# English words you think are unique to your country/region. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 6, 2007, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-you-think-are-unique-to-your-country-region/418268 "2007-09-06T18:03:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-you-think-are-unique-to-your-country-region/418268/41 "2007-09-07T03:07:14Z")
This is an expression, not a word, but in some parts of my home state of West-by-God-Virginia, “I don’t care to” do something means “I don’t mind,” not “I don’t want to.” To wit: “Mom has a doctor’s appointment next week. Can you take her?” “I don’t care to.” That means “I don’t mind taking her.” I wish I could find a cite for a court case in WV in which this particular linguistic quirk figured prominently in the trial. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-you-think-are-unique-to-your-country-region/418268/42 "2007-09-07T04:55:54Z")
[QUOTE=TheLoadedDog] Do people anywhere else start sentences with “Yeah no”, meaning “I see where you are coming from, but I politely disagree”? [/QUOTE] That’s very trendy right now. I hear that all the time. A couple of years ago I started a thread about the word “bogue”, which is regional to Michigan, it seems. Meaning rude, uncalled for, unfair. Also maybe unique to Michigan- “I’ll smoke your melon”. Threatening. In the South, the word license is plural. As in “My driver’s license expired, so I had to go get them renewed.” ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-you-think-are-unique-to-your-country-region/418268/43 "2007-09-07T12:08:29Z")
[QUOTE=freckafree] This is an expression, not a word, but in some parts of my home state of West-by-God-Virginia, “I don’t care to” do something means “I don’t mind,” not “I don’t want to.” To wit: “Mom has a doctor’s appointment next week. Can you take her?” “I don’t care to.” That means “I don’t mind taking her.” I wish I could find a cite for a court case in WV in which this particular linguistic quirk figured prominently in the trial. [/QUOTE] I say something similar: “Can you take Mom to the doctor?” “Sure, I don’t care.” I never thought about that before. I wonder if I got that from people around me where I grew up (St. Louis). ---
**Author:** ![Daithi\_Lacha](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daithi_lacha/32/5430_2.png) [@Daithi\_Lacha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daithi_Lacha)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-you-think-are-unique-to-your-country-region/418268/44 "2007-09-07T12:22:55Z")
When I was in college, I had a friend from South Carolina who would say “cut --” in terms of a switch. “Cut on the lights,” or “Cut off the lights.” Used to drive me nuts - “cut off,” I could understand, but “cut on?” ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-you-think-are-unique-to-your-country-region/418268/45 "2007-09-07T12:27:12Z")
My Old New England mother used to say “Going around Robinson’s barn” a lot. Also “a whorehouse of activity,” meaning very busy. New Jersey has “the exact same” instead of “exactly the same.” ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-you-think-are-unique-to-your-country-region/418268/46 "2007-09-07T12:40:21Z")
In Malaysian English (which is the mother tongue – yes, the L1! – of a good portion of the country’s population), they say “throw” instead of “throw away”: “Could you throw those banana peels, please?”. After a few years of hearing this sort of thing, I still find it hard to resist the urge to huck the banana peels across the room – _splat!_ – right against the wall. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-you-think-are-unique-to-your-country-region/418268/47 "2007-09-07T12:48:31Z")
One that often foxes foreign people here - “robots” are _traffic lights_. Also, if someone says they’ll do something “just now”, they mean _in a while, later_ - usually pronounces as one word, “jusnow”. If they mean to do it very soon, they’ll say “now now”, again, as one word. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-you-think-are-unique-to-your-country-region/418268/48 "2007-09-07T13:02:59Z")
[QUOTE=TheLoadedDog] Do people anywhere else start sentences with “Yeah no”, meaning “I see where you are coming from, but I politely disagree”? [/QUOTE] The character Phoebe on _Friends_ said that quite a bit. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-you-think-are-unique-to-your-country-region/418268/49 "2007-09-07T13:21:42Z")
Only in this region do people hear “GWB” and think “George Washington Bridge” instead of “George W Bush.” ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-you-think-are-unique-to-your-country-region/418268/50 "2007-09-07T13:35:57Z")
I’ve had non-Irish people look confused when I’ve used the term “give/gave out” e.g. the mother gave out to her child as he was late To give out to someone is to chastise them. I’m aware it also has a sexual meaning but the meaning I’m referring to is used over here all the time. ---
**Author:** ![liberty3701](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@liberty3701](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/liberty3701)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-you-think-are-unique-to-your-country-region/418268/51 "2007-09-07T13:58:37Z")
I grew up in New Jersey, two blocks from the Atlantic Ocean. The two things I can think of off the top of my head are: _down the shore_: When going from the inland to the beach, you are going d_own the shore_. When you reach your destination, you are _down the shore_. _bennies_: people from North Jersey (possibly NYC, too, depending on who you talk to) who come down the shore and are seen to be particularly obnoxious. The opposite of a \*benny \*is a _local_. And, yes, I do stand _on_ line not _in_ line. I got my MA in North Carolina, and I had to learn a few things, most notably that a \*toboggan \*is not a sled but a hat. I worked with the Lumbee Indian tribe in Robeson County, and they have some really great words, like \*juvember \*for ‘sling shot,’ \*toten \*for ‘a sign of a spirit or ghost,’ \*ellick \*for ‘coffee.’ There were also the more regional ones like \*cooter \*for ‘turtle’ (oh how I laughed when I was listening to an interview where someone stated that cooter was very tasty), and _liketa died_ as in, “I was so scared, I liketa died!” ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-you-think-are-unique-to-your-country-region/418268/52 "2007-09-07T14:17:16Z")
