimmies"
"Water fountain" instead of "bubbler" (Bubbler sounds so lovely, though!)
"gaper''s block" instead of "rubbernecking"
Most of our homes have "front rooms" instead of, well, I''m not sure what you call them elsewhere--sitting rooms? Parlors?
When I was in high school we used to say "Sara said ''holy cow!'' and I was like ''whatever!'' and she was like ''no way!''" My friends from California replaced the "I was like" and "she was like" with "I was all" and "she was all". Regional? Perhaps. Both equally irritating? Absolutely!

I''m sure there''s much more but I can''t think of anything right now.

This last bit really has nothing to do with language, but we Chicagoans take food quite seriously. Most Chicagoans are horrified to see anyone put ketchup on a hotdog. Saurkraut, mustard, celery salt, pickles, tomatoes--everything but ketchup. And, of course, the only pizza worth eating is Chicago deep dish.

Love this thread, so interesting.

 

[Elmorton]

JIMMIES! I couldn''t remember what the alternate for sprinkles was....one of my students a semester ago was from Wisconsin and when we had this convo in class, we were all FLOORED that people in Wisc. actually called sprinkles "JIMMIES!" Love that one. Ughhhh and how could I forget about the pop/soda debate (and I suppose we can add "Coke" to that - if you''re down south and order a coke, your waiter will say "what kind?").

My parents used to live in Ohio...where they lived, the side of the road was the "burm" (sp?), where here it''s the "shoulder."

 

[zoebartlett]

Date: 11/15/2007 10:36:49 PM
Author: Haven
I''m a Chicagoan and I say ''highway''--I''ve never heard anyone say ''freeway'' or ''interstate''--how interesting!

Chicagoans say ''pop'' instead of ''soda'' (my best friend''s father is from Texas and he calls all soda/pop ''coke''--is that a Texas thing?)
''Gym shoes'' instead of ''sneakers'' or ''tennis shoes''
''Sprinkles'' instead of ''jimmies''
''Water fountain'' instead of ''bubbler'' (Bubbler sounds so lovely, though!)
''gaper''s block'' instead of ''rubbernecking''
Most of our homes have ''front rooms'' instead of, well, I''m not sure what you call them elsewhere--sitting rooms? Parlors?
When I was in high school we used to say ''Sara said ''holy cow!'' and I was like ''whatever!'' and she was like ''no way!'''' My friends from California replaced the ''I was like'' and ''she was like'' with ''I was all'' and ''she was all''. Regional? Perhaps. Both equally irritating? Absolutely!

I''m sure there''s much more but I can''t think of anything right now.

This last bit really has nothing to do with language, but we Chicagoans take food quite seriously. Most Chicagoans are horrified to see anyone put ketchup on a hotdog. Saurkraut, mustard, celery salt, pickles, tomatoes--everything but ketchup. And, of course, the only pizza worth eating is Chicago deep dish.

Love this thread, so interesting.

Haven, I''ve never heard of "gaper''s block."

I STILL say "I was like..." and although it bugs me, I can''t help it. When I try to correct myself and speak properly (in that specific example), I get tongue tied.

I''m a ketchup lovin'' hot dog gal. I don''t think I''ve ever had saurkraut, although I''d love to try it.

I have to say, I''m not a huge fan of the deep dish pizza. Give me a piece of thin crust (slightly crispy please, not too soggy or saggy) any day, please.

Okay, back on topic...

 

[shigidigi]

This thread is awesome!

I am from Charlotte but grew up in Florida and we always said "Interstate" and only said Highway if it was just that- a smaller major road- weird! I do live in San Francisco now and although I dont have a southern accent, people can always tell that I''m not from here because I dont say "freeway". But I guess because there are so many toll roads in this state they need to differentiate!!

Growing up in the south we always said things like "cut" or "mash" instead of "turn"- for instance, "Can you cut up the volume?" or "Mash the light switch on your way out?"

My grandma is from Nashville and she says "warsh" instead of wash and "drawl" instead of drawer. She''s so cute! Oh and she also says "wrastle" instead of wrestle

 

[zoebartlett]

Jimmies is used in NH too, although I rebel and say "sprinkles." Jimmies just makes no sense to me... I''m the only one in my family who does that though.

 

[Haven]

Date: 11/15/2007 10:51:26 PM
Author: zoebartlett

Date: 11/15/2007 10:36:49 PM

I have to say, I''m not a huge fan of the deep dish pizza. Give me a piece of thin crust (slightly crispy please, not too soggy or saggy) any day, please.

