Do What Now? And Other Regional Phrases

[melodyharmonius]

A visiting vendor was talking to his office outside my cubicle.

"Do what now?" I heard him say, and it made me smile.

For those not familiar with Southern Colloquialisms, "do what now?" is equivalent to "would you repeat that please?"

It's one of the phrases I had to adjust to when I moved from New England down here to the Carolinas.

Along with the "y'all" which I was fully familiar with from all the overly-dramatized accents portrayed on TV, I also soon learned such phrases as:

"Mash that light" (flip the light switch)
"Don't be ugly" (don't be disagreeable)
"Bless his heart" (recognize that he's a poor soul that needs pity)
"He's a mess" (he's being silly so make sure to bless his heart)

And many others, which I hope you will add.

What regional phrases did you have to get used to when you relocated (and tell where you relocated from and to, if you don't mind!)

[CalMeacham]

Out in Utah they say


Oh, my Heck!



...which has always struck me as pretty odd. Elsewhere, "heck" is used as a euphemism for "hell", replacing it in phrases like "What the Hell?" or "Where the Hell is he?"


But nobody says "Oh, my Hell!" It's the only time "heck" is used where it's not a direct replacement for "Hell", as far as I'm aware, and it's a regionalism, confined to Utah and the surrounding Intermountain West.

It's such a characteristic regionalism that cartoonist Pat Bagley used it as the title of one of his collections:

http://www.amazon.com/Heck-Pretty-Great-Cartoon-Book/dp/0941214680/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262720390&sr=1-1

[Skammer]

When my travels brought me from Massachusetts to Tennessee, I had to give up "wicked" (Boy, it is wicked cold out today!) and learn "Bless his heart" (as it, "Bless his heart, [that idiot] doesn't know any better.")

[melodyharmonius]

When my travels brought me from Massachusetts to Tennessee, I had to give up "wicked" (Boy, it is wicked cold out today!) and learn "Bless his heart" (as it, "Bless his heart, [that idiot] doesn't know any better.")

I still say wicked. But I only slide back to my Boston accent upon request.

[Steve Sweeney]
Pahk my cah in Hahvahd yahd? What ah you? Retahded? That's not a pahking lot!

[/Steve Sweeney]

[Skammer]

Wicked pissah!

[MeanOldLady]

Am I a Southerner? I say "Do what now?"

I had to get used to people confusing the words "borrow" and "lend/loan" when I moved to the Midwest. I know what you're thinking: "What the hell?" It's true, people will ask you to borrow them $100 as opposed to loaning them $100. It actually confused me the first time I heard it. Made no sense, I tells ya! I also had to learn to live with the fact that actual people here will say "You betcha."

[melodyharmonius]

Am I a Southerner? I say "Do what now?"

I would need an audio clip to confirm that you are saying it southern :D

[melodyharmonius]

Wicked pissah!

Cold enough for ya?

[MeanOldLady]

I would need an audio clip to confirm that you are saying it southern :DI'm from Southern California, so I'm probably saying it southernish, right?

[Morgyn]

I picked up "reach me down [an object]" from my aunt, who grew up in Kansas and lived in Oklahoma most of her adult life.

[melodyharmonius]

I'm from Southern California, so I'm probably saying it southernish, right?

I knew it!! LOL. :p

[shiftless]

My family uses all of the phrases in the OP. In fact, my parents almost always use the word "mash" instead of "push". "Mash on the gas", "mash the elevator button", "mash the light switch."

I use the phrase "Say that again?" to mean that I didn't hear what was said. Sometimes people are offended as it does sort of come out as an order rather than a request.

"Do what now?" sort of means "could you repeat that", but I've always heard and used it to mean more of a "what the heck are you talking about?" kind of thing.

[tdn]

One wicked pissah thing I learned when I move to Boston:

I walked into a Christy's (remember those?) and asked the counter guys where the pop was.

"Pop? Pop?!? What ah ya, retahded or somethin'? You must be from Nebrasker! It's tawnic! TAWNIC!"

[Mannish]

Speaking of Southern Cali, the phrase "No worries!" as a substitute for "Don't worry"/"No problem" still sounds...surfer-ish to me, and I've lived out here for 4 years now. I transplanted from Michigan...

[melodyharmonius]

One wicked pissah thing I learned when I move to Boston:

I walked into a Christy's (remember those?) and asked the counter guys where the pop was.

"Pop? Pop?!? What ah ya, retahded or somethin'? You must be from Nebrasker! It's tawnic! TAWNIC!"

i don't call it tonic, i call it soda.

Down here, they call it a 'coke'

"Wanna coke?" they'd ask.

"Sure."

"What kind?" (i was thinking regular, diet, etc.)

"Whatcha got?"

"RC, Sprite, Rootbeer, Pepsi. . ."

(it was rare they actually had 'Coke' too!)

[dhkendall]

I had to get used to people confusing the words "borrow" and "lend/loan" when I moved to the Midwest. I know what you're thinking: "What the hell?" It's true, people will ask you to borrow them $100 as opposed to loaning them $100. It actually confused me the first time I heard it. Made no sense, I tells ya!

Grr, I hate that, to me it's the sign that someone is severely uneducated. My wife uses the phrase a lot (probably because we are close enough to the Midwest to have our speech take on those regionalisms) and I often correct her. Another one she uses is "she" to refer to inatimate objects, such as "She's really coming down now!" talking about the weather, and "I couldn't control the car, she was spinning out on the road." For some reason, I'm positive those are Atlantic-isms (she was posted in Halifax for a while when she was in the navy), and every time she says that, I picture a rugged sailor on a ship, because that's who I associate with using the feminine for all inanimate objects ...

[tdn]

i don't call it tonic, i call it soda.

I think the use of tonic is falling out of favor. I mostly hear it now from older people from Dorchester.

Do you know what a regular coffee is?

[Marley23]

There's one non-regional group that uses "do what now?" and "whatnow" - as opposed to "What [i]NOW[/i?" fairly often: Simpsons fans. [Of course the most popular version is "who shot who in the what now?" which I'm sure nobody else ever says.] Anyway:

When I moved to the Midwest I didn't mind "pop" or "bubbler," but I first heard "hella" when I was out there and I just loathed it. Turns out it's a Californian word via Gwen Stefani and South Park, so I can't blame the Midwesterners for it.

