# Do non-Southerners not say "wreck"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 19, 2009, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-non-southerners-not-say-wreck/506948 "2009-08-19T13:47:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-non-southerners-not-say-wreck/506948/1 "2009-08-19T13:47:42Z")
The college students are back, excruciatingly. (When did they get so young, by the way?) They’re clogging up Target, they’re all up in the grocery store buying the stupidest packaged things, and I’ve gotten carded for liquor, like, three times in the past week. Anyway, every year there’s always a cute little write-up in the newspaper about how they try to orient people from elsewhere to South Carolina culture. (This time it was all about boiled peanuts - but evidently they offered them to them COLD? WTF? Who the hell is going to like cold boiled peanuts if they’ve never seen them before?) So the point is, the article also pointed out some little things about local culture, like "They were told that, in South Carolina, some refer to a car accident as a wreck. " What? Doesn’t everybody say that? I mean, it isn’t like “shopping cart” and “buggy”, where you know people say different things. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-non-southerners-not-say-wreck/506948/2 "2009-08-19T14:03:25Z")
Grew up in California, and while we would sometimes say that someone wrecked his car, we wouldn’t see the aftermath of two cars colliding and say, “look at that wreck!” Nor would we say that there was a wreck which caused a traffic jam. “Accidents” cause traffic jams. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-non-southerners-not-say-wreck/506948/3 "2009-08-19T14:05:53Z")
I grew up in CA too, and while I didn’t use the word “wreck” to describe a car accident, I know plenty of people who did. Pop, for one. He’s from RI which, if I’m reading this here map correctly, is not in the South. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-non-southerners-not-say-wreck/506948/4 "2009-08-19T14:14:05Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > So the point is, the article also pointed out some little things about local culture, like "They were told that, in South Carolina, some refer to a car accident as a wreck. " And they seriously think there’s anyone in the whole country over the age of ten who would actually need to be told that? Wow. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-non-southerners-not-say-wreck/506948/5 "2009-08-19T14:16:41Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Pop, for one. He’s from RI which, if I’m reading this here map correctly, is not in the South. If he’s from RI you should probably refer to him as Soda. I’ve always said wreck. WTF? ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-non-southerners-not-say-wreck/506948/6 "2009-08-19T14:19:31Z")
> [@Gary\_T](#): > > And they seriously think there’s anyone in the whole country over the age of ten who would actually need to be told that? Wow. These are incoming freshmen _from out of state_ who still went to the University of South Carolina. Be charitable. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ronald\_C.Semone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cc9497/32.png) [@Ronald\_C.Semone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ronald_C.Semone)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-non-southerners-not-say-wreck/506948/7 "2009-08-19T14:22:44Z")
I grew up in Massachusetts and I have always said "wreck’. It wouldn’t occur to me to say “accident” in any of the examples given so far. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-non-southerners-not-say-wreck/506948/8 "2009-08-19T14:22:57Z")
Midwesterner here - I might not personally use “wreck” to refer to an accident itself, perhaps, but I’d definitely understand its use in that context, without even a second thought. I’d use it as a verb - “He wrecked his car” - or to refer to a car totaled in an accident, but it wouldn’t be my first choice to describe the incident, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-non-southerners-not-say-wreck/506948/9 "2009-08-19T14:24:34Z")
I am a Southerner born and bred but I live in Massachusetts now. I would be shocked if anyone didn’t know what a “wreck” is and I am pretty sure that people here use it as well even though I haven’t paid that much attention to the matter. There is even a type of tow truck called a “wrecker” so I can’t see how anyone would not know. ---
**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:** [August 19, 2009, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-non-southerners-not-say-wreck/506948/10 "2009-08-19T14:28:46Z")
Sesquicoastal Midwesterner here: I prefer the breezy tabloid feel of “crack-up” myself. But I would probably say “crash” in preference to “accident,” which makes me think the driver couldn’t make the rest stop in time. BTW, the Metro New York, ex Connecticut, term for a shopping cart is “wagon,” ideally with a dipthong “a” sound (“weeagon”). ---
