# Did your grandparents (parents?) have weird names for things? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 21, 2013, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-your-grandparents-parents-have-weird-names-for-things/647948 "2013-01-21T21:46:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2013, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-your-grandparents-parents-have-weird-names-for-things/647948/141 "2013-01-31T23:39:59Z")
> [@Greg\_Charles](#): > > My (maternal) grandmother, a very nice woman in most ways, called [Brazil nuts](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazil_nuts) by the name “n\*\*\*er toes”. Never heard that but my dad called black gumdrops “n\*\*\*er babies” and said that’s what everyone called them when he was a kid. He called the phone “the horn”. > [@Yllaria](#): > > The only phrase that ever surprised me was when my Great Grandma talked about this one and that one “making love” on the TV while I was out of the room. Apparently that phrase used to mean kissing. It actually means “pitching woo,” although an also outmoded phrase. It’s not just hitting on, more like courting. > [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > Is she from [Baltimore](http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?85821-To-The-Merlin-Dialect-do-you-unnersteand) or anywhere around there? Here is [my version](http://www.seiglefamily.com/baltimorese/) of the Dictionary of Baltimorese. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2013, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-your-grandparents-parents-have-weird-names-for-things/647948/142 "2013-01-31T23:52:32Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Never heard that but my dad called black gumdrops “n\*\*\*er babies” and said that’s what everyone called them when he was a kid. > > He called the phone “the horn”. > > It actually means “pitching woo,” although an also outmoded phrase. It’s not just hitting on, more like courting. > > Here is [my version](http://www.seiglefamily.com/baltimorese/) of the Dictionary of Baltimorese. Or just “being charming and making them feel loving towards you.” Like when Lucy went around the room making love to the centaurs, fauns and everything in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. ---
**Author:** ![Chris2011](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Chris2011](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chris2011)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2013, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-your-grandparents-parents-have-weird-names-for-things/647948/143 "2013-01-31T23:58:23Z")
Grandpa called butter “smear”. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-your-grandparents-parents-have-weird-names-for-things/647948/144 "2013-02-01T00:02:06Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > It actually means “pitching woo,” although an also outmoded phrase. It’s not just hitting on, more like courting. Makes one wonder how to court violently, according to Mary in _It’s a Wonderful Life_: > [@](#): > > Mrs. **Hatch:** Who is down there with you, Mary? > **Mary:** It’s George Bailey, mother. > **Mrs. Hatch:** George Bailey? What does he want? > **Mary:** I don’t know! > [to George] > **Mary:** What do you want? > George Bailey: Me? Nothing! I just came in to get warm. > **Mary:** [pause] **He’s making violent love to me, mother!** ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-your-grandparents-parents-have-weird-names-for-things/647948/145 "2013-02-01T00:38:43Z")
> [@Silence\_Lenore](#): > > When I was a kid, mother would use the word buda for defecating, as in “do you have to go buda?” The story goes, that during potty training, one of us chubby kids sitting on the little potty training pot reminded her of a picture she saw of the Buda. This might be common. Our late cat used a [BoodaDome](http://www.petco.com/product/9965/Booda-Dome-Covered-Litter-Box-in-Titanium.aspx). ---
**Author:** ![Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8c91f0/32.png) [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bam_Boo_Gut)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-your-grandparents-parents-have-weird-names-for-things/647948/146 "2013-02-01T02:49:07Z")
My mum’s Irish so we used a turnscrew to turn screws rather than to drive them. We had a hot press, the cupboard with the hot water tank in it. ---
**Author:** ![Tollhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e99b99/32.png) [@Tollhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tollhouse)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-your-grandparents-parents-have-weird-names-for-things/647948/147 "2013-02-01T13:57:46Z")
My maternal grandparents from Ohio used…dinner for the noon meal, davenport for the couch, service porch for the small room off the kitchen where clothes were washed, oleo for crisco, my grandma used the word ugly to refer to a person who was mean spirited, “going into town” referred to the weekly long drive into city to do shopping, this was a bit of an event, I remember my grandma having to change into nicer clothes, and powder her face (her term to refer to putting on some makeup). My paternal grandparents were from Hawaii, a totally different culture. Ill have to think more if I an recall any strange words they used, off the top of my head I can’t recall. My grandpa hardly talked, he was always busy and super quiet, my grandma talked a bit more but I just can’t recall special words she used, oh, except she would tell us stories about the “menehunes” famous little hawaiian elves that run around when your sleeping and cause mischief. My dad also would tell us alot about them. My dad had a ton of very different and cool words and phrases from his hawaiian culture. Other dads seem boring now in retrospect, I was the only kid in school with a hawaiian dad who used words such as “wiki wiki” ( hurry up), “da kine” (honestly never understood this even tho he explained it), mele kalilimaka (merry Christmas) , "emana Pono ( not sure of the spelling but it means take care)…ill have to remember the rest, he threw hawaiian phrases into his everyday conversation with us ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-your-grandparents-parents-have-weird-names-for-things/647948/148 "2013-02-01T14:13:08Z")
> [@Sally\_Mander](#): > > When I was little, bug juice was a generic term for Kool-Aid or any kind of fruit-flavored drink. Not real juice, just the powdered stuff that was mixed with water. Definitely not soy sauce! I skimmed a lot of the thread, so I may have missed the connection, but what does soy sauce have to do with bug juice? ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-your-grandparents-parents-have-weird-names-for-things/647948/149 "2013-02-01T14:15:48Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Yeah? I’ve never heard people insert the “r” into anything so gratuitously as I had when I moved to Minnesota. Whenever someone asked me why I was moving, I’d say “Because I can’t stand to listen to people say ‘warsh’ anymore!” I thought that was common in Minnesota also. I KNOW it’s common in Philly, as I have relatives that make an annual trip from there to Warshanin D.C. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-your-grandparents-parents-have-weird-names-for-things/647948/150 "2013-02-01T14:24:00Z")
