Geographical phrases ?

[Sputterduck]

Lived on LI for 20 years.

 

You do have to go to the bathroom, you have to 'make'. :001_huh:

 

In LI, I stood on line. In Oregon, I stand in line.

 

I opened lights as well.

 

I honestly cannot think of any good PNW regionalisms. I guess I haven't been back long enough. :D

 

You make... what? You just say, "I have to make."??

 

These things are fascinating. :tongue_smilie:

[LibraryLover]

The header was driving me bonkers...I kept trying to think of geographical phrases..."Go tell it on the mountain", "The earth moved when he looked at me", or, "He lives in Timbuktu" etc. I even wondered if "Come hell or high water" would count. When I opened and read it, I was all, like, it's so totally about wicked cool regionalisms.

Edited May 24, 2011 by LibraryLover

[newlifemom]

The header was driving me bonkers...I kept trying to think of geographical phrases..."Go tell it on the mountain", "The earth moved when he looked at me", or, "He lives in Timbuktu" etc. I even wondered if "Come hell or high water" would count. When I opened and read it, I was all, like, it's so totally about wicked cool regionalisms.

 

I think I love you. :lol:

[rootsnwings]

The header was driving me bonkers...I kept trying to think of geographical phrases..."Go tell it on the mountain", "The earth moved when he looked at me", or, "He lives in Timbuktu" etc. I even wondered if "Come hell or high water" would count. When I opened and read it, I was all, like, it's so totally about wicked cool regionalisms.

 

:lol::lol::lol:

[newlifemom]

You make... what? You just say, "I have to make."??

 

These things are fascinating. :tongue_smilie:

 

Yep! The first time it happened to me, [i was a nanny] I kept saying, "what do you have to make?" Thankfully she was old enough not to have an accident. :D

[Sputterduck]

Yep! The first time it happened to me, [i was a nanny] I kept saying, "what do you have to make?" Thankfully she was old enough not to have an accident. :D

 

I am so going to use that one and giggle inside when people look at me weird.

[Liz CA]

Rosie, this thread must be especially fun for you and other Aussies. :001_smile:

You should chime in and let us try to translate...

[Liz CA]

Used to have to contact people in TX a lot for work and someone there was "fixin' to go to the post office because I ran the store here and the post office."

I was fascinated by the "fixin" part.

[Liz CA]

"What's wanted here is..." Don't know where it originated...

[anabelneri]

I've lived in a variety of locations around the U.S....

 

From my time in NC I still use y'all and coke (to mean soda).

 

I had a friend in high school who was from some corner of PA (I think), and his family used "y'uns" instead of y'all. Weirdest thing I ever heard.

 

In MN folks like to "pull the door to" instead of closing the door. "Sweetie, will you pull the door to when you leave?" They use "sure" more than I've seen elsewhere too. There also seemed to be a lot of "oh, yah" going around, with two different meanings.

Person A: "It sure is bright and sunny out today."

Person B: "Oh, yah. It sure is nice, isn't it?"

Person A: "Oh, yah."

Person B: "Oh, yah know, I was thinkin' some ice cream sure would be good"

Person A: "Oh, yah, that does sound good."

Oh, and they also like "you know".

Person B: "You know, I heard it was supposed to stay sunny all week."

Person A: "Oh, yah, sure, I saw that on the news, you know."

 

Children play "Duck duck gray duck" in MN instead of "Duck duck goose". I'm told that an area of ND also has Duck duck gray duck.

 

For dinner, they'll often eat some form of "hot dish" which elsewhere would be known as a casserole. In MN, the casserole is the pan in which you cook hot dish. The also serve bars -- any rectangular dessert may be referred to as a bar. And then there's the whole midwestern "salad" thing. The term "salad" might refer to something a raw green leafy dish (with lettuce or spinach, served with a dressing), but it is just as likely to mean a concoction involving jello, cool whip, whipped cream, or pudding mix. Usually there is some sort of fruit, but not always. So, for example, at my husband's paternal grandparents' house they'll serve "green salad" at holidays, made of cool whip, pistachio pudding, and crushed pineapple. At his maternal grandparents' house, their "green salad" is the same except that it is made with cottage cheese instead of cool whip. One of my favorite examples of a "salad" I encountered in MN was "Snickers salad", make of chopped apples, chopped Snickers bars, and cool whip.