Okay, back on topic...

NO! You don''t like deep dish pizza? I don''t believe it!

If there wasn''t a rule against sharing addresses on PS, I would get yours and FedEx a Lou Malnati''s deep dish cheese and buttercrust pizza right now. (I''m not kidding--they actually have a shipping service for the pizza because it is THAT good--we must have access to it anywhere in the continental United States.)

Okay, sorry, threadjack over. Sigh.

 

[Munchkin]

Fun thread!

I'm another MA product.

I was raised to call the basement the cellar, an aunt an ahnt, carbonated beverages soda, jimmies are called jimmies

, a raincoat is a slicker, I run in sneakers, I carry a purse and we drive on highways. In my parents' home, khakis and car keys are pronounced almost identically.

My NY husband drives on parkways, eats sprinkles, does his laundry in the basement and hugs his ants (aunts) at holidays. I realized recently that I refer to all his aunts as ants and mine as ahnts. I think it is simply a matter of always hearing them referred to as such.

I had an apples and oranges conversation in grad school. I had just moved to CT where the blue laws are different and was discussing that I wasn't able to get to the package store (packie) before it closed. My new friend couldn't on earth figure out why I was so eager to mail something on a Saturday night. Two days later she realized I meant a liquor store!

I watched a friend in college search for a churchkey to open her beer. Apparently, that's what bottle openers are called in Austin?


ETA: Because I am stubborn and a giant dork, I actually looked up the origin of Jimmies while bickering with my husband. Apparently, its origin isn't clear, but it is thought to be a bastardization (word?) of "jim-jams" which were small, sugary candies.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Another Pittsburgh one: gum band instead of rubber bands. The first time I said that in Chicago no one knew what the hell I was talking about, LOL.

Oh and also, during the Pittsburgh winters it gets "slippy" out on the roads, not "slippery."

BTW, not to offend every single hot dog lover, but I like BOTH ketchup and saurkraut on my dogs!

 

[mrssalvo]

i grew up in ohio where you have a grocery *cart*. here in TN the local''s call them *buggies*.

 

[Kaleigh]

Date: 11/15/2007 10:24:09 PM
Author: surfgirl
I never could understand two issues:

1. Submarine (subs) sandwiches vs. Grinders vs. Hoagies
Why, for the love of god, does there need to be THREE names for the same sandwich, depending on where one lives?!

2. Soda, pop, sodapop
Again, cant we all just call it one name??

As for regional slang...My grandfather lived in Queens and always said:

''ruff'' (roof)
''terlit'' (toilet)

One thing that IS a pet peeve of mine since I travel a lot is WHY cant people all call cities by the same freak''in NAME? And why (sorry British PSers) do the Brits always bastardize names and mispronounce them? Drives me batty! For example, If the Italians call their country ''Italia'' then why cant we all call it that? Why cant we call Fiernze instead of Florence? I mean, if the name is Fierenze, I can say that just fine. Where did they get Bangkok from ''Krungtep''?! I like when countries like China and India start taking back the original names from their cities...Like Beijing instead of the old anglo Peking. Or Mumbai instead of Bombay...It''s just not that difficult to say the name of a foreign country/city but the name the native people call it. Why not call Prague Praha, as they call it there? I dont get it at all and it drives me batty.

I agree, it''s a hoagie here. If I go West or South they call it a Sub, as in Submarine, so silly.

 

[luckystar112]

Growing up in Maine, I had no idea that "wicked" was slang until I moved away and people started looking at me funny.
I still say it all the time, and FI (who has lived in the south his whole life) says it now too.

I also used to say things like "yes sa" and "no sa" but I don't anymore. My whole family has a very thick Maine accent, but somehow I don't. I kind of wish I did! FI HATES the accent, and actually told me that he probably wouldn't have dated me if I had it! I don't know where it went...but I'm assuming I lost it in high school, because even though the town was one over from where I grew up, it was very affluent and people didn't really have an accent there.

Oh...I also wanted to add that in Maine we call subs "Italians". We label them by meat...ham italian, salami italian, etc.

 

[iheartscience]

Fun thread! I really like regional pronunciations, too. Like coo-pon vs. cue-pon. I say coo-pon, my fiance says cue-pon. Or Toos-day vs. Tyous-day. I say Toos-day, my fiance says Tyous-day. And he calls the grocery store the grocery, and I call it the grocery store! Funny. What else...washcloth vs. washrag...I''m cloth, he''s rag. Plus he says grill almost like grrl...I love to tease him about that one!

