I’ve always thought that this more something people think “Southerners say” than something any Southerners actually say.
Are there really places in 2021 America where people (esp younger than 60) will naturally and unironically point at an ice chest full of Mountain Dew, Sprite, and Sunkist and invite a friend to “grab yourself a coke”?
I’m pretty sure this board is where I learned about it (granted, probably many years ago). I don’t think I’ve heard it in person, but maybe in a movie(?)
Southerners, chime in and tell us if this is really “a thing”.
I’ve got a good friend from outside Athens, GA. She’s back there a lot to visit family, and says they all use “Coke” generically.
She can’t tell these stories without laughing, because even when she lived there it boggled her mind to have friends ask “Wanna Coke?” Sure! “Okay, what kina Coke? We got Sev’Nup, root beer, Co’cola, oh, we got Grape Nehi!”
…
eta: Just had a thought… I wonder if this is more prevalent the closer you are to Atlanta (home of Co’cola)?
It’s certainly not pan-Southern. I could buy it being more of a thing in a fairly constrained part of Georgia.
But seriously … don’t mind me too much here. One of my pet peeves is “Things that indicate all Southerners can be thrown into one hat”. Since I never hear “coke = any fizzy drink” in the wild, I tend to doubt it’s really out there.
Wait… if you don’t experience something, you doubt it’s real?
What about the Cuban Snail? Ever seen one of those, or heard a golden-rumped elephant shrew? Or the Resplendent Quetzal? Rare, but real. And they all love Coke…
Just wanted to point out the lovely haiku-esque nature of this poetic little post.
Situational – sometimes yes, sometimes no. It’s somewhat of a chaotic (and often nonce) rubric that I apply.
Dude - You should have stayed for the finale! You haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen Peg working the pole.
I’ve personally encountered Coke = generic name for carbonated soft drink in Georgia. I’ve never encountered it in North Carolina (our state carbonated soft drink is Cheerwine, anyway). I strongly suspect it’s not a Southernism, but a regionalism around Atlanta.
I lived for six years in Atlanta (20-25 years ago). This was definitely a thing. Not only did people refer to any carbonated soft drink as a “coke” there was one exception. Pepsi was not Coke. It was something weird foreigners drank.
But this was a thing for older people. I expect it has died down a lot in the last 20 years as so many people in Atlanta are from other parts of the country.
I also went to Birmingham AL and Jackson MS a lot during those days, and it was a thing there as well. So I’m not sure it’s just an Atlanta thing.
According to the Dictionary of American Regional English, “coke” used generically for carbonated soft drink is real. I don’t think it’s deniable. And, according to the data, it wasn’t just an isolated geographical area. There are citations from all over.
B Sense.
By ext from the trademarked name: any of var carbonated soft drinks. chiefly South, South Midland, Southwest
- c1960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Coca-cola (or coke). The name for any carbonated drink.
- 1965–70 DARE
Qu. H78, Ordinary soft drinks, usually carbonated
Inf AR 56, Coke [FW: no distinction among brands generally]; CA 10, Coke [FW: Inf thinks Coke includes more than Coca-Cola]; CA 59, 85, Coke—by type; CA 107, Coke—mostly for Coca-Cola; CA 138, Coke—if Coke or not; GA 36, Coke—they claim that’s a trademark; GA 75, Cokes—for anything; KS 14, Coke—no matter what kind it is; LA 12, Cokes—sometimes applied regardless of brand; LA 14, Coke—without capital C; MA 5, Coke—for all [soft drinks]; young people now; MI 1, Pepsi and all of them would be cokes; MI 51, Coke—many call everything coke; MN 17, Coke—by type or trade name; MO 11, Coke—refers to soft drinks in general; NM 2, Pop, coca-cola; OH 65, Coke is any soft drink; SC 32, 34, Coke—any kind; SC 51, TN 5, Coke—generic term; TN 30, Cokes [FW: generic term used regardless of whether Coca-Cola is meant or not]; TX 99, Coke—used generally.
- 1967–68 DARE FW Addit AL, Coke, coca-cola, co’cola . . In most cases people use the term co’cola to refer not only to Coke but to any soft drink [or] soda; OK, Coke . . has become a generic name for any non-alcoholic beverage drunk in a social situation; PA, A coke bar— a soda fountain; common; TN, Coke— generic term for any bottled, carbonated drink, even to the extent of prompting the question, “What kind of coke do you want?”
- 1970 Tarpley Blinky 195 neTX, Younger informants frequently apply the trade name Coke or Coca Cola to all carbonated beverages.
- 1980 Houston Chron. (TX) 27 Jan 8, What Texans call non-alcoholic carbonated beverages seems to differ by region. Respondents under 25 tended to use the trade name Coke for any of the beverages. That use is most common in Dallas and West Texas.
Heh. I never bothered to even point out that I actually agree with you 100% here. It grates pretty damn badly. “Pop” is nearly as bad … but the folks calling soft drinks “pop” have numbers, so I have to suffer in silence. 
My ex-wife and oldest daughter live in North Carolina so I have visited many times. I am a fan of Cheerwine. 
More support for fairly wide spread evidence of use of “coke” as generic
Not a southerner, but up here in Wisconsin, it’s a thing (at least with the people I know personally).
I’m a southerner, but the closest I’ve ever been to Atlanta is Wilmington, NC.
How I grew up, it’s all coke.
Back in West Texas, Coke did = any fizzy soft drink. Even Pepsi. Dunno about these days. Never encountered it here in Hawaii.
I’ve always heard it called (as) “Skillsaw”, and when I got to old enough to wield one, I realized it’s use involved a good bit of skill.
Dan
Yeah, I’d be one of those guys asking which saw you wanted. To me, it’d be like asking “Can ya pass me that Black and Decker?”
"Ok, to make sure you got what you wanted, I brought you a drill press, a chop saw, a 12-cup coffee/espresso/frother machine, and this really cool Alligator Lopper Cordless Chainsaw!"
My wife used to call any kind of sweetener “sugar”. Since I am a type-II diabetic it makes an enormous difference to me whether a sweetener is actual sugar or not.