Regional slang and phrases

[Mara]

i don't even really know what is californian, because i have never lived anywhere else!! except for the excessive use of 'like' that is.

but i do hear some funny phrases or words from people who are from outside of CA. of course right now i can't remember any of them...but these three.

pop for soda
pocketbook for purse or bag
dungarees for jeans

my ex from boston all said those three and i'd have to laugh every time!! they sounded so odd...and we were together for years. greg is from the NJ and PA area and he doesn't say any of the same things my ex did, or have any 'slang' that is different from anyone here. he says Boston is different, whatever that means!

i also have heard funny really unique phrases from friends outside of california, mostly from east coasters and southerners.

 

[Jewels305]

Date: 11/15/2007 9:55:42 PM
Author: 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.

Definitely agreed. I think my accent is more Kennedy-esque than NY sounding. I think the difference between the 2 can best be seen when comparing the accents of Senator Ted Kennedy and Mayor Tom Menino.

I''m from MA and there are some words that I say that don''t pronounce the R and some that I do. I can drop the Boston accent in order to be professional, but if I''m talking with maily, friends or if I''m *wicked* (hehe) pissed off there are no Rs except the ones that begin a word!

Just tonight I asked someone if they were "Heading out to the ''Packie'' " ~ Going to the liquor store

When telling someone that you made a U-turn you say, "I banged a u-ey."

I love to eat clam "chowdah" while I am "down the Cape" during the summer. (actually I would like some right now!)

I''m one of those people that ZoeBartlett can''t stand because I do say "down cellar" instead of basement, but cellar is one of those words that I do always pronounce the R.

My boyfriend and I are both from the Boston area, and the only thing that we have a different name for is the TV remote control. He calls it a "remote" and I call it a "clicker" haha. I don''t know why we call it different things, and I don''t know if either is more of a MA thing or from some where else. Maybe someone else knows??

If I think of more MA things, I will post them!

 

[door knob solitaire]

Can anyone explain why some say...

She is in hospital

instead of... She is in THE hospital

I notice this alot in BBC television series. Not sure if this is a proper English practice...or if they are lazy.

Or I am going to the mall, you want to come with?

Instead of you want to come with me?

Am I just a uneducated boob? (ugh...it is ok if you don''t answer that one)

DKS

 

[Jewels305]

Date: 11/16/2007 12:21:55 AM
Author: 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?

Best Lime Rickeys are at Brighams!!

 

[Selkie]

Awww, Brighams! That''s where my Nanny always took me for dinner when I stayed with her. Or Friendly''s.

 

[Po10472]

Date: 11/16/2007 12:39:09 AM
Author: door knob solitaire
Can anyone explain why some say...

She is in hospital

instead of... She is in THE hospital

I notice this alot in BBC television series. Not sure if this is a proper English practice...or if they are lazy.

Or I am going to the mall, you want to come with?

Instead of you want to come with me?

Am I just a uneducated boob? (ugh...it is ok if you don''t answer that one)

DKS

''In hospital'' is the expression we use in the UK when people have been hospitalised. In the hospital could mean they are visiting or working in the hospital, it just depends on the situation and locality. It''s not lazy.

What I find interesting is why US english has changed the original spelling of certain words for example, colour to color, why is this?

 

[surfgirl]

Date: 11/16/2007 12:16:02 AM
Author: 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?

Po, for example, I used to live in Botswana and the capital is Gaborone - which is pronounced with the "G" like an "H" so it sounds like Habarone. But all the Brits always called it Gaboroney with a hard G and a "ey" on the end. The nickname of the city is Gabs and that, oddly, IS pronounced by locals with a hard G. But the Brits always refused to call it by it's full correct name. If one corrected them, they'd roll their eyes and make a comment about it being too hard to remember. Bugged me no end. I've heard this many times in more cities than I can remember. It's quite odd to me, but perhaps there is some dialectical aspect that contributes to this mispronouncing conundrum, I dont know...I think it doesn't take a lot of effort though to pronounce someone's city/country correctly, that's all I'm getting at...I mean, if it's Italia, then why cant we all call it that?