Oh, and I used to always hate it when my neighbor friend''s mom would say warsh instead of wash. I always wanted to say "THERE''S NO R IN WASH!" but of course I never did.

 

[luckystar112]

Ooh...I thought of another one.

Everyone in Maine calls hamburger (as in the meat, not the burger) "Hamburg" like the country.
For instance, FI will be like, "How about we make burgers tonight?" and I''ll say, "Okay. I''ll run to the store and pick up some hamburg". LOL. He makes fun of me every time. He''s like IT''S NOT A COUNTRY.

 

[pennquaker09]

I''m from Alabama and I do my best to hide it. *hangs head in shame*

 

[Kaleigh]

Date: 11/15/2007 11:54:40 PM
Author: pennquaker09
I'm from Alabama and I do my best to hide it. *hangs head in shame*

Since you are here, as in outside of Philly what phrases have you noticed?? What is slang in Alabama?? I think it's fun to learn regional phrases.

 

[somethingshiny]

I live in central Illinois.

Around these parts we say "these parts" a lot.

coon instead of raccoon
possum instead of Opossum
crick instead of creek
crawfish instead of crayfish or crawdad (the TX preference)

soda
sandwich instead of hogie, sub, grinder (Unless you''re going to Subway)
ruff instead of roof (another irritation of mine)
Route rhymes with out
Interstate is the preferred term over freeway, although we usually just go with "I" like "I-80"
THE Walmart is a big one
buns instead of dinner rolls
dinner is lunch
supper is evening
butt of bread instead of crust of bread

Any fish is specified. A restaurant doesn''t have "Fish Friday", it has "Cod Friday" or "Snapper Friday", etc.

Many people here say "come BY my house" instead of "come TO my house". (I hate that.)

Very few people here know what a brisket is. (one of my favs from the South)

We have a hootenanny.

We judge distance by miles not minutes.


OH, and so many people think they can speak Spanish. Someone will be saying they''re broke and say they have "de nada."

In Texas (where I lived for sometime)

coke instead of soda
fish encompasses anything that swims
fixin'' to
y''all
yonder

That''s all I can think of for now.

 

[Po10472]

It would be a really boring world if everyone spoke the same and pronounced the same words. I love hearing different dialects and its important that our identity is preserved in our tone and language.

Surf - what do you mean about the British bastardizing words - can you give me an example?

 

[Selkie]

Anyone want a frappe (pronounced "FRAP") with their sub?

Luckystar, I get the same mocking when I talk about "hamburg" too. I use it for both raw ground beef and the cooked patty. DH apparently never heard it used for raw meat before I came along.

One thing I've always wondered about is how regional these two foods are. I grew up with them in eastern MA, and they're wicked awesome

:
lime-rickeys (a drink)
joe-froggers (cookies)

Anyone heard of them?

 

[door knob solitaire]

I wanna play too, this has been a fun read...I have heard all of these but usually stop in my steps and scratch my head...I don't have any phrases or slang to add...but word play. I am the bold choice below.

Sofa, Divan, Couch
ottoman, footstool, haddock
Garbage can, trash can, rubbage bin
Coke*, soda, sodee pop
dressing, stuffing
Toilet, commode (mother), stool (mil)
Garage, gaar-age
Washington, warshington
Ketchup...Catsup
Series...serial (as in tv shows)
washcloth, wash rag (I HATE this term...I mean I hate it!!)
basket, cart, buggie

I can't think of many more. But once Hub bub and I were invited to the family meal on Christmas Day-referred to as Christmas Dinner. It was my mil who was the host. For weeks we planned what and who would bring this or that, but never discussed the acutal time. The morning of I got up late showered put hair in curlers was planning a formal updo for later...the phone rang it was about 10:45am...ok...where are you? In my kitchen! No I mean you should be here. Ha ha ha, was my reply, my hair is in curlers I have no makeup on...why would I want to be there? We are holding Christmas Dinner until you get here...I said well...you just keep holding you just keep holding for another 5 or so hours...until Dinner. She said, DINNER IS NOW! I said it isn't even brunch, or lunch time yet whatta ya mean dinner?

Well, come to find out on special days a special meal is served at 11:00 am and is called Dinner. Alrighty then! We missed it.

*Oh I am from the south and as a previous poster added...you go out for a coke. Lets get a coke. Want a coke? You can order anything...not a soda...or pop. Hubby asks for a sodee pop-what he means is water. That is all he drinks.

DKS

Munchkin- I screamed in delight with your comparison of car keys! That was priceless wording!