# In 49 of 50 states one thing, in the 50th something else??? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 8, 2014, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653 "2014-07-08T17:38:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/121 "2014-07-10T11:26:59Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > In the other 49 states, if there are several people in a row waiting for something, they say they are “in line.” But in New York (or more specifically, the NYC/Long Island area) you would be waiting “on line.” That’s one that grates on my nerves. You are in line. On line is computer connectivity talk. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/122 "2014-07-10T12:12:09Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > In the other 49 states, if there are several people in a row waiting for something, they say they are “in line.” But in New York (or more specifically, the NYC/Long Island area) you would be waiting “on line.” I’ve never noticed this being restricted to NY. I hear it in Boston and elsewhere in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/123 "2014-07-10T12:53:51Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Not sure I agree. In Georgia, we’re more likely to razz them about not being the real USC. And thus my point is proven! In non-SEC states, very few people would even think of the University of S. Carolina when they hear “USC”. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/124 "2014-07-10T13:25:36Z")
> [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > And thus my point is proven! In non-SEC states, very few people would even think of the University of S. Carolina when they hear “USC”. But that’s a region, not 1 of 50 states. Lots of states in the south east would think South Carolina before Southern Cal. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/125 "2014-07-10T13:32:41Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > But that’s a region, not 1 of 50 states. Lots of states in the south east would think South Carolina before Southern Cal. Amen! To the point of using USCw and USCe when discussing topics where both names are apt to appear. And if you say UT in this area, you damn well better mean Tennessee! ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/126 "2014-07-10T13:58:41Z")
In urban/suburban Florida, people who say “I’m from Florida” mean “I moved to Florida at least five years ago.” Nobody is really _from_ here - I’ve lived in or around Orlando since I was 13 and I’ve met perhaps eight people who were born in the state. > [@Giles](#): > > On the subject of counties, Virginia is the only state to have more than one independent city, i.e., a city which is not part of a county (or counties). Virginia has 38 of them. (Maryland, Missouri and Nevada have one each.) Florida has one too, though not exactly in the same sense: the boundaries of the City of Jacksonville are exactly coextensive with the boundaries of Duval County, and they share a single consolidated government (the Jacksonville City Council.) > [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > I would say that in most states with an SEC football team, “USC” or “SC” is first thought of as the University of South Carolina. Nah. I’m in Florida and I only think of South Carolina first because I visited there and liked the campus (downtown Columbia, SC is surprisingly lovely, except for the angry federal marshal who yelled at me when I climbed on the Strom Thurmond statue.) > [@robardin](#): > > I just visited the Flight 93 Memorial three days ago, and was deeply moved. But it was not ever an “attack on Pennsylvania”. I’m glad somebody pointed this out. Calling 9/11 “an attack on Pennsylvania” is like calling Pearl Harbor “an attack on the Pacific Ocean” just because the Japanese missed with some of their shells. > [@kayaker](#): > > That’s one that grates on my nerves. You are in line. On line is computer connectivity talk. It took me a long time to get used to the American use of “line”. In the UK it’s a _queue_ and you are _queuing_ while in one. Not coincidentally, the British are much better at it. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/127 "2014-07-10T14:38:39Z")
> [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > And thus my point is proven! In non-SEC states, very few people would even think of the University of S. Carolina when they hear “USC”. South Carolina didn’t even join the SEC until 1991. I went to an SEC school, and to me USC played UCLA and in the Rose Bowl. There are two major college sports programs, South Carolina and USC, the latter of which is in California. No confusion at all in my mind. UK is the University of Kentucky. The University of Kansas is KU. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/128 "2014-07-10T15:17:56Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > In Village of Tiki Island my uncle went to his back yard. Hah! We used to go fishing over by Tiki Island. (both sets of grandparents lived in La Marque). There’s no beach in Tiki Island that I know of though; you still have to go to Galveston for that. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/129 "2014-07-10T15:34:21Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > I’ve never noticed this being restricted to NY. I hear it in Boston and elsewhere in the US. I wonder if the people you hear it from are originally from the NYC area? Because all references to it online talk about it being strictly a New York thing. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/130 "2014-07-10T15:40:44Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Hah! We used to go fishing over by Tiki Island. (both sets of grandparents lived in La Marque). > > There’s no beach in Tiki Island that I know of though; you still have to go to Galveston for that. I did some realty photos there in another life. A friend of mine in Anahuac constantly had gators in his yard. Good times… OSU football in Oklahoma means that University next to Eskimo Joe’s in Stillwater ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/131 "2014-07-10T16:16:46Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > South Carolina didn’t even join the SEC until 1991. I went to an SEC school, and to me USC played UCLA and in the Rose Bowl. There are two major college sports programs, South Carolina and USC, the latter of which is in California. No confusion at all in my mind. > > UK is the University of Kentucky. The University of Kansas is KU. Yeah, people don’t really call South Carolina “USC” here. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/132 "2014-07-10T16:23:46Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > When I was going to grade school in California and we learned about the gold rush, they taught us that “panning out” was a very bad thing, because it meant you had panned all the gold out of your claim and you had to go find another one now, which was hazardous (mountain lions, other prospectors, starvation). Elsewhere in the country, “panning out” means a good thing, as in, “this came out the way I expected.” I think you learned the wrong emphasis on it. Yes, it means your claim is empty, but it’s good because you’d rather have all that gold in the bank than still buried somewhere in your claim. (A bird in the hand and all that.) Also, in order to pan out, you must have found some gold to begin with - if your claim was a total dud, you’d never say you panned it out. Your second definition is the only one I ever learned, and I lived in CA until I was 25. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/133 "2014-07-10T18:57:51Z")
It seems like the people who say “It only happens in [my home state]” have rarely been outside their home state. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/134 "2014-07-10T21:18:05Z")
> [@AncientHumanoid](#): > > A friend of mine in Anahuac constantly had gators in his yard. Good times… As a kid, I’d go with my friend and his dad, and we’d go on his air-boat and cruise around a swampy area somewhere between Anahuac and Baytown. I recall feeding gators several times out there. ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/135 "2014-07-11T02:00:16Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > In Oregon, OSU is not Ohio State. **Go Beavs!** ---
**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:** [July 11, 2014, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/136 "2014-07-11T02:14:20Z")
> [@Arrendajo](#): > > **Go Beavs!** \*I’m a Beaver You’re a Beaver We are Beavers all! And when we get together We give the Beaver call: **nik!nik!nik!nik!nik!nik!** \* ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/137 "2014-07-11T03:27:39Z")
> [@Rodgers01](#): > > Maybe if you ask people point-blank like that they would be confused by the question, but I’d bet you that if a couple in the Chicago metropolitan weekend was asked what they were doing this upcoming weekend and they said “We’re heading into the city for some fun,” there would be little doubt they were talking about Chicago. And no one would ask them what time their plane landed at JFK. > > (Of course, confusion would crop up the further outside Chicago you got, though that’s true of New York as well.) Yeah, but WOULD they ever say that? Or would the natural phrasing be, “We’re headed into _Chicago_ for some fun”? I get that what people would receive the meaning of “the City” to be different, but to use it in active speech, I personally have only heard it from New York Metro’ers and that one San Jose’an. Admittedly, one time it was a native New Yorkwr making a point of sorts that he’d “gone native” while I was visiting him by referring to Los Angeles that way. It drew derision from the other “genuine” locals, as nobody in Southern California ever calls LA “the City”. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/138 "2014-07-11T03:32:54Z")
> [@Celidin](#): > > In North Jersey, “The City” means Manhattan. > > In South Jersey, “The City” means Philadelphia. > > Most Jersey folk will say some variation of “I’m going to the city for dinner” (or whatever), and based on where you are it’s known. > > The only people who get confused are those in Mercer County (Trenton area) where it can kind of go either way since NY and Philly are almost equidistant. > > Hmm… I wonder if NJ is the only state where “the City” virtually always refers to a city in another state… Interesting. I hadn’t heard of Philly as “the City” but it makes sense that there’s a Jersey idiom of use that necessarily changes its reference point somewhere around Trenton. OTOH I doubt people in Delaware call Philly “the City”? I really don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/139 "2014-07-11T03:39:50Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > That’s one that grates on my nerves. You are in line. On line is computer connectivity talk. I’ll try to explain the mentality of the divide. Students and cadets stand in line. That line is strict, single file, and maintained by external discipline. Lines, or queues, of people in NYC are often concurrent, fluid or both. There is no order imposed but convention. Cutting in line (as an arriviste) is definitely Verboten, but not shifting to take up slack from someone who’s paid their dues in minutes or hours… And so people hop from one to another, if there are multiples, or play the smudge game where some group of people aligned together in a general direction eventually resolve into a single file or files at the end, keeping options open until the last minute when commitment is required. The question is then asked, “are you on this line, or that one?”, as if it were a trolley ride. The answer presupposes that there are multiple ways to reach a shared goal - a ticket window, a checkout counter, a bus to some destination or other, - and nobody wants to be playing in the wrong game. ---
**Author:** ![cococ173](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3ab097/32.png) [@cococ173](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cococ173)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/140 "2014-07-11T03:56:20Z")
LA is spread out. I live in the Valley and ’ go into the city" when I take a canyon road there, although I live in the city of LA. In NY I grew up eating hero sandwiches, drinking soda and carrying a pocket book. If I went out of state, that pocket book became a purse. In NY a NY steak is called a strip steak. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653.md?page=8)