[Surly Chick]

My college roommate was from Pittsburgh and she when she asked me for a "gum band" I didn't have a clue what she was talking about. But that's a whole 'nother story. (a midwesternism)

[Drain Bead]

If you use the construction "That car needs washed," instead of "needs to be washed" or "needs washing," I know you live within a 4-hour drive of me.

[Kyla]

When I moved to the Midwest I didn't mind "pop" or "bubbler," but I first heard "hella" when I was out there and I just loathed it. Turns out it's a Californian word via Gwen Stefani and South Park, so I can't blame the Midwesterners for it.

"Hella" is, AFAIK, originally a Northern Californian word. I grew up in the Bay Area and said it all the time when I was in high school and college. I didn't realize it was a regionalism until I went to college and met a lot of Southern Californians who had never heard it before.

This was in 1996/1997...it's much more widespread now, I think. I don't say it at all anymore.

[blondebear]

My coworker comes up with off the wall (to put it mildly) sayings all the time. I don't think they really count as "regional", though. This morning we were talking about the new Google phone. I said it cost around $500, or $180 with a two-year contract. His reply, "At that price, you might as well jump out a window and land on your forehead." :confused:

[missred]

Growing up in northern Indiana, I was at the intersection of pop, coke and soda.

Moving to middle Tennessee fifteen years added another one: cold drink.

IME, it tends to be used primarily among the working class, as I've heard it mostly from the folks out on the floor of factories and warehouses.

[Fleetwood]

I think the use of tonic is falling out of favor. I mostly hear it now from older people from Dorchester.

Do you know what a regular coffee is?

Cream and Sugar.

[Ferret Herder]

The Midwest is a big place. I've lived in eastern and southern Wisconsin, Minneapolis and the suburbs, and the Chicagoland area, and some of these "Midwest" terms I've never heard of.

"Bubbler" (for drinking fountain) is confined to a few, very small parts of the Midwest and will either confuse the hell out of anyone outside of those areas, or make them laugh hysterically at your backwards dialect.

"Pop" covers part of the Midwest, the rest is "soda". I moved from a "soda" part of Wisconsin to a mostly "pop" part of Illinois (Chicago area) and converted my born-saying-pop husband to saying "soda".

No idea what a "gum band" is, and in my experience the "borrow"/"loan" confusion is usually found among the less educated.

[CalMeacham]

[quote]

I think the use of tonic is falling out of favor. I mostly hear it now from older people from Dorchester.

Do you know what a regular coffee is?




Cream and Sugar.



No fair cribbing from Dunkin' Donuts commercials



And your hair don't smell like sunshine.

[Surly Chick]

No idea what a "gum band" is, <snip>
It's a rubberband. But I only figured that out when she started making stretchy hand motions!

[melodyharmonius]

I think the use of tonic is falling out of favor. I mostly hear it now from older people from Dorchester.

Do you know what a regular coffee is?

Sure - cream, 2 sugars!

There's one non-regional group that uses "do what now?" and "whatnow" - as opposed to "What [i]NOW[/i?" fairly often: Simpsons fans. [Of course the most popular version is "who shot who in the what now?" which I'm sure nobody else ever says.] Anyway:

When I moved to the Midwest I didn't mind "pop" or "bubbler," but I first heard "hella" when I was out there and I just loathed it. Turns out it's a Californian word via Gwen Stefani and South Park, so I can't blame the Midwesterners for it.

'do what?' is the version we use when we are shocked at the request. (pronounced 'doooooo what?')

I first heard 'hella' on a Real World Miami episode - the girl was describing the house to her mom on the phone and said, 'it's hella big!' I think she was from PA though . . .

My college roommate was from Pittsburgh and she when she asked me for a "gum band" I didn't have a clue what she was talking about. But that's a whole 'nother story. (a midwesternism)

what is a 'gum band'?

[tdn]

Sure - cream, 2 sugars!

Correct. Not just sugar, but 2 sugars.

Bubbler is not only Chicagoese, but Bostonese as well. But it's usually pronounced Bubblah.

[melodyharmonius]

Correct. Not just sugar, but 2 sugars.

Bubbler is not only Chicagoese, but Bostonese as well. But it's usually pronounced Bubblah.

I used to always order a "white elephant" - Large, extra cream, no sugar.

And I was going to say "bubblah" but we also called it a "water fountain"

[MeanOldLady]

My college roommate was from Pittsburgh and she when she asked me for a "gum band" I didn't have a clue what she was talking about. But that's a whole 'nother story. (a midwesternism)What is she talking about?

My coworker comes up with off the wall (to put it mildly) sayings all the time. I don't think they really count as "regional", though. This morning we were talking about the new Google phone. I said it cost around $500, or $180 with a two-year contract. His reply, "At that price, you might as well jump out a window and land on your forehead." :confused:Ha ha! I don't know what that's supposed to mean, but it is hilarious. I laughed out loud.

[Quasimodem]

Former SO: (Here in Georgia)

"You need to eat/drink you sumthin'"

Used to grate on my last frickin' nerve!!!!!!!!!!!

Q

[Cat Whisperer]

You all talk funny. :D

[maladroit]

My family uses all of the phrases in the OP. In fact, my parents almost always use the word "mash" instead of "push". "Mash on the gas", "mash the elevator button", "mash the light switch."


I say "hit" where you say "mash". I'm in se Michigan.
Everybody here at work also says "Do what now?", usually because they were busy when you spoke and can now pay attention to what you need.

I used to have a group of friends from pennsylvania and they said "you'ns", only people I ever knew to use that.

[Surly Chick]

What is she talking about?
I get that a lot. :p Gum band is Pittsburgh speak for rubberband.

[Obsidian]

My husband and his sister (from Texas) say "put up" instead of "put away" ("Put up your toys, Timmy.")

They also say "I'm going to do X here in a minute." Whatever you're doing is "here" in whatever time. . . even if it's not actually "here". Like: "I'm going to go to Costco here in a minute." or "I'm leaving for work here in an hour."

I have no idea if this is a family thing or a Southern thing, but they both do it, so now I do it.

