# Do you have a family dialect? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 21, 2010, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-family-dialect/547489 "2010-07-21T17:26:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Looey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ee7513/32.png) [@Looey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Looey)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-family-dialect/547489/1 "2010-07-21T17:26:33Z")
There are some words used in our family that no one else would get. Usually they are a small child’s mispronunciation that everyone thought was cute and others repeated. For example, _everyone_ understands “pasketti” to be the child’s way of saying spaghetti. But there are others only family members would recognize. My mother cooks “hangabers” (hang followed by a hard g) for lunch. Someone who is given to pestering you for the fun of it is an “akle”(long A sound), or if they’re particularly good at it, a “zow akle”. I know “akle” comes from my grandmother’s German, but haven’t a clue if we’ve bastardized the pronunciation over the years. There’s others too, but I’m coming up blank right now. Does anyone else use words only a small group of people would understand? What do you catch yourself saying that gives others that WTF look in their eye? ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-family-dialect/547489/2 "2010-07-21T17:46:59Z")
I mentioned in another thread that my family says “toasted cheese” instead of “grilled cheese” (as in sandwiches). Some people speculated it might be a Britishism but my family is rust belt Eastern European. Bar soap is “people soap”. It goes on the shopping list as such. [Fisher Price Little People](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:OriginalLP.jpg) are “peeps” “Be careful” is “be beek-yule” - no idea how it’s spelled, but that’s what we say. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-family-dialect/547489/3 "2010-07-21T18:25:44Z")
Beagles = bagels Beepbooper = the car remote thingy Eating the elephant = doing a giant task or lot of work a bit a time usually when you’re tired or overwhelmed. From ‘how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time’ Miskies = cat mice toys and sometimes the animal. Got it from a family friend Sugar Wowies = Corn pops cereal ---
**Author:** ![filling\_pages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b9bd4f/32.png) [@filling\_pages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filling_pages)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-family-dialect/547489/4 "2010-07-21T18:42:53Z")
Trinkie and tronkie: thirsty in the car on a road trip. Sometimes stretched to mean thirsty and hungry. Basically, you want a gas station break to grab a soda. Always said together. “I’m trinkie and tronkie, can we stop a minute?” ---
**Author:** ![Looey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ee7513/32.png) [@Looey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Looey)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-family-dialect/547489/5 "2010-07-21T18:44:02Z")
Bubble water = seltzer We started calling it this around our kids, and now they don’t even know what seltzer water is. Their friends look at them like they’re nuts when they say it. ---
**Author:** ![Looey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ee7513/32.png) [@Looey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Looey)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-family-dialect/547489/6 "2010-07-21T19:11:32Z")
Poodle noodles = Ramen This is because they look like the picture in the Dr. Seuss book where the beetles fight thier battles in a bottle, and the bottle’s on a poodle and the poodle’s eating noodles. ---
**Author:** ![brendon\_small](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brendon_small/32/17101_2.png) [@brendon\_small](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brendon_small)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-family-dialect/547489/7 "2010-07-21T19:48:28Z")
> [@Looey](#): > > Poodle noodles = Ramen We used to use this one, also. I’m not sure where we got it from though. I said it since I was a kid. Brendon Small ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-family-dialect/547489/8 "2010-07-21T23:39:57Z")
