# "Old-personisms" that have sneakily snuck into your habits or vocabulary **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 12, 2023, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-personisms-that-have-sneakily-snuck-into-your-habits-or-vocabulary/978111 "2023-01-12T16:52:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2024, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-personisms-that-have-sneakily-snuck-into-your-habits-or-vocabulary/978111/241 "2024-02-28T20:55:01Z")
“Smart” as a verb. “Ouch! That smarts!” ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2024, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-personisms-that-have-sneakily-snuck-into-your-habits-or-vocabulary/978111/242 "2024-02-29T04:51:41Z")
I’ve used “nowadays” a few times recently. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2024, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-personisms-that-have-sneakily-snuck-into-your-habits-or-vocabulary/978111/243 "2024-02-29T05:04:41Z")
Not sure if this is an old-ism, but when I was in college, my friends (who’d been in a linguistics class) commented that I pronounced “white” in an “old-person way” - namely, that I pronounced the H out loud. They said young people would pronounce it as “wite”. ---
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2024, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-personisms-that-have-sneakily-snuck-into-your-habits-or-vocabulary/978111/244 "2024-02-29T06:01:20Z")
I can’t imagine how one would pronounce the H in white. Is it my mid-west dialect? Because I am not a young person. ---
**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:** [February 29, 2024, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-personisms-that-have-sneakily-snuck-into-your-habits-or-vocabulary/978111/245 "2024-02-29T06:13:19Z")
Hwite. Apparently it’s a thing some people do. I’ve only ever heard “wh” said that way by Stewie Griffin. (Cool Hwip) ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2024, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-personisms-that-have-sneakily-snuck-into-your-habits-or-vocabulary/978111/246 "2024-02-29T06:36:59Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Hwite. Hwæt! We Gār‐Dena⁠ in geār‐dagum þēod‐cyninga⁠ þrym gefrūnon ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2024, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-personisms-that-have-sneakily-snuck-into-your-habits-or-vocabulary/978111/247 "2024-02-29T13:49:50Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Hwite. > > Apparently it’s a thing some people do. I’m sure that I’ve mentioned this before. Yes, I was explicitly taught in elementary school that the digraph “wh” was to be pronounced “hw” in all instances, and pronouncing it simply as “w” was incorrect. Thus, “where” and “wear” are not pronounced the same way. Neither are “which” and “witch,” “whether” and “weather,” or “whet” and “wet.” I no