[melodyharmonius]

My husband and his sister (from Texas) say "put up" instead of "put away" ("Put up your toys, Timmy.")

They also say "I'm going to do X here in a minute." Whatever you're doing is "here" in whatever time. . . even if it's not actually "here". Like: "I'm going to go to Costco here in a minute." or "I'm leaving for work here in an hour."

I have no idea if this is a family thing or a Southern thing, but they both do it, so now I do it.

I've heard those as well.

One thing that always makes me chuckle (partly because I find myself doing it too) is my mom asking me a "quick question" or doing something "right quick" - neither is every quick - but it's just that they are all like that.

[BobArrgh]

I had a friend from southeast Kansas who had two phrases he used all the time. One was, "Rainin' harder'n a cow pissin' on a flat rock", which made a whole lot of sense the first time I saw a cow urinate on a cement barn floor.

The other phrase was, "Don't that make your ass wanna dip snuff?"

This is also a guy who pronounces the words "wolf" and "wolves" as "woof" and "woofs", which is pretty typical around these parts.

[slightly askew]

I grew up near Pittsburgh, so I know about gum bands. Anyone out there know what it means to be nebby AKA a neb nose? Also, the roads get slippy in the winter. I've had to work to use the verb "to be." Didn't know it was wrong until I got to college ;). I also know how to red off a table. Lots of Pittsburgh regionalisms.

Now that I live in Ohio, it drives me nuts when people use itch instead of scratch, as in, "itch my back."

I do like the regionalisms that our relative in northern Minnesota use such as "spendy" and "oh for cute!"

[Thudlow Boink]

There's one non-regional group that uses "do what now?" and "whatnow" - as opposed to "What NOW?" fairly often: Simpsons fans. [Of course the most popular version is "who shot who in the what now?" which I'm sure nobody else ever says.]I was saying "Boo-urns" say that!

[Quasimodem]

I'm "fixin'" to get me somethin to eat, so.... y'all don't "run off"!

Q;)

[Quasimodem]

If you're from the South and you want to criticize someone, it is incumbent upon you (especially if you're Baptist) to preface what you are about to say with one of the following:

1. You know, I just love her/him to death, but........

2. God love her/him, but......

That way, you haven't offended the "Big Guy" (I guess.....:rolleyes:)

And, of course, the aforementioned, "Bless his/her heart......."

Don't seem like a German boy oughta know all that stuff, does it?;)

Q

[BrotherCadfael]

Central PA: "Redd up the room" for "Clean up the room".

[davey77]

I grew up near Pittsburgh, so I know about gum bands. Anyone out there know what it means to be nebby AKA a neb nose? Also, the roads get slippy in the winter. I've had to work to use the verb "to be." Didn't know it was wrong until I got to college ;). I also know how to red off a table. Lots of Pittsburgh regionalisms.

Now that I live in Ohio, it drives me nuts when people use itch instead of scratch, as in, "itch my back."

I do like the regionalisms that our relative in northern Minnesota use such as "spendy" and "oh for cute!"

I did not grow up particularly near Pittsburgh (about 2 1/2 hours drive away in Ohio), but man, those Pittsburghisms popped up in my and my neighbors' speech all the time. At home, we would "redd" the table after dinner before some "nibb-nose" showed up and ate all our "chip-chop ham."

At school, a classmate showed up and told us another teacher was ready for us to come over to watch the movie. Except he said, "She's ready for yinz." My teacher invited the boy to rephrase that, so he responded, "She's ready for yinz guys.

Many years later, I learned this phrase could be made possessive when a waitress informed us she would be "right back with yinz guyses' meals." Meals in this case rhymed with mills.

BTW, I also hate "itch" instead of "scratch."

[needscoffee]

In the Pacific NW, people begin a sentence with the word "anymore," as in "Anymore, I ..." when I would use the word "Nowadays, I ...". No matter how many times I hear it, it sounds odd.

When I hear someone say "right quick", I have to stop myself from doing something really bad. Luckily, I hardly ever hear it, not living in the South.

[needscoffee]

Chicago/Midwest: Washroom = bathroom. In other places, nobody know what you mean when you ask where the washroom is.

[panache45]

When I moved from Ohio to NYC, it took forever to learn to say "soda" rather than "pop." And to learn the difference between "merry," "marry" and "Mary."

25 years later, in 1995, I moved back to Ohio, and had to unlearn everything. And one day I used the phrase "I don't give a rat's ass" and got some very strange looks. Since then, it's become commonplace everywhere.

[Eliahna]

Speaking of Southern Cali, the phrase "No worries!" as a substitute for "Don't worry"/"No problem" still sounds...surfer-ish to me, and I've lived out here for 4 years now. I transplanted from Michigan...

Surferish? Sounds more Aussie (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_worries) to me...

[dnooman]

Please?

That's what people in the Cincinnati area say when they didn't catch what you said. Short for "please repeat that" or something. Bugs the crap outta me.

"Keep the house picked up" always bugs me too.

[tumbleddown]

I first heard 'hella' on a Real World Miami episode - the girl was describing the house to her mom on the phone and said, 'it's hella big!' I think she was from PA though . . .
That was Sarah, who was originally from PA, but lived in California, and was a skateboarder. Hella was surfer/skateboarder slang before it ever went mainstream.
I used to have a group of friends from pennsylvania and they said "you'ns", only people I ever knew to use that.
Not you'ns, yinz. It's, as has been noted, a SW PA, largely Pittsburgh metro area, thing.
Anyone out there know what it means to be nebby AKA a neb nose?
Sure, nebnoses are always butting into your business. A truly persistent nebnose turns into a nebshit.
I also know how to red off a table. Lots of Pittsburgh regionalisms.
Redd off. Never heard that one. Redd up, sure. In fact, our last mayor of Pittsburgh's citywide "let's make our town look better" initiative, still in effect as a memorial to him, is called "Redd Up Pittsburgh (http://www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/redduppgh/index.html)." But I've never heard it with an "off."
I'm "fixin'" to get me somethin to eat, so.... y'all don't "run off"!
I went to college in SW Missouri, but the student body came from all over the place. The Oklahoman and Texan girls in my dorm got everyone out of the habit of referring to our pre-menstrual moodiness as PMS. Instead, we were FTS, or "fixin' to start." Our Minnesota/North Dakota friends hipped us to the power of the bubbler, as well as the beautiful phrase come with, as in "We're going to get lunch, want to come with?" or "Is it just you two? I thought Melissa was going to come with." And courtesy the Utahns, I've been saying "oh my heck!" for 20 years. Washroom in place of bathroom was prevalent on campus too -- with the Canadians, though, not the midwesterners.

