# Let'm know how y'all tawk **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 22, 2003, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letm-know-how-yall-tawk/156811 "2003-02-22T18:27:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2003, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letm-know-how-yall-tawk/156811/21 "2003-02-23T19:38:26Z")
I was on question 92 when the page decided to turn into something else on its own, and wiped out all my responses. I don’t think I’m gonna repeat all that. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2003, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letm-know-how-yall-tawk/156811/22 "2003-02-23T20:53:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jackelope \* > \*\*“Whipping shitties”? \*\* I have always heard “whipping shitties”, but now that I think about it, it seems like whipping shitties is done in the snow or other loose stuff. So if I am doing circles on dry pavement = donuts, in the snow, or on loose gravel = whipping shitties. Looking at the map, maybe it’s a Minnesota thing. ---
**Author:** ![Tupug\_Anachi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@Tupug\_Anachi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tupug_Anachi)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2003, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letm-know-how-yall-tawk/156811/23 "2003-02-23T20:54:06Z")
I’ve just been told that they say **whipping shitties** in Lincoln, Nebraska…whatever that means. ---
**Author:** ![Grelby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a5b964/32.png) [@Grelby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grelby)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2003, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letm-know-how-yall-tawk/156811/24 "2003-02-23T21:43:34Z")
I’m surprised no one commented on this one: [QUOTE] 1. What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining? a) sunshower b) the wolf is giving birth c) the devil is beating his wife d) monkey’s wedding e) fox’s wedding f) pineapple rain g) liquid sun [/QUOTE} The wolf is giving birth?? _The devil is beating his wife!??_ To say nothing of monkey’s wedding. I just don’t get it. Not only is it bizarre as all hell, isn’t kind of a big ol’ mouthful to describe rain falling when the sun is still out? I love **whopping shitties** , though. ---
**Author:** ![Grelby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a5b964/32.png) [@Grelby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grelby)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2003, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letm-know-how-yall-tawk/156811/25 "2003-02-23T21:46:09Z")
Uh, that should be **whipping** shitties :smack:. Crap. So to speak. ---
**Author:** ![BuckleberryFerry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5f9b8f/32.png) [@BuckleberryFerry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BuckleberryFerry)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2003, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letm-know-how-yall-tawk/156811/26 "2003-02-23T21:56:49Z")
In defense of “The devil is beating his wife:” Beating your wife is a bad thing. Therefore, rain. But…It’s the devil’s wife. Therefore evil getting it’s ass kicked. Therefore, sun. Heard it but don’t use it. I prefer sunshower. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2003, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letm-know-how-yall-tawk/156811/27 "2003-02-23T22:05:55Z")
I’ve heard a friend from Birmingham, Alabama say “the Devil is beating his wife” when it’s raining but the sun’s out. I asked her why they say that, and she had no idea. And the stuff in your eyes when you wake up is called “sleep,” by the way, and that’s all there is to it. As a kid I thought it was formed via some kind of mystical transubstantiation and it was actual, solidified sleep. And now the word “sleep” sounds funny to me. Sleep sleep sleep sleep sleep. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2003, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letm-know-how-yall-tawk/156811/28 "2003-02-23T22:13:49Z")
I like the idea of the survey, and I think it’s a great undertaking. But I’m wondering how accurate it really is. For example, I’ve never heard anyone who is a native southerner pronounce “cot” the same as “caught”. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2003, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letm-know-how-yall-tawk/156811/29 "2003-02-23T22:47:45Z")
Ooh! I hate it. The map is only of those 48 snooty states! And I gave them “Chicken Skin” too. Well, I was probably 1 of 44 people who gave it but still. ---
**Author:** ![Loopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loopus/32/15343_2.png) [@Loopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopus)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2003, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letm-know-how-yall-tawk/156811/30 "2003-02-24T04:50:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Libertarian \* > \*\*I like the idea of the survey, and I think it’s a great undertaking. But I’m wondering how accurate it really is. For example, I’ve never heard anyone who is a native southerner pronounce “cot” the same as “caught”. \*\* I do. But I guess a Texan isn’t really a Southerner. How would you pronounce them differently? ---
**Author:** ![SuperNova](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@SuperNova](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuperNova)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2003, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letm-know-how-yall-tawk/156811/31 "2003-02-24T05:00:45Z")
I love the map of [What is your generic term for a carbonated beverage?](http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~golder/dialect/staticmaps/q_105.html). Being a Freshman in college, we have had many a discussion about what the proper word for this is… ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2003, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letm-know-how-yall-tawk/156811/32 "2003-02-24T06:34:43Z")