I love these threads. Studies have indicated that couples and families use more nonverbal communication and lingo than in any other kind of relationship, sometimes to the extent that outsiders usually have no idea what they’re going on about. Between me and my husband: **migrate** - go to bed, i.e. migrate from the living room to the bedroom. ‘‘Shall we migrate?’’ The bird sound ‘‘B’CAW!’’ is also recognized as the signal that it’s bedtime. **mwap** - originally the mating call of an amoeba during my world-famous amoeba impressions, has now come to usually signify impatience or a sense of neglect. ‘‘MWAP!’’ = ‘‘pay attention to me.’’ Tone can be modified to mean other things, ranging from, ‘‘you just hurt my feelings’’ to ‘‘I’m going to miss you.’’ (Mwap-in-action: 15 minutes ago I Googlechatted a lone ‘‘mwap’’ to **Sr. Olives** , which he immediately recognized as, ‘‘come home already.’’) **snort** - a snort is an excavation machine. From the classic children’s book _Are You My Mother?_[I love snorts.](http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://wildinkpress.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/garner_ranch_6.jpg&imgrefurl=http://wildinkpress.com/blog/2009/10/26/pumpkin-patching/&usg=__ficq_vZpt45lPhmJwOTk8odp0OM=&h=568&w=842&sz=246&hl=en&start=15&sig2=Vjtq9kqCPTZrdUWvl0s6Mg&tbnid=w9OXrbYEZICH-M:&tbnh=97&tbnw=143&ei=VYJHTIf_MYKglAfm2KmNBA&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsnort%2Bre%2Byou%2Bmy%2Bmother%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26biw%3D1024%26bih%3D402%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C288&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=160&vpy=144&dur=3585&hovh=98&hovw=145&tx=114&ty=40&page=2&ndsp=12&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:15&biw=1024&bih=402) ‘‘ **That just raises further questions!** ’’ - reference to Futurama. Means ‘‘how peculiar.’’ ‘‘ **You had an X, its name was Stampy**.’’ - the response my husband gives whenever I ask for something he doesn’t want to get me, in hopes I’ll forget about it. Like, say, a squid gun. ‘‘You had a squid gun, its name was Stampy.’’ Reference to the Simpsons and Bart’s pet elephant Stampy, but I’m sure you knew that. Among close loved ones: **olives** - it means ‘‘I love you.’’ Something my best friend and I invented in high school, now very heavily associated with me by friends and loved ones. One of my favorite variations, ‘‘ **Goodn’olives**.’’ = ‘‘Good night, I love you.’’ ---
**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:** [July 22, 2010, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-family-dialect/547489/9 "2010-07-22T04:29:49Z")
Lisa Losa - leave it alone Bandoom/Ballooma - balloon Poukaback - put it back Paarge - Porridge Mummydo/Daddydo - a frustrated plea for someone else to do whatever you’re having trouble with. Shrubbery - salad greens ---
**Author:** ![GameHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@GameHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GameHat)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-family-dialect/547489/10 "2010-07-22T04:42:13Z")
My brother and I both use “wickety” to describe something that is jank, hinge or otherwise low quality. Source is our dad, who despite all attempts at correction, consistently referred to our local Chinese take-out place as “Wickety Wok”. Also, back when the Charmin Bear was fairly new we both recognized him as awful. And he then became the “Wickety Bear”. Kind of related. ---
**Author:** ![Looey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ee7513/32.png) [@Looey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Looey)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-family-dialect/547489/11 "2010-07-22T05:02:07Z")
There must be something about Chinese restaurants. My sister and her husband have pet names for two here. China Bowl = Tidy Bowl (think old toilet cleaner commercials) China Garden = China Hard On (these folks are a little warped, you know) ---
**Author:** ![PsyXe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@PsyXe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PsyXe)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-family-dialect/547489/12 "2010-07-22T19:30:26Z")
If you heard my family communicating among ourselves you would probably not understand a single word except “and” and “the”. My mother’s family started out with some funny words and mispronunciations, and she began using them with me once I was old enough to have learned the proper words first. It had evolved into a completely incomprehensible dialect by the time my husband came along, and he picked up on all of it and added more of his own. My dad doesn’t use weird words as much as the rest of us do. Nearly every major noun has been mangled in some way, as well as many verbs, and most of the words also double as terms of endearment. Here’s a sample. As an exercise I’m going to limit myself to cat-related words. Kitta Kitke Beera Kitoozie Mewkie Mewks Kitkoo Purrkie-furka Oh heavens, all these words mean cat. Wiskoozie = whisker. Also means wisteria. Kittabicks = cat biscuits. Skroking and fluffing = when a cat winds itself around your legs. Lew or lewks = tail. Also means lion. Keeta = cheetah. Keetakies = baby cheetahs (there’s nothing cuter!) Gingle = the neighbours’ ginger tom that wanders into our garden, sending our dog into a frenzy. And these are just words related to a single topic that I randomly picked while writing this post. On reflection, I’ve decided we are all insane. ---