[torie]

Ha ha! I don't know what that's supposed to mean, but it is hilarious. I laughed out loud.

It's the addition of the little purple confused face at the end that made it so funny to me. It's the perfect illustration of the emotion I felt reading that.

[Rack-a-Bones]

In the Pacific NW, people begin a sentence with the word "anymore," as in "Anymore, I ..." when I would use the word "Nowadays, I ...". No matter how many times I hear it, it sounds odd.


I haven't noticed that. I'll have to pay more attention. Before I moved to Seattle I didn't know what a "sunbreak" was. I also learned the phrase "the mountain is out" which I heard myself say the other day. Actually, not the other day, more like two months ago.

[Hazle Weatherfield]

Please?

That's what people in the Cincinnati area say when they didn't catch what you said. Short for "please repeat that" or something. Bugs the crap outta me.

"Keep the house picked up" always bugs me too.

They also call turn signals "directionals," if I recall correctly.

A South Carolinan friend of mine has me saying, "having his picture made" and "making a party for him," just because I like the way those phrases sound.

[QuercusMax]

It's a rubberband. But I only figured that out when she started making stretchy hand motions!

One other thing about gumband: the final 'd' is not pronounced. So it's more like "gum-ban". (I live in Cleveland and work with a few Pittsburghers, who do their best to conceal themselves except during football season.)

[melodyharmonius]

That was Sarah, who was originally from PA, but lived in California, and was a skateboarder. Hella was surfer/skateboarder slang before it ever went mainstream.


Actually, it was Cynthia - who I thought was from Pennsylvania, but after looking it up it appears she was from California.

[Bacon Salt]

Anybody else know somebody who only says "Do What?"

Also, I've heard that measuring distances almost exclusively in hours and minutes is a largely Texas/Oklahoma phenomenon. Am I full of shit?

My husband and his sister (from Texas) say "put up" instead of "put away" ("Put up your toys, Timmy.")

They also say "I'm going to do X here in a minute." Whatever you're doing is "here" in whatever time. . . even if it's not actually "here". Like: "I'm going to go to Costco here in a minute." or "I'm leaving for work here in an hour."Oh god. I do both of of those (although I tend to use the "Here in a little bit I'm gonna X" construction) and I didn't even realize they were regionalisms until you just now said it.

When I hear someone say "right quick", I have to stop myself from doing something really bad. Luckily, I hardly ever hear it, not living in the South.Oh, you'd haaaaate me.

The Oklahoman and Texan girls in my dorm got everyone out of the habit of referring to our pre-menstrual moodiness as PMS. Instead, we were FTS, or "fixin' to start."Never heard this one, although I think I have heard someone fully say out "fixin' to start my period". I guess I don't associate with demure women?

[matt_mcl]

Chicago/Midwest: Washroom = bathroom. In other places, nobody know what you mean when you ask where the washroom is.

That's Canadian, too. We generally use it the way Americans use "restroom" (i.e. for a public bathroom or as a euphemism).

When my brother went to London and stayed in residence, on his first day he asked where the washroom was. After some confusion, he was shown to the laundry room.

[Quasimodem]

......... you shouldn't take literally, ah reckon.

1. As a little boy fresh off the plane from Germany in the early 60's, as I turned to leave my aunt Opal once said, "Yew come on' back now, Billy!"

Okay, so I turned around and went back. Stood there, and she finally raised up her right hand closed the fingers on it twice rapidly and said (in a fake German-American accent): "Ven I say dat, it meantz bei-bei"

Vell, denn zay dat......

......bidge!

2. As folks "is a-leavin'" they'll say.... "Y'all just come owwn and go with us!"

Yeah, right. Like you really mean that. You'd shit if we were to put on our coats and head on out the door right behind yo' ass and get in the back seat.

;)

Quasi

[missred]

I never realized that You bet meaning you're welcome was a regional thing until I moved south.

One of my first bosses (a fellow Hoosier) used it while speaking on the phone with me one day and it dawned that I hadn't heard the phrase used with that meaning since living in Indiana.

[Mama Zappa]

If you use the construction "That car needs washed," instead of "needs to be washed" or "needs washing," I know you live within a 4-hour drive of me.
Where? Pennsylvania?

I'm from central PA and grew up with that idiom. Of course, one mustn't forget the 'R' in the middle of the word :) (I learned better later in life but have a distinct recollection of raising my hand in first grade and telling Sister Reptile that she forgot the R when she wrote it on the board).

[Jumpbass]

I seem to recall hearing "hella" earlier than the mid-nineties here in Nor Cal. I drove school busses in the mid eighties and heard it.

The younger kids around here (including my own) say "hecka". Cracks me up.

I'm not sure where it might be from, but I've heard rural California people say "aight" (pronounced "ite") for "all right".

[tdn]

When my brother went to London and stayed in residence, on his first day he asked where the washroom was. After some confusion, he was shown to the laundry room.

It wouldn't occur to me not to know what is meant by washroom. But that's pretty funny!

[Snickers]

"Wanna come with?" definitely.

"Can you borrow me a dollar?" Tho' I haven't heard this is some time.

"Oh for dumb!"

My brother calls it a "rubber binder," but he's the only one I've heard call it that. And my other brother's mother-in-law often goes out "gazootering" around, which I think is most excellent. Other than that, we have "hotdish" to refer to casseroles, which is just odd.

[Sigmagirl]

When I moved to the Midwest I didn't mind "pop" or "bubbler," but I first heard "hella" when I was out there and I just loathed it. Turns out it's a Californian word via Gwen Stefani and South Park, so I can't blame the Midwesterners for it.
I have never heard this spoken; only seen it in writing.