> [@hrhomer](#): > > I skimmed a lot of the thread, so I may have missed the connection, but what does soy sauce have to do with bug juice? Never mind, I see it. Seriously, though, that’s a usage I’ve never, ever heard. I’ve heard “bug juice” all over the country, and in all kinds of media, and it always means Kool-Aid-style punch, usually red. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-your-grandparents-parents-have-weird-names-for-things/647948/151 "2013-02-01T14:28:59Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I’m not sure if it’s a western Canadian thing or a Canadian thing, but we call underwear “gotch” or “gitch” (or “gitchies”). That sounds pretty close to “gutchies” - they must have some kind of similar etymology. FWIW, “gooch” means “perineum,” or “taint,” if you will. May be of similar etymology. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-your-grandparents-parents-have-weird-names-for-things/647948/152 "2013-02-01T17:22:08Z")
Southern Ontario here. I’ve heard “gocchies” but never used it. I always thought it was Italian in origin, hence the spelling. We used “chesterfield” when I was a kid, so much so that there was a Toronto chain of furniture stores called “The Chesterfield Shop”. But that usage has gradually been pushed out by “couch” (_not_ “sofa”, which is uncommon among my family). Another thing that may just be our family, or maybe Peterborough dialect (I’m not sure) was “aft” for “afternoon”: “This aft, I went to the store”. ---
**Author:** ![Toxgoddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Toxgoddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxgoddess)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-your-grandparents-parents-have-weird-names-for-things/647948/153 "2013-02-01T18:40:44Z")
My parents also said icebox for the fridge. Trick-or-treating was called begging, as in “Dad’s taking the little ones begging on Halloween.” Never heard anyone under 70 say that. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-your-grandparents-parents-have-weird-names-for-things/647948/154 "2013-02-01T18:44:10Z")
> [@hrhomer](#): > > I’ve heard “bug juice” all over the country, and in all kinds of media, and it always means Kool-Aid-style punch, usually red. I wonder whether this usage comes from the use of carmine as a coloring. Carmine is a red dye that comes from a scale insect, and that may have been used in coloring Kool-Aid and other drinks. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-your-grandparents-parents-have-weird-names-for-things/647948/155 "2013-02-01T19:25:49Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > I wonder whether this usage comes from the use of carmine as a coloring. Carmine is a red dye that comes from a scale insect, and that may have been used in coloring Kool-Aid and other drinks. I heard it explained by a camp counselor (who may have been completely making shit up) that it made kids go crazy or “bug out” with all the sugar. Your idea has more appeal, however 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-your-grandparents-parents-have-weird-names-for-things/647948/156 "2013-02-01T23:22:29Z")
My grandmother, from eastern North Carolina, would get “augers” - pronounced “AY-gers”. Nonspecifics aches and pains, I think, or possibly nausea. We never could figure it out. She never got an “auger” in her “goozle”, though - her “goozle” was her esophagus. As far as my parents, well, my whole nuclear family had an odd vocabulary: The laundry chute to the basement = “the pup”. “Put it down the pup!” A fart = a “bip”. The satin edging on some blankets = the “bibo”. The penis = the “dinkel”. ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-your-grandparents-parents-have-weird-names-for-things/647948/157 "2013-02-01T23:30:14Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > My grandmother, from eastern North Carolina, would get “augers” - pronounced “AY-gers”. Nonspecifics aches and pains, I think, or possibly nausea. We never could figure it out. > > … [Ague](http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ague) possibly? ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-your-grandparents-parents-have-weird-names-for-things/647948/158 "2013-02-02T01:58:15Z")
I gave a girlfriend (this was about three girlfriends and 26 years ago) a Valentine’s Day present. When she opened it, she said, “Oh, it’s a shimmy! My grandmother used to talk about her shimmies!” I said, “It’s called a _chemise_.” ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-your-grandparents-parents-have-weird-names-for-things/647948/159 "2013-02-02T02:47:29Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > - _Bureau_ = dresser Wait, you think the word bureau is uncommon? It’s used far more often here than dresser. Dresser is the word you use in writing when you give up trying to spell bureau. My grandmother called feces “tish”. Never heard anyone but her say that, though. And if we’re going for regionalisms too as we seem to with “warsh” and all, would any of you know what my grandfather meant if he called you a “hot shit”? You’re funny. My mother continues to confuse the ever-living hell out of us by being the only person in the family to use “dinner” to mean lunch. ---
**Author:** ![Clarisse\_McClellan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Clarisse\_McClellan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clarisse_McClellan)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-your-grandparents-parents-have-weird-names-for-things/647948/160 "2013-02-02T03:14:01Z")
My parents and grandparents were all from Kentucky. Some words they use(d): Larapin - good tasting workbrickle - hardworking in a whipstich - quickly malarky - bullshit having a sinking spell - sleepy tomar - tomorrow yestiddee - yesterday bidness - business coke or co-cola - any soda/pop fixin to - getting ready to padna = partner = my dad’s version of bro I’ll swan - I swear directly - right away They also had a ton of sayings like “doesnt have enough sense to come in out of the rain”, “doesnt amount to a hill of beans” My husband’s grandmother, who lives a thousand miles from Pennsylvania says yins (you guys, ya’ll) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-your-grandparents-parents-have-weird-names-for-things/647948.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-your-grandparents-parents-have-weird-names-for-things/647948.md?page=9)