Oddly, this only bothers me with regard to names of countries and cities...I think because I feel it's more respectful, when in another country, to try to call their places by the names their people have given those places...but I find it amusing when people have different names for food and other things...

 

[door knob solitaire]

Thanks PO...Hubby gets frustrated when we are watching a BBC production...as it is difficult for us Yanks to understand the accents. He yells..."Speak English!!" at the screen. I say, honey, they are.

I should not have left that LAZY word without a

...what I should have asked, who is proper? Me with my THE or them with their _____? I have also noticed ...

"He is at University". "You can find him at University." "He teaches at University". Arghhh. It drives me batty!!

You people need to spend some national funds and get a load of THE''S!!!

I am speaking for all of America...I think we changed colour to color because it looks better. Yep. Blanced. That is why. Not because we are lazy...we just want to get on with it! It is color...not KO Lar!! (

)

We were talking the other day about how difficult it would be to learn English. We have so many words that mean multiple things. This could be a sign that we are the lazy ones...can''t create new words for different things.

DKS

 

[door knob solitaire]

(

)

Sorry...I just noticed how adorable she is! Look she has little pig tails! Awh!

DKS...sorry

 

[pennquaker09]

I come from one of the more sophisticated parts of Alabama (if there is such a thing), but we can get a little country every now and then.

It took me a while to know that Center City means "downtown."

We call sub sandwiches, well subs, but up here people call the hoagies. And grinder! I was like como say wha? And the funniest of them all, samwich. LMAO, I LOVE it!

Water in Philly is Wooder.

In Alabama we say y'all, up here it's like youse or something like that. Hilarious!

I started calling the beach, the shore. Even though the pronunciation here is kind of funny. The beach in Alabama is Gulf Shores. It's very close to Mobile. For the less sophisticated, it's the Redneck Riviera. Most Alabamians say Moe beee uhl. You're a nobody in Alabama unless you own a condo in Gulf Shores! *rolls eyes*

Coke in Alabama means: coke, pepsi, anything carbonated basically.

Downinmuntgumry always said as one word. Where the govner lives, down in Montgomery. Is it ironic that I live in Montgomery County?

Wawrrrrrrre Eeeee-Gull!!!! - I know, it's a mess. Auburn University's mascot is Aubie the Eagle.

T-Town: Tuscaloosa - Where the University of Alabama is located. If I say Bama or Alabama more often than not, I'm referring to the University as crappy as it is. So, glad I went to school out of state!

If you ever move to Alabama, you'll be asked three questions.
1. Auburn or Alabama - You must choose one!
2. Have you chose your church yet?
3. Will that be smoking or non smoking?

Brookies: It's meant as a derogatory term for rich kids from Mountain Brook. My parents lived there when they first got married and a lot of my family still continues to live there so I really never used it.

The Met: Hoover Metropolitan Stadium. Okay, so you know football means entirely too much when a high school football team plays in a FREAKING stadium. Let me tell y'all (see, I can't help it), EVERYTHING closes at about 5 so that EVERYONE can go see Hoover play. I think sometimes people forget that Spain Park (the other Hoover high school) exists

Bless your/his/her/their heart: It's a subtle put down. For instance is someone has an ugly baby, you'll hear someone say,"Aww, look at him. Bless his little heart." I know, it's mean.

Over yonder: My name is Trevor and say my dad asks me where his keys are. And yes, I from Alabama and my name is Trevor, it's a mess. Anyway!

"Trev, have you seen my keys?"
"I dunno, last time I saw 'em they were over yonder."

Firefly: Lightnin' bug. OMG, that's a good one.

Speck: So, I'm half black and this is how that half of my family talks. I was raised in the lily white Birmingham suburbs so it was like visiting another world.

"Are you going to the game?"
"I speck like."

"Trevor, you get your lesson (homework)?"
"I'm fixin too."

"How much you lack?"

"It's fixin' to storm (rain)."

"Wrench out that rag."

THE HORROR!!!

Uppity: Conceited. "Did ya hear, Trevor done moved up there to Pennsylvania?"
"Yeah, he must be to uppity to live in Hoover."