A South Carolinan friend of mine has me saying, "having his picture made" and "making a party for him," just because I like the way those phrases sound.
I wonder if this is of German derivation; Quasi, are you with me? Taking a picture (as in photographing something) in German is "ein Bild machen" (making a picture) rather than "ein Bild nehmen" (taking a picture), which would be like taking a picture off a wall and walking away with it. One of the many idioms I have to avoid when I'm writing to international correspondents.


Also, I've heard that measuring distances almost exclusively in hours and minutes is a largely Texas/Oklahoma phenomenon. Am I full of shit?

No, it's not at all uncommon to say that something is "about an hour away" or something similar.

[tdn]

Ever hear the phrase "Run all the way around Robinson's barn"? Ever drink a cabinet? Apparently those are (or were) local terms, but I only heard them from one person, so they might be REALLY local.

The first time I visited this region (as a kid), my mom was asked if she wanted her coffee regular, and was dismayed that the dumb waitress put cream and sugar in it. On the same trip, we discovered an exotic new drink called a frappe. We told the waitress "I'd like to try a frah-PAY, please." We got looked at like we were complete rubes.

[tallcoldone]

Please?

That's what people in the Cincinnati area say when they didn't catch what you said. Short for "please repeat that" or something. Bugs the crap outta me.

"Keep the house picked up" always bugs me too.

I think this usage of 'Please' comes from the German 'Bitte?' - lots of German heritage in western & southern Ohio (I'm one of em'). My sister moved to Virginia to teach elementary school, and when she explained how she used 'Please?', they responded that they just said 'Huh?' or 'Whut?'.

There was a recent thread on catty-corner vs. kitty corner, too.

One new to me when I moved to central Michigan - outyard (the grass between the sidewalk and the street). Also 'hamburg' instead of 'hamburger'

[panache45]

A former coworker used to say things like "I'm fixin' to go to lunch." Yeah, she was Southern.

[Surly Chick]

And my other brother's mother-in-law often goes out "gazootering" around, which I think is most excellent.
So do I. In fact, I'm going to start using it!

[Belrix]

Grew up in Western PA, so I still drop my "to be" from phrases. I also flatten my vowels ("den ten" is "down town") and drop the "g" from "-ing" (walkin' & talkin').

I know what a gum-band is and I used to redd-up my room but we never used "yinz" in my family (but all my cousins did). The plural possesive isn't "yinz guys's" it's "yinzes'" as in, "Is that yinzes' car?"

Moved to western Kentucky and picked up "coke" as an alias for "pop". I've seen signs on supermarket windows there: "Coke. All Flavors. $1.99". That's where I picked up "Fixin' to..." and still carry that with me.

They also dropped the "l" (ell) from in front of consonants. "goff==golf, guff==gulf". I had my electricity instructor say in class, "You take yer baar waar and you waar it to yer laht bub". You also write (raht) with an "ink pin" to distinguish it from a "pin", the thing that holds two pieces of fabric together.

Moved to Kansas and had to drop "Coke" to return to "Pop" (though I find that everybody understands "soda" even it if sounds a bit odd).

Moved to Alabama and now I "might could", as in "That might could work but have you considered this option?" Most of the other things from Kentucky applied here, too. ( "Rat cheer" is a location for example, "Put it down rat cheer." )

I'm moderately proud, though, that in neither southern state did I adopt "y'all" any more than I adopted "yinz" as a kid.

Now I'm in Colorado and it's a "pop" state but not much else stands out to me. We're so overloaded with ex-Californians and other non-natives here it's a pretty generic accent.

However, lots of influences now allow me to make paragraphs like this...

I was fixin' to make dinner but we might could go out to dinner if you want. I might get a glass of melk with it or maybe a pop. Oh, and the car needs washed before we go.

It's a speach thing, though. My writing has always been a bit more formal.

[freckafree]

One I hear all the time is referring to bee stings as bee bites. "Ow! A bee bit me!" WTF? Don't you know one end of a bee from the other?

[Ellen Cherry]

A former coworker used to say things like "I'm fixin' to go to lunch." Yeah, she was Southern.

Another common one: "I'm fixin' to get ready."

Belrix nailed a lot of Kentucky phrases.

[Dallas Jones]

I'm "fixin'" to get me somethin to eat, so.... y'all don't "run off"!

Q;)

This leaves out a step. My relatives in Arkansas would say, "We're fixin....., to get ready......, to go to the house. Just making this tentative statement might take several minutes.

There's fixin, then gettin ready, then maybe going. A whole process of steps.

Just saying "We're going home," and then actually getting up and going, was just a whirlwind of an idea that should properly involve several intermidiate steps and much thought.

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

I hear these all the time, guess my location:

"Cut the light."

"Where do you stay?"

"I know that's right."

"Girrrrrrllllllllll....."

"I'm fittin' to go home now."

"lemme do this right quick."

[Dolores Reborn]

Sounds like da hood!

Down in Nawlins they say "makin' groceries" - meaning going to the grocery store.

[Morbo]

I grew up in St. Louis. Two of my brothers that still live there say "Get that fixed!" I think it means "No way!" But I'm not entirely sure. Whenever they use it I usually just stare at them like this : - |

I'd never heard it before, so they must have picked it up somewhere since I moved away 20 years ago.

[It's Not Rocket Surgery!]

My wife (Western Kentucky native) doesn't say "height" but rather "heighth". She also says "That needs to be pitched" whereas I would say "That needs to be thrown away". Then again, I grew up in the Bronx. I store my clothes in "draws".

[Infovore]

I love Britishisms--I used to have a friend who used "bless his/her little cotton socks." I thought that was unique to her, but then I heard other Brits use it as well.

I also like "What's that when it's at home?"

I wish I was British so I could use expressions like that and sound charming, not dorky. I still do, sometimes, though, dorky be damned. :)

[Red Stilettos]

I hear these all the time, guess my location:

"Cut the light."

"Where do you stay?"

"I know that's right."

"Girrrrrrllllllllll....."

"I'm fittin' to go home now."

"lemme do this right quick."

I'd guess South Georgia. I hear all of those in Atlanta, but I hear them with more regularity when I see my family about 2 hours south.

I was also going to add "might could" but Belrix beat me to it. I got a lot of grief for that when I lived in Buffalo.