 

Now we're in CA, and there are some different things here too, but since almost everyone in the area is from somewhere else it's hard to pin down regional differences. Folks near the coast seem to use "wicked" more than the rest of us. There is also a lot of the word "ginormous". The other oddity here is that internet places are real. When someone wants to go to AOL, it's down the street. People go to or by Google, eBay, Yahoo, and PayPal all the time too. It was really unnerving at first. "Go up the street, and turn right at eBay. The store will be on your left."

 

:)

Edited May 24, 2011 by anabelneri
forgot something

[Sputterduck]

The other oddity here is that internet places are real. When someone wants to go to AOL, it's down the street. People go to Google, eBay, Yahoo, and PayPal all the time too. It was really unnerving at first.

 

What do you mean?

[Rosie_0801]

Rosie, this thread must be especially fun for you and other Aussies. :001_smile:

You should chime in and let us try to translate...

 

Dunno what there is left to say. You already know about budgie smugglers.

 

:tongue_smilie:

Rosie

[SunD]

I know my N'Orleans talk when I hear it! My husband's family is there and I now consider it a second home. We go several times a year.

 

 

So he's explained exactly what color K&B purple is, right? Tell him I asked how's his mom 'n' dem doin'. :001_smile:

 

Rosenberg's is the best way to find a New Orleanian in a crowd. Yell "Rosenberg's, Rosenberg's!" And if there are enough people there, someone will yell "1825 Tulane!"

[kolamum]

Apparently only Australians say "Yeah, no."

Rosie

 

:lol: I only say it sarcastically.. as in, "Yeah.. NO!" ;)

 

well I say G'Day all the time for hello. So do most of the people in the area where I live.

 

I'm with you, it's more touristy to say that in our neck of the woods too.. I love it when people find out we live in Australia and write us notes or things and they say, "G'day... x family.." we kinda giggle ourselves silly over it.

 

I will say the one that gets me the most is referring to my wallet as a purse and my purse as a handbag. My dh and mil are wicked for doing that to me. Drives me nutters. I'm trying to decide if it's my mil's English background coming through or not.

 

I will say that playing Cludeo and saying spammer still cracks me up. Every Time. :D

[sassenach]

Hey ma heart, how's ya mom 'n' dem? Where y'all stayin' at? I'm fixin' to go down da road and make groceries. I see ya brake tag on ya K&B purple car's expired, ya best go across the neutral ground and get a new one. Come by my house later; we're havin' po boys and I know you like yours dressed.

 

If that makes any sense at all, you can probably guess where I'm posting from. :D

 

Yep! We lived there for a year and I could only mostly understand the super thick Cajuns by the time we left.

[QueenCat]

I'm not from here. It took me awhile to get accustomed to hearing: fixin' t' ... as in "I'm fixin' t'eat this here steak."

 

And that's not "to eat" it's said 'teat' as in the animal body part LOL.

 

:iagree: When we first moved to the South, I almost choked when I heard someone of reasonable intelligence say "fixin". I'm used to it now.

[QueenCat]

I am from the town of Marietta, Georgia. There is a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant near the center of town that has a very tall (30-40 feet?) chicken. See it here. It is a local landmark and all directions are given with reference to "the big chicken" - as in go to the big chicken and turn right. If you don't know where the big chicken is you will never find anything.

 

Even on the news, you hear references to "the big chicken" when they're explaining where something happened.

[jasar31629]

Not sure if it's been said but up here in MN it's a common phrase to refer to a group of people as guys. As in 'you guys enjoying yourselves'. We were corrected numerous times- quite vehemently by a group of church ladies once when waiting tables in college down in TX.

[jasar31629]

I've lived in a variety of locations around the U.S....

 

From my time in NC I still use y'all and coke (to mean soda).

 

I had a friend in high school who was from some corner of PA (I think), and his family used "y'uns" instead of y'all. Weirdest thing I ever heard.

 

In MN folks like to "pull the door to" instead of closing the door. "Sweetie, will you pull the door to when you leave?" They use "sure" more than I've seen elsewhere too. There also seemed to be a lot of "oh, yah" going around, with two different meanings.

Person A: "It sure is bright and sunny out today."

Person B: "Oh, yah. It sure is nice, isn't it?"

Person A: "Oh, yah."

Person B: "Oh, yah know, I was thinkin' some ice cream sure would be good"

Person A: "Oh, yah, that does sound good."

Oh, and they also like "you know".

Person B: "You know, I heard it was supposed to stay sunny all week."

Person A: "Oh, yah, sure, I saw that on the news, you know."