Here’s a bigger map from another study. [map](http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~almccon/pop_soda/bigdrawn.gif) ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2003, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letm-know-how-yall-tawk/156811/33 "2003-02-24T06:35:52Z")
Sigh, for the coke vs. pop. vs soda study. ---
**Author:** ![hyperjes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/df705f/32.png) [@hyperjes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hyperjes)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2003, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letm-know-how-yall-tawk/156811/34 "2003-02-24T06:38:03Z")
That was pretty cool. I speak pretty standard Pittsburghese, with a smattering of dat/dem/dese from living in upstate NY for a few years. Actually, I think I speak what was referred to as Standard American. But I know when I get angry, or am around other folks from “Da Burgh”- as well as people from Brooklyn or the Bronx (who sound a lot like P-burgers, with a few distinctions)- I break into my native tongue. 😛 Much to the amusement of **d\_redguy** , who just thinks it’s the funniest/weirdest damn thing. :rolleyes: Oddly, 4 years of living in the South hasn’t really affected how I speak.:dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2003, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letm-know-how-yall-tawk/156811/35 "2003-02-24T06:46:43Z")
For the 68% of respondants who don’t have a word for [the strip of grass between the “sidewalk” and the road](http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~golder/dialect/staticmaps/q_60.html), I offer the Australian option “nature strip”. I put the word “sidewalk” in quotation marks, because that’s another word I never use. The standard in these parts is “footpath”. All in all, an interesting site. I cannot imagine living in a world where 55% of people responding to a survey pronouncing “Mary”, “Marry” and “Merry” the same way, but apparently I do! How about that!! ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2003, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letm-know-how-yall-tawk/156811/36 "2003-02-24T08:36:04Z")
> [@](#): > > For example, I’ve never heard anyone who is a native southerner pronounce “cot” the same as “caught”. I do and while Texas may not be considered Southern, Tennessee most definitely is. ---
**Author:** ![mblackwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5fc32e/32.png) [@mblackwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mblackwell)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2003, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letm-know-how-yall-tawk/156811/37 "2003-02-24T12:00:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by cazzle \* > \*\*For the 68% of respondants who don’t have a word for [the strip of grass between the “sidewalk” and the road](http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~golder/dialect/staticmaps/q_60.html), I offer the Australian option “nature strip”. > \*\* I put “Devil Strip” for this. I’m not sure if I’ve ever heard anyone besides my mom use that term though. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2003, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letm-know-how-yall-tawk/156811/38 "2003-02-24T12:50:26Z")
Do those who pronounce cot and caught the same also pronounce tock and talk the same? ---
**Author:** ![tanookie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/48db29/32.png) [@tanookie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanookie)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2003, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letm-know-how-yall-tawk/156811/39 "2003-02-24T13:01:29Z")
Um I say cot and caught differently but tock and talk the same. And I’m from Mass! What I really wanna know is if 97 percent of people call a drink with milk and icecream a milkshake (I say frappe) What do they call a frothed drink with just milk and syrup? (this is different than just adding hershey’s syrup and stirring) ---
**Author:** ![Parallax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbce88/32.png) [@Parallax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Parallax)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2003, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letm-know-how-yall-tawk/156811/40 "2003-02-24T13:26:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Grelby \* > > I love **whopping shitties** , though. For some reason I find that insanely funny at the moment - I nearly spit coffee everywhere. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letm-know-how-yall-tawk/156811.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letm-know-how-yall-tawk/156811.md?page=3)