"Where do you go to school (college)?"
"Tulane."
"Is that one of dem uppity schools?"

Personally, I love to say high falutin.

"Trev you gotta crick (creek) in your back yard!"
"Ain't that some high falutin sh*t."

Southern Women love to gossip and this is something you'd normally hear.

"Girl, did you see what Katie had on?"
"Yeah, I liked to died!"

I gotta stop before I die of laughter.

 

[pennquaker09]

And my favorite, The War.

Southerner refer to the Civil War as The War and will look at you like you lost your mind if you say anything to the contrary.Like it''s the only war that has ever happened.

 

[zoebartlett]

Date: 11/16/2007 12:21:55 AM
Author: 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?

Selkie, I don''t know where in eastern MA you''re from but I''m from and live just an hour north in NH. I hear "hamburg" all the time to mean ground beef but I still just call it ground beef. If I were to say it, I''d say the whole word...hamburger.

I''ve heard of a lime-rickey but I have no idea what joe froggers are.

I never know whether to call a milkshake a shake or a frappe.

SOmeone else mentioned calling a specific highway "the I-80" instead of dropping "the." For some reason, it bugs me when I hear people (Californians) say "the 5" when referring to a specific highway. Here, we''d usually just say the interstate number.

 

[zoebartlett]

Date: 11/16/2007 12:37:17 AM
Author: Jewels305

Date: 11/15/2007 9:55:42 PM
Author: 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.

Definitely agreed. I think my accent is more Kennedy-esque than NY sounding. I think the difference between the 2 can best be seen when comparing the accents of Senator Ted Kennedy and Mayor Tom Menino.

I''m one of those people that ZoeBartlett can''t stand because I do say ''down cellar'' instead of basement, but cellar is one of those words that I do always pronounce the R.

Oh Jewels, it''s nothing personal. We''re all friends here.

Good comparison, using Ted Kennedy and Tom Menino. I know wht you mean.

I just thought of another one, not related to MA. I think it''s more of a midwestern or western thing: instead of saying "I''m going to THE prom" people say "I''m going to prom." That bugs me.

 

[Elmorton]

DH's fam of origin is from the northeast (though we were both raised in central IL), so I bugged him last night for some more examples:

Bureau (his grandmother's choice) vs. Dresser (ours)
Scottie (his grandmother again) vs. Tissue (him) vs. Kleenex (me)
My family: Hassock (someone said haddock...maybe I've just being saying it wrong my whole life!) for ottoman
Hutch rather than cabinet, also Hoosier, but I think that refers to a specific piece of furniture

A friend in college from southern il called movies "the show." We'd always think she wanted to go to the theatre rather than the movies!

Clicker, remote...I've also heard roder (roter?) and then of course, my bizarre family calls it the click-click, but I don't think that's regional, probably just strange.

About the British thing:

I'd have to dig up my notes, but I remember that a colleague of mine in grad school did some pretty extensive research on this and presented during one of my classes. From my recollection, there actually was a big movement about 5-10 years after the Revolution, where Americans re-wrote dictionaries, and early linguists went to the heartland to study the language of farmers, and then claimed that language as the pure American dialect.

I'm pretty sure that the "color" (favorite/favourite, too) thing was purely intentional and came out of this movement. You can equate it to "freedom fries." - Actually, I think that example is what started the project in the first place. We derive so much of our identity from our language that it's typically what people try to reclaim first when they're trying to establish a separation (and, historically, if you want to dominate a population, make their language extinct).

Also, interestingly enough, what some often percieve as bad grammar in Southern and/or African American English are actually constructions that are A-OK in British English - these dialects have actually retained more from British origins than other regional dialects.

K...'nuff linguistics for this morning! It's too early for that.

ETA: Thought of another that makes me cringe - my mom and grandma say "pants" when they mean "underwear" - I think that's also an IL/MO thing.

 

[AGBF]

Date: 11/15/2007 11:50:14 PM
Author: luckystar112
Growing up in Maine, I had no idea that ''wicked'' was slang until I moved away and people started looking at me funny.