[Ignatz]

MA to NC: "...might could....",
"I seen....." ("Saw" is the past tense of see. "Seen" follows "have" as in "I have seen....".
"Me and my wife went to....". That's as wrong as "Me went to....". "My wife and I went...." is proper.

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

Sounds like da hood!

Yeah, that's it. All originated in the south, I'm sure.

A few more:

"I gotsta go now."

"I got mines."

"She favors you." (looks like you)

"He's triflin'."

[matt_mcl]

Montreal Anglos have some regionalisms of our own, many of them calques on French, of which the most notorious is "close the lights."

[needscoffee]

I love Britishisms [...]I also like "What's that when it's at home?" [...]What does this mean in American?

[Pray for peace]

Montreal Anglos have some regionalisms of our own, many of them calques on French, of which the most notorious is "close the lights."

My college roommate, who was from a NJ suburb near NYC, used to say "close the lights," and "stand on line" (instead of in line), and she referred to one dollar bills as "singles."

I grew up in Pittsburgh, and I must say that when I was there I never heard anyone say "redd up" anything. There's a regional difference within Pittsburgh in use of "yinz" and "you'ns," although no one said either one in my neighborhood growing up. Apparently I had a LOT of unusual regional pronunciations, though, like dropping one letter of most double consonants - "cold" sounded more like "code." There were unusual vowels, too, like no difference between Dawn and Don. My linguistics professor in college was so interested in my accent that during office hours he recorded me reading a couple of passages (he said he collected accents). I did make a fool of myself at an office job in D.C., too, when I asked my secretary for a "gumband." I had no idea that wasn't a universal term.

[elfkin477]

Sure - cream, 2 sugars!Ayuh. I don't even drink coffee and I know a regular has 2 sugars.

I'm sure there are a ton of regionalisms used here, but I don't notice them until they're pointed out. I was in 12th grade before anyone told me that wicked was a regionalism - no one in my class knew until a teacher from NJ asked us what it meant. Who knew that it didn't mean really/very to other people?


* Ayuh - I agree.

[tumbleddown]

Actually, it was Cynthia - who I thought was from Pennsylvania, but after looking it up it appears she was from California.
You're right, I'm seeing it now in my memory. She was from the Bay Area.

(My brain is a frightening repository of trivia about the first ten casts of The Real World. I hate my brain.)
Never heard this one, although I think I have heard someone fully say out "fixin' to start my period". I guess I don't associate with demure women?
Well we were good girls, at our good Christian college. You wouldn't say the "p word" anywhere that boys might hear you, or think of hearing you. In fact you wouldn't talk about it at all except in oblique terms and in hushed tones. FTS was, in retrospect, a very regressive way of explaining normal variances in mood and blaming them on our darned female hormones. G-d forbid that we might just, you know, be mad or sad.
Ever hear the phrase "Run all the way around Robinson's barn"?
I've heard "all the way around Robin Hood's barn" to describe an overly/wastefully circuitous route somewhere. "We finally got to the store but we went all the way around Robin Hood's barn to get there."

[melodyharmonius]

You're right, I'm seeing it now in my memory. She was from the Bay Area.

(My brain is a frightening repository of trivia about the first ten casts of The Real World. I hate my brain.)
Yeah, I watched several seasons back in the day. Couldn't tell you one bit about it these days - but I watched through Boston or something.

Well we were good girls, at our good Christian college. You too, eh? Which one did you go to?

I've heard "all the way around Robin Hood's barn" to describe an overly/wastefully circuitous route somewhere. "We finally got to the store but we went all the way around Robin Hood's barn to get there."

We used to say " 'round robin's barn" - same idea.

[dhkendall]

I'm moderately proud, though, that in neither southern state did I adopt "y'all" any more than I adopted "yinz" as a kid.

Interesting, I've lived in Manitoba all my life and, while it seems that most of our speech matches the Midwest (or at least No Dak and Minn according to this thread), I use y'all quite often, actually more than I believe I use "eh". I blame it on a friend of mine (and occassional Doper) who I used to correspond with online all the time. She's from the south (Arkansas if I recall) and used "y'all" about as often as y'all might expect her to use it. It then entered my speech.

Curses!

[MeanOldLady]

"Me and my wife went to....". That's as wrong as "Me went to....". "My wife and I went...." is proper.Hardly regional.

[WOOKINPANUB]

I don't know if it's regional or if it was a trend that was just starting at the time but I never heard anyone refer to their young male children as "buddy" until I moved to Florida. I also had never heard people,when talking to their children, refer to other adults as"Miss _________" although I now know this is common all over the south.

I really dislike both of these things, as I do most regionalisms.

[melodyharmonius]

I don't know if it's regional or if it was a trend that was just starting at the time but I never heard anyone refer to their young male children as "buddy" until I moved to Florida. I also had never heard people,when talking to their children, refer to other adults as"Miss _________" although I now know this is common all over the south.

I really dislike both of these things, as I do most regionalisms.

i never used to use the 'miss' and 'mister' thing - but now I have succumbed.

It makes it easier for my SO and I anyway - because my godson calls him "Mr. Dewey" since he's not technically his god-uncle or what have you.

And I find it goes down well in the office when I say goodmorning to folks, especially as the newbie/temp (I'm a consultant). Shows I'm being respectful but friendly.

[Webner]

In central Ohio, lots of people say "pry" instead of "probably". I heard people also do this in other parts of the Midwest.

[The Tooth]

"Stay where yer to and I'll come where yer at."


"Oh, you're from Newfoundland, are you?"

[Surly Chick]

Hmm, I'm from the midwest and I always call dollar bills singles. I thought that was universal.

[Quasimodem]

I also had never heard people,when talking to their children, refer to other adults as"Miss _________" although I now know this is common all over the south.

I really dislike both of these things, as I do most regionalisms.

I don't dislike it, but my first name happens to be "Bill", and there are still too many people around who remember the SNL clay "cartoon" character who used to get his ass kicked by Mr. Sluggo, and just can't seem to make their sorry asses keep from adding "Oooooh noooooo, Mr. Bill!"

To which I usually reply (in Mr. Bill's voice): "Oooooooh noooooo! (Mr __ Ms__) has a death wish! Ooooooooh nooooo!")