 

Children play "Duck duck gray duck" in MN instead of "Duck duck goose". I'm told that an area of ND also has Duck duck gray duck.

 

For dinner, they'll often eat some form of "hot dish" which elsewhere would be known as a casserole. In MN, the casserole is the pan in which you cook hot dish. The also serve bars -- any rectangular dessert may be referred to as a bar. And then there's the whole midwestern "salad" thing. The term "salad" might refer to something a raw green leafy dish (with lettuce or spinach, served with a dressing), but it is just as likely to mean a concoction involving jello, cool whip, whipped cream, or pudding mix. Usually there is some sort of fruit, but not always. So, for example, at my husband's paternal grandparents' house they'll serve "green salad" at holidays, made of cool whip, pistachio pudding, and crushed pineapple. At his maternal grandparents' house, their "green salad" is the same except that it is made with cottage cheese instead of cool whip. One of my favorite examples of a "salad" I encountered in MN was "Snickers salad", make of chopped apples, chopped Snickers bars, and cool whip.

 

Now we're in CA, and there are some different things here too, but since almost everyone in the area is from somewhere else it's hard to pin down regional differences. Folks near the coast seem to use "wicked" more than the rest of us. There is also a lot of the word "ginormous". The other oddity here is that internet places are real. When someone wants to go to AOL, it's down the street. People go to or by Google, eBay, Yahoo, and PayPal all the time too. It was really unnerving at first. "Go up the street, and turn right at eBay. The store will be on your left."

 

:)

 

Lol- a lot of it rings true! Pop, duck-duck-grey-duck, hot dish. You know punctuating every sentence :tongue_smilie: Never heard of pull the door.

 

We didn't hear our accent until we went to TX and came back up- then it was quite noticeable!

[SquirrellyMama]

Not sure if it's been said but up here in MN it's a common phrase to refer to a group of people as guys. As in 'you guys enjoying yourselves'. We were corrected numerous times- quite vehemently by a group of church ladies once when waiting tables in college down in TX.

 

I say "you guys". I also use "You know" in almost every sentence.

 

You know, I was thinking we should go out to eat.

 

Kelly

[Ginevra]

I'm from South Jersey, where we say "down the shore" as in "We're going down the shore this weekend" which means, "We're going to the beach this weekend."

 

In Maryland, it's "Downy ocean." As in, "We're goin' downy ocean, hon." Not that I say it that way. :D

 

Adding "hon" is a big regionalism, but it's not used much in my circle.

[Ginevra]

 

Asking for directions in RI? Then you had better brush up on all of the old buildings that burnt down YEARS ago, cause that's what we use as landmarks when giving directions.

 

" Yeah, you just go pass that fire station up the street where the old mill used to be that burned down 5 years ago. Then you take a right at the old CVS they tore down 3 years ago. Follow that road until you get to the statue of the dog they replaced with a garden and take that street until you reach the old hardware store that closed and relocated 1 year ago."

 

But I love my state! :tongue_smilie:

 

My mom gives directions this way and it drives me out of my brain! She starts talking about "that bank there on the corner that used to be a bakery" and I'm just...give me a street name, mom, a direction, mile markers...:confused:

[Melissa in NC]

I have picked up a few over the years of moving around.

 

Missouri was fun. In St Louis, people ask, "Where'd you go to high school?" in a sing song manner. The "or" is pronounced "ar" corn=karn north=narth fork=fark. battery=batt rey.

 

Maryland pronounces wash as warsh.

 

In North Carolina, I learned the phrase "do for". He has someone do for him. (He has a house keeper.)

 

I am sure I have more but I only realize them when people comment about my very mixed up accent. LOL.

[Melissa in NC]

My mom gives directions this way and it drives me out of my brain! She starts talking about "that bank there on the corner that used to be a bakery" and I'm just...give me a street name, mom, a direction, mile markers...:confused:

 

You know where the old Walmart use to be....

 

Uh, no clue. LOL.

[Mejane]

I've lived in both NY and CT, and whenever someone says they're 'going into the city', it means New York City. Doesn't matter if there's another city nearby, you know they mean NYC.

[Maverick_Mom]

THANKS! :D

 

And HA! I must live close to where Maverick_Mom grew up because I identify with nearly all her posts. :)

 

:lol:

 

I spent over ten years in northern Alabama. (And I still miss it, even though I haven't been back in 30 years!)

[QueenCat]

Maryland pronounces wash as warsh.

 

I grew up in Central Maryland... Wash is how everyone in that part of MD says it, unless they've changed over the years....