This anecdote reinforces my idea that "wicked" is from Maine!

I can''t prove it!

Deborah

 

[AGBF]

Date: 11/16/2007 4:57:18 AM
Author: pennquaker09

If you ever move to Alabama, you'll be asked three questions.

1. Auburn or Alabama - You must choose one!

2. Have you chose your church yet?

3. Will that be smoking or non smoking?

My husband once worked for a large bank based in New York City. He spoke to a couple who had just returned from a stint in Texas and was told that everytime they met someone they were asked two questions: What church do you go to? and How many children do you have? Their answers were "None" and "None" which left them feeling set apart.


Deborah

 

[Madam Bijoux]

Fun thread! In some parts of Philadelphia, people pronounce "ask" as "ax". A lot of people in Philadelphia say "Do you have an ink pen?" (I''ve never seen a pen that doesn''t use ink.)

 

[KimberlyH]

New Yorkers stand "on line" instead of "in line." As a Californian this always cracks me up.

 

[Cleopatra]

Date: 11/16/2007 4:57:18 AM
Author: pennquaker09


If you ever move to Alabama, you''ll be asked three questions.
1. Auburn or Alabama - You must choose one!
2. Have you chose your church yet?
3. Will that be smoking or non smoking?

LOL - Penn, I''m from Louisiana.....so, the answer (by ALL Louisianians) to your question is....NEITHER!!

LSU Tigers Baby!

lol....sorry....I just had to!

Nice to meet another Southern Neighbor!

DKS - I''ve noticed that nearly all people down here used "Coke" to describe any kind of soda/pop. I myself always say - "I''m going get a coke" - and walk back with a Dr. Pepper or Sprite. It''s just a thing down here...I''ve never heard anyone say "soda" over here!!!

 

[Cleopatra]

Date: 11/16/2007 4:57:18 AM
Author: pennquaker09

Southern Women love to gossip and this is something you''d normally hear.

''Girl, did you see what Katie had on?''
''Yeah, I liked to died!''

I gotta stop before I die of laughter.

Oh my gosh - TOTALLY true!!! That''s the exact wording that I hear EVERY day!

"I liked to died!"

LOLOLOLLL!!!

 

[mela lu]

This is one of my fave topics....but I''m swamped at work today. I''ll come play later...but I''ll leave you the good ol'' French Canadian, "Close the lights" and "Side by Each" (side by side) for your pleasure.

This is so fun!

 

[Cleopatra]

In Southern Louisiana - there is LOTS of cajun French dialect used throughout everyday conversation. Most of it is so common down here, that I forget that it''s even a regional thing!

- "Meh sha" - means something like "come on!" or "oh please!"
- "Neutral Ground" - something said by New Orleanians when referring to the median of the highway/insterstate
- "Where Y''at" - "Where are you at" - or more appropriately termed, "where are you?"
- "Pooo Yai!" - you use this in a way that says, "Poo Yai that''s good!" in replacing the "Man!" in "Man! That''s good!"
- And many people from New Orleans pronouce the city "Nawlins"

I can''t think of many right now! But this is fun!


I don''t know if I''m the only one who does this, but it drives FI crazy. I always say that I''m "saving the dishes" or "saving the clothes" - he gets sooooo aggravated - his response is always "Saving them from what? Are they in danger?!"

 

[nytemist]

I''m also born and raised in Boston. I''m guilty of soooo many of these phrases- I don''t even think about it until I go down south for family reunions in Louisiana. Growing up in the Neponset area of Dorchester, my accent sounds like a cross between Kennedy and the older guys at the Irish pubs. My southern relatives still find me funny to this day.

Speaking of Louisiana, one of my first times there as a teen, I went to get ice cream with my aunt a couple of cousins. I got a sundae and asked for jimmies. The person behind the counter gave me a weird look, my cousins started to crack up behind me. Got my sundae, no jimmies. One cousins says quietly to me ''you mean sprinkles''. Come to find out that ''jimmies'' is sometimes used as slang for condoms.