Which results in a sick looking smile running off their face.

I like it when the little young 'uns call me that, and when I meet someone older than myself I'm apt to use it (except when their name happens to be Bill).

Q

[gang green]

I'll confirm that in Texas, at least, a drive is usually referred to by how long it will take, rather than how many miles it is.

For example, it's 6 hours to my parent's home. This is a very common way to describe a distance. I actually have to think to figure out that it's 400 miles to my parent's house.

You even see it used for short distances. "How far away is that store?" "About 15 minutes."

One that's falling into disuse is "do it to it." It means the same thing as Larry the Cable Guy's "git 'er done." I prefer the former.

[Cat Whisperer]

I was right - you people really do talk funny. :)

We measure distance more in hours than anything else in Canada, which makes sense when you think about it (we like to drive A LOT). My sister lives about six hours away; Edmonton is about a three hour drive; Lethbridge is about two hours away; my mom lives seven hours away. I couldn't actually tell you the kilometerage of any of these places.

I'm sure we have plenty of regionalisms, but I can't think of any. Well, hoodies are called bunnyhugs in Saskatchewan, but that's about it.

[melodyharmonius]

I know 'wicked pissah' was mentioned already - but it occured to me that in the 80s we often said 'wicked ahwsome' instead (plus, our 'rents objected to anything with the word piss in it.)

[An Gadaí]

"I will in me bollix" and "I will in me shite" - I most probably will not.

[Musicat]

"There you go," which means pretty darn much the same as "You bet."


"I sure like ketchup on my french fries."

"There ya go!"

[Diver]

NH versus TX;

So don't I = so do I
Go straight ahead of yourself = go straight ahead
Go down cellar = go down in the basement
Change up = change your clothes
Paper bag = paper sack
Go food shopping = go to the grocery store
Carriage = shopping cart
Frappe = milk shake
? = malt (They didn't know what a malt was when I lived in NH)
Elastic = rubber band

[melodyharmonius]

I used to get teased for saying 'barrette' - the thing you use to hold your hair back.

I guess some people call it a clip or hair clip . . .

But when you buy it - it's listed as a barrette, so i don't know what i'm saying wrong . . .

[Pray for peace]

Hmm, I'm from the midwest and I always call dollar bills singles. I thought that was universal.

It might be universal. In Pittsburgh, I had only ever heard it referred to as a "one" or a dollar bill. The first time my roommate (from NJ) asked me if she could borrow a single there were no context clues and I had no idea what she was asking for.

[melodyharmonius]

i know i started this thread, and i know i was talking regionally, but i'm going to hijack my own thread a second based on Sidney's last post (i.e., context).

When I was in college, I was helping a new student get settled in her room (she was a cousin of a society sister). She was very prim and proper classically trained pianist from Venezuela.

I needed to run some errands and asked if i could pick her up anything.

'i really need some hookers, please,' she replied rather earnestly.
:eek:


turned out, she meant hangers. :cool:

[shiftless]

I had a buddy in college who told this story. He was from New England somewhere.

His mother came to visit him at college and took him out to lunch. When they finished, my buddy reached for the check and his mom said: "I'll blow you for it." After some shocked discussion he learned that she meant (of course) that she would pay for the meal. He had to uncomfortably explain why that was not a good phrase. Anybody from New England heard this before?

[melodyharmonius]

I had a buddy in college who told this story. He was from New England somewhere.

His mother came to visit him at college and took him out to lunch. When they finished, my buddy reached for the check and his mom said: "I'll blow you for it." After some shocked discussion he learned that she meant (of course) that she would pay for the meal. He had to uncomfortably explain why that was not a good phrase. Anybody from New England heard this before?

Not I.

[Pray for peace]

In a previous post I mentioned the difference between you'ns and yinz in Pittsburgh, but didn't explain. My relatives near Tarentum, Brackenridge and Natrona (part of the Allegheny Valley) all said/say "you'ns." (Do you'ns want anything to drink?) I used to work at an amusement park in West Mifflin, PA, and I noticed that some people from the Mon Valley said "yinz" (Where are yinz guys goin' tonight?). I think yinz is more common overall in Pittsburghese. A couple more that I remembered are that some people say "counsint" instead of counsin, and it seemed pretty universal that a sub sandwich is a "hoagie."

[Sir T-Cups]

I've lived in Indiana my whole life, and this is the only place I know where people constantly call a vacuum cleaner a "sweeper".

They use it as a verb too. "I'm going to sweep the family room". Really? because sweeping the carpet isn't going to do much...you should vacuum it. That's why it's called a vacuum cleaner!! It cleans via a vacuum

God that drives me nuts.

[Pray for peace]

No, we called it a sweeper/sweeping in Pittsburgh, too. Also, my grandma called her purse a pocketbook (not sure if this is regional or an age thing).

[Surly Chick]

Also, my grandma called her purse a pocketbook (not sure if this is regional or an age thing).
That reminds me, my gram called the couch a davenport. She was from outside Pittsburgh but, like Sidney, I don't know if it was an age thing or regional.

[missred]

No, we called it a sweeper/sweeping in Pittsburgh, too. Also, my grandma called her purse a pocketbook (not sure if this is regional or an age thing).



Ahh...more Hoosierisms.

I grew up using a sweeper, carrying a pocketbook (and I still call my purse one) and my parents call the thing 2-3 people can sit on to watch TV on a davenport.

[Cat Whisperer]

That reminds me, my gram called the couch a davenport. <snip>
Oh, you mean the chesterfield? :D

[legalsnugs]

I don't know how regional these are, but in Alabama I'd hear:

"Cut off the light." Or to turn it on: "Cut own the light."

"You want I should [do something]?" Ex.: "You want I should change the channel?"

"I could care less." (This one makes my teeth hurt.)

[Dr. Righteous]

"Bubbler" (for drinking fountain) is confined to a few, very small parts of the Midwest and will either confuse the hell out of anyone outside of those areas, or make them laugh hysterically at your backwards dialect.


I encountered bubbler on my very first day in college in Boston. Someone asked me where the bubbler was and I said "Sorry, don't know, I'm new here". I thought 'what the hell is a bubbler??'