There are dictionaries full of the words Japanese has half-loaned, half-created. Viking, as in “The restaurant on the corner has a curry viking every Thursday.” - Smorgasbord, buffet or all-you-can-eat. The Imperial Hotel introduced the idea during the pre-war era with their “Viking Smorgasbord.” All the other hotels and restaurants immediately wanted to copy it, but because nobody could pronounce “Smorgasbord,” it became “Viking”. Skinship - Like friendship. A kind of intimacy or knowledge of someone that comes from being in physical contact. Salaryman - A rank-and-file career office worker. Y-Shirt - A long-sleeved shirt with buttons down the front. No relation to T-shirt, it actually is derived from “White Shirt” as this was the only color available when they were first introduced in Japan in the 1800’s. Remocon, Aircon, Mazacon, Bodicon, Famicon, Zenecon, - They all come from English, but each “con” means something different. Remote Control, Air Conditioner, Mother Complex, Body Consciousness, Family Computer (the name for the original Nintendo) and General Contractor ---
**Author:** ![MarcusF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/67e7ee/32.png) [@MarcusF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarcusF)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-you-think-are-unique-to-your-country-region/418268/53 "2007-09-07T14:18:36Z")
**liberty**. Do you know where “_bennies_” comes from? 25 years ago in the UK a “benny” was a yokel, a slow and stupid person - not necessarily obnoxious. The name came from a character in a low budget, day-time, soap called _Crossroads_ that had a cult following at the time. The story is that when British soldiers were chasing the Argentinians off the Falklands and they met the local Falkland Islanders, they started calling them “_bennies_”. Eventually the locals discovered the reference and were naturally not too happy so the word went out through the army chain of command to stop this terrible habit. The squaddies promptly renamed them “_stills_” with the explanation the they were “still bennies” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![liberty3701](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@liberty3701](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/liberty3701)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-you-think-are-unique-to-your-country-region/418268/54 "2007-09-07T14:35:08Z")
[QUOTE=MarcusF] **liberty**. Do you know where “_bennies_” comes from? [/QUOTE] The standard etymology I’ve heard down here is that the trunks that the original bennies (in the Jersey sense) would take on the train down the shore were marked BEN for Bayonne, Elizabeth, and Newark. More recently I’ve heard it as an acronym Bayonne Elizabeth Newark New York. In reality, I don’t think anyone is sure. Here’s a [wiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benny_%28slang%29) article on it with the usual disclaimer of taking the info with a grain of salt. I do believe this use goes back more than 25 years. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-you-think-are-unique-to-your-country-region/418268/55 "2007-09-07T14:40:24Z")
Kecks or Kex for underpants…NW of England ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-you-think-are-unique-to-your-country-region/418268/56 "2007-09-07T14:55:15Z")
‘Powder Day’ Taking a day off work to go sking. ‘Touron’ Combine the words Tourist and Moron. ‘Gaper’ a touron that stops in the middle of the street to take in the view. ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-you-think-are-unique-to-your-country-region/418268/57 "2007-09-07T16:46:11Z")
My mother’s family used the term “redd up” for cleaning up a room, in the sense of getting stuff picked up, and some of it put away, but not doing an actual cleaning. It’s of Scottish origin, and I guess shows up in British lit, but in the US it’s peculiar to Pennsylvania. I grew up in NE Ohio. We used the term “devil strip” for the strip of lawn between the sidewalk and the street. I don’t think that terminology is used anywhere else. I didn’t really know how limited the scope of these terms was until I discovered [word-detective.com](http://word-detective.com). ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-you-think-are-unique-to-your-country-region/418268/58 "2007-09-07T17:35:50Z")
I nearly forgot one of my favorite regionalisms. In the Cincinnati area, there is a very popular game which involves tossing weighted bags at targets. The targets are small wooden ramps with a hole near the top. The bags are much like beanbags, but instead of being filled with beans, they are filled with feed corn (feed corn being pretty easy to come by ‘round here). It’s a typical "throwin’ stuff" game like horseshoes, washers, Jarts, etc. Anyway, the name of this game derives from the integral components of feed corn and a board-with-a-hole: the game is called Cornhole. And lemme tell you, when you’re not from Cincinnati, and on your first weekend here, you read a newspaper columnist joking that the Olympics would be improved by the adition of a cornhole event, it can be a shock. The game is a lot of fun, though. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-you-think-are-unique-to-your-country-region/418268/59 "2007-09-07T17:38:53Z")
I’m sorry but I don’t get this ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-you-think-are-unique-to-your-country-region/418268/60 "2007-09-07T17:52:00Z")
[QUOTE=chowder] I’m sorry but I don’t get this [/QUOTE] Cornhole is more widely known as a slang verb for anal sex. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-you-think-are-unique-to-your-country-region/418268.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-you-think-are-unique-to-your-country-region/418268.md?page=4)