**Author:** ![Baracus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2bfe46/32.png) [@Baracus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baracus)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-non-southerners-not-say-wreck/506948/11 "2009-08-19T14:29:16Z")
As a Yankee transplant to NC, I have noticed that “wreck” is used much more frequently down here than it was when I lived in upstate NY. Nonetheless, I don’t think you would find many people who didn’t know what you were talking about if you said something like, “I saw a bad wreck on the way to work this morning.” ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-non-southerners-not-say-wreck/506948/12 "2009-08-19T14:29:25Z")
Here in PA wreck is common. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-non-southerners-not-say-wreck/506948/13 "2009-08-19T14:32:45Z")
I grew up in California. I’ve heard accident and wreck. Wreck would imply more damage. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-non-southerners-not-say-wreck/506948/14 "2009-08-19T14:33:06Z")
In my area (Northern Virginia) a wreck is much worse than an accident. A wreck is when the helicopters take you to the hospital and they close down the street to collect evidence. Likewise if you “wrecked” your car, it may or may not be “totaled” but it defintely was not just an “accident” or a “fender-bender”. Those class conscious types :rolleyes: who don’t like to use “wreck” would maybe say “bad accident.” ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-non-southerners-not-say-wreck/506948/15 "2009-08-19T14:39:08Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > These are incoming freshmen **from out of state** who still went to the University of South Carolina. Be charitable. 🙂 I’m happy to be charitable to the freshmen. I’m having difficulty being charitable to whoever thinks said freshmen won’t understand the word “wreck” in the context of an auto accident. It’s not like they’ve come from a different planet. Or is it?..😛 ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-non-southerners-not-say-wreck/506948/16 "2009-08-19T15:04:19Z")
Growing up in NE Ohio, “wreck” was the usual term. Here in Houston, it seems people are more likely to have “accidents.” ---
**Author:** ![stretch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@stretch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stretch)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-non-southerners-not-say-wreck/506948/17 "2009-08-19T15:07:26Z")
I use wreck up here in Washington, too. Look at that wreck up a head. Jesus, someone just wrecked their car. Were you in a wreck? Of course, you can wreck other things. The puppies wrecked my sports bra this morning when they ate the back of it. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-non-southerners-not-say-wreck/506948/18 "2009-08-19T15:43:36Z")
And here, I thought this thread was going to be about people saying ‘ **wreck** havoc’ instead of ‘ **wreak** havoc’. (M-W says the former is one acceptable pronunciation, but it sounds odd to my ears.) ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-non-southerners-not-say-wreck/506948/19 "2009-08-19T15:45:24Z")
> [@Gary\_T](#): > > I’m happy to be charitable to the freshmen. I’m having difficulty being charitable to whoever thinks said freshmen won’t understand the word “wreck” in the context of an auto accident. It’s not like they’ve come from a different planet. Or is it?..😛 I repeat - _these are kids so dumb they are paying out of state tuition at USC._. Think of all the schools they couldn’t get into. I’m surprised they managed to find their way to the state, let alone to the campus. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-non-southerners-not-say-wreck/506948/20 "2009-08-19T15:48:04Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > I repeat - _these are kids so dumb they are paying out of state tuition at USC._. Think of all the schools they couldn’t get into. I’m surprised they managed to find their way to the state, let alone to the campus. You are just seeing the ones that got rejected from Texas A&M (the Aggies) as their first choice. There was an Aggie that was down on his luck. In order to raise some money he decided to kidnap a kid and hold him for ransom. He went to the playground, grabbed a kid, took him behind a tree and told him, “I’ve kidnapped you.” The Aggie wrote a note saying “I’ve kidnapped your kid. Tomorrow morning, put $10,000 in a paper bag and put it beneath the pecan tree next to the slide on the north side of the city playground. Signed, An Aggie.” The Aggie then pinned the note to the kid’s shirt and sent him home to show it to his parents. The next morning the Aggie checked, and sure enough a paper bag was sitting beneath that pecan tree. The Aggie opened up the bag and found the $10,000 with a note. The note said, “How could one Aggie do this to another Aggie?” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-non-southerners-not-say-wreck/506948.md?page=2)