Who knows, maybe the person asking was from that small part of the Midwest. It's unlikely though as my university had very few non locals going there (I was quite the oddity).

[elfkin477]

I don't know if it's regional or if it was a trend that was just starting at the time but I never heard anyone refer to their young male children as "buddy" until I moved to Florida. Buddy is a term of affection for small boys and male animals both here and we're almost as far away from FL as you can get northwards. In fact, my dad's new Christmas present, a mini rex bunny, is named Buddy.

I had a buddy in college who told this story. He was from New England somewhere.

His mother came to visit him at college and took him out to lunch. When they finished, my buddy reached for the check and his mom said: "I'll blow you for it." After some shocked discussion he learned that she meant (of course) that she would pay for the meal. He had to uncomfortably explain why that was not a good phrase. Anybody from New England heard this before? Um. No. There's something really wrong with his mom if that was a true story.

I encountered bubbler on my very first day in college in Boston. Someone asked me where the bubbler was and I said "Sorry, don't know, I'm new here". I thought 'what the hell is a bubbler??'

Who knows, maybe the person asking was from that small part of the Midwest. It's unlikely though as my university had very few non locals going there (I was quite the oddity). Bubbler and Water Fountain are entirely interchangable in Boston and on up north. As are grocery carriage and grocery cart. Everyone there will know what you mean by either term in those pairs.

[Quasimodem]

I had a buddy in college who told this story. He was from New England somewhere.

His mother came to visit him at college and took him out to lunch. When they finished, my buddy reached for the check and his mom said: "I'll blow you for it." After some shocked discussion he learned that she meant (of course) that she would pay for the meal. He had to uncomfortably explain why that was not a good phrase. Anybody from New England heard this before?

Reminds me of one of the lyrics to an old "Blues Brothers'" tune (and probably someone elses' before that), but I can't quite recall it. I can hear SOME of it in my head, but don't know the title.

So I would say it is a qolloqualism.

Q

[Quasimodem]

Definitely Blues Bro's. A little more of the lyrics just "trickled in":

"I blew each and every one of my friends
Felt so good I had to blow them again...."

Belushi singing, but just can't think of the name of the song!

Anyone?

Q

[NinjaChick]

"Hey, yous guys busy this weekend? Want to go down the shore?"

I've heard that "you guys" is somewhat local to the NYC/Philly regions, but I have friends from all over who I've heard use it. I got laughed at the first time I said "yous guys" to a couple friends from non-NJ places.

Also, Pittsburghers talk funny. :p

[Quasimodem]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzP0GCILr7c

A few grey cells still active, ah reckon!

;)

Q

[PookahMacPhellimey]

I used to live in the rural west of Ireland and have a list as long as my arm. Some of my favourites:

- I'm after having my dinner. (I've just had my dinner)
- He does be going there. (He tends to go there a lot)
- Anything strange? What's the craic? How's the form? How's she cuttin'? ("How are you" or "What's up"?)
- I have the tea made. (rather than "I've made the tea")
And of course: That's grand.

On the edit: "Ye" for plural "you". "Are ye going to the pub for a few scoops?" I believe in Dublin it would be "yis".

[enomaj]

Actually, it was Cynthia - who I thought was from Pennsylvania, but after looking it up it appears she was from California.

I think hella evolved from hell of a/helluva.which was big in 80s black slang.

Slangified usage of helluva would be:

This BBQ chicken is helluva.
Dolly Parton got some helluva titties.

See also: hellafied

[PookahMacPhellimey]

I needed to run some errands and asked if i could pick her up anything.

'i really need some hookers, please,' she replied rather earnestly.
:eek:


turned out, she meant hangers. :cool:

Tourists in the west of Ireland are sometimes simularly surprised when locals recommend they go watch the Galway hookers.

(They're a type of boat: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galway_hooker)

[FairyChatMom]

I don't know if this is a regionalism or a weird family thing, but my husband's grandmother always referred to green bell peppers as mangoes. My husband said he was an adult before he learned that a mango is a tropical fruit. Grandma lived her whole life in Indianapolis.

My mother-in-law, also a Hoosier, uses the word "boughten" as in "store-boughten cake" as opposed to one you bake at home. I went to college in Indiana, and I never heard anyone say that, but then college towns are probably not typical since they draw all kinds...

My grandmother, a Baltimorean start to finish, would rench out the zink when she was done warshin' dishes. Oddly enough, no one in my immediate family ever used the distinctive Baltimore "o" except for one cousin. I'm usually pretty good with accents, but I can't make that sound at all.

[jtgain]

No, we called it a sweeper/sweeping in Pittsburgh, too. Also, my grandma called her purse a pocketbook (not sure if this is regional or an age thing).

More Burghisms:

Jaggers--anything off of a plant that has sharp points.

"En at"--and such, and so forth (e.g. I am going to go get chips and beer en at)

Speaking of beer, I never could get over not being able to buy beer in grocery or convenience stores, but having to go to those giant beer warehouses that they have.

[Pray for peace]

Speaking of beer, I never could get over not being able to buy beer in grocery or convenience stores, but having to go to those giant beer warehouses that they have.

That would be a beer distributor.

It's different than a state store (for liquor and wine).

ETA: Beer distributors usually have pop, too.

[melodyharmonius]

ETA: Beer distributors usually have pop, too.

Do they have mom too? :cool:

[missred]

I don't know if this is a regionalism or a weird family thing, but my husband's grandmother always referred to green bell peppers as mangoes. My husband said he was an adult before he learned that a mango is a tropical fruit. Grandma lived her whole life in Indianapolis.

My mother-in-law, also a Hoosier, uses the word "boughten" as in "store-boughten cake" as opposed to one you bake at home. I went to college in Indiana, and I never heard anyone say that, but then college towns are probably not typical since they draw all kinds... <snip>


They're Hoosierisms. I was probably ten before realizing that what the encyclopedia showed as a mango and what we called a mango were two different things. My parents still make the distinction between homemade and store-boughten cookies.

You can hear some more Hoosierisms if you can find some of David Letterman's early Late Night shows. Some of them just come out and some are trotted out to be made a bit of fun with.

[Pray for peace]

Do they have mom too? :cool:

Rats, I forgot to add the smiley! :p