Or, some of the improper sentences where the words aren''t in the right order- "Hey, toss that over here, the pen" or "bring me down the stairs, my shoes."

For some reason in my house, I grew up hearing ''will you click the light?'' rather than ''turn the ligh on/off''.

 

[jcrow]

i didn''t read all of the responses, but we have a TON of slang where i live! i didn''t realize it was all so foreign until DH came here from another state. i had to explain SO many sayings!

we say "get down" when getting out of a vehicle -- as in if you''re stopping at the gas station, you turn to your passenger and say "wanna get down and get something to drink?"


i''m drawing a blank, but i''m sure i''ll think of some others!

 

[jcrow]

Date: 11/16/2007 9:33:51 AM
Author: nytemist
I''m also born and raised in Boston. I''m guilty of soooo many of these phrases- I don''t even think about it until I go down south for family reunions in Louisiana. Growing up in the Neponset area of Dorchester, my accent sounds like a cross between Kennedy and the older guys at the Irish pubs. My southern relatives still find me funny to this day.

Speaking of Louisiana, one of my first times there as a teen, I went to get ice cream with my aunt a couple of cousins. I got a sundae and asked for jimmies. The person behind the counter gave me a weird look, my cousins started to crack up behind me. Got my sundae, no jimmies. One cousins says quietly to me ''you mean sprinkles''. Come to find out that ''jimmies'' is sometimes used as slang for condoms.

Or, some of the improper sentences where the words aren''t in the right order- ''Hey, toss that over here, the pen'' or ''bring me down the stairs, my shoes.''

For some reason in my house, I grew up hearing ''will you click the light?'' rather than ''turn the ligh on/off''.

yeh, i''ve never heard of sprinkles being called jimmies until i JUST read this here!

 

[jcrow]

"come see" - come here.

 

[anchor31]

Oh my, I don''t even know where to start. Us Quebecers have a WEIRD accent (the Francophones anyway!) that, contrary to some beliefs, is NOTHING like the French accent from France (I guess extremely offended when they use a French actor in TV shows or movies to play a Quebecer!

)...

Mine''s not very heavy, but I still have it. We have problems with the "th" and "h" sounds in particular, and "th" sounds like "d" more often than not, and the h... Well, sometime we pronounce it where we shouldn''t, sometimes we don''t when we should. Our "r"s tend to sound funny too.

Someone with a heavy accent would sound something like this:

"I ''ave to go to de doctorr''s today."

We take the metro, not the subway.
There are highways or even autoroutes, but no freeways.
Our colleges are not universities. We go to college, after high school, then to university.

I can''t think of anything else right now... But we sure talk funny.

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 11/16/2007 9:58:50 AM
Author: jcrow
i didn't read all of the responses, but we have a TON of slang where i live! i didn't realize it was all so foreign until DH came here from another state. i had to explain SO many sayings!

we say 'get down' when getting out of a vehicle -- as in if you're stopping at the gas station, you turn to your passenger and say 'wanna get down and get something to drink?'


i'm drawing a blank, but i'm sure i'll think of some others!

I say that too! I wonder where that came from??? My hubby was stumped and said you mean 'get out.'



Where I live the wait staff will say "red or green?" Meaning red or green chile.

 

[Miscka]

I love this thread!!

Pennquaker, my family is from/in Alabama, and we say almost all those things...but I kind of love it! Oh, and the answer is Auburn!!

OK, so I have noticed this phrase on TV before, and I was wondering if it''s regional, since I had NEVER heard it before (I am in the Southeast)

"I have been doing that since I''m 20."

Does anyone hear say that? If yes, where are you from? I like it! I would say "I''ve been doing that since I was 20."

 

[Mara]

lol re the jimmies and condoms story, nyt, i only know them as condoms thanks to some rap songs!

californians do say ''the'' freeway as in ''take the 280''.

oh and whoever said pants for underwear, that''s a british thing as well!! right lorelei?! but it''s more like pahnts!

i love funny british phrases too, one of the people i interact with at work fairly often is in our emea london office and she has the cutest sayings and in her accent, she makes me die laughing all the time.