**Author:** ![PsyXe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@PsyXe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PsyXe)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-family-dialect/547489/13 "2010-07-22T19:36:57Z")
Oh, and due to all the spaghetti-and-noodle related words in the thread so far, here’s our word for spaghetti or any long noodle: Worms. “What’s for dinner tonight?” “Worms and mince!” (Spaghetti bolognaise). ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-family-dialect/547489/14 "2010-07-22T19:43:35Z")
What’s for dinner? Chicken boobies in potato sauce. ---
**Author:** ![Tequila\_Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/41988e/32.png) [@Tequila\_Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tequila_Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-family-dialect/547489/15 "2010-07-22T20:08:58Z")
We have a lot of food related ones Cho pops = Pork Chops Rimbs = Ribs Popiscicle = popcicle And, a personal favorite, Chicken beans. We don’t know what chicken beans are exactly, just that our toddler son REALLY never wanted them and was very dramatic and vocal about making sure we knew it. We tortured him often with offers of chicken beans just to laugh. (He’s now almost sixteen, and still gets dramatic about them for comedic purposes.) ---
**Author:** ![Rala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@Rala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rala)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-family-dialect/547489/16 "2010-07-23T07:04:12Z")
What’s for dinner? Monkey brains. Nyoy! = What a truly terrible joke! Blubble = Apple Ning nong = Idiot Gnin gnon = Even bigger idiot Gug = Baby/toddler Glareton = Skeleton Robot biscuits = Pringles The Boy = My brother. We call him “Boy” more often than we use his name. Honk honk camel = Me Evil little demon brat = My sister Dance recital = Concert in which I’m playing the violin I’ll kill you while you sleep = Goodnight Remember to feed the donkey = Goodbye (said when one of us is going on holiday) Law of the sea = If it’s caught in your hair, you have to keep it You have [insert obvious physical feature of person you’re addressing] = I’m bored, talk to me ---
**Author:** ![Not\_a\_Platypus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d26b3c/32.png) [@Not\_a\_Platypus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_a_Platypus)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-family-dialect/547489/17 "2010-07-23T07:13:37Z")
I feel like we do, but thinking about it, I realize it’s mostly sounds combined with motion that get a specific point across (or just sounds with different tones or inflections). The closest I can think of otherwise could be considered more of a family inside joke. If someone is complaining about how long it’s taking to get somewhere, or asking how much longer it’ll be: it’s just three more light poles. ---
**Author:** ![Looey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ee7513/32.png) [@Looey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Looey)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-family-dialect/547489/18 "2010-07-23T15:21:38Z")
What’s for dinner? Pickled skunk butts and fried A-holes! (My brother-in-law is a strange man.) ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-family-dialect/547489/19 "2010-07-23T15:43:12Z")
The Littlest Briston has given us many that are now in common usage in the family, even if she’s not around. Jamamas = pajamas Motormicycle = motorcycle Squares = Frosted Mini Wheats (my favorite cereal – “squares” just goes on the shopping list now) We have a close family friend in Denise – when TLB was born, Denise was made an honorary grandmother, As the years passed we tried to have TLB call her “Grandma Denise”, but she couldn’t quite say it properly. Denise is now know by all as Ganise. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-family-dialect/547489/20 "2010-07-23T15:55:12Z")
My son’s name is Kristofer. When he was little, I told him that there was a campaign to put the “Christ” back in “Christmas”, and that I had donated the first part of his name to the cause, so from then on he would have to be known as “X”. He believed me. He’s now 39 and occasionally we still call him “X”, which gets strange looks. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-family-dialect/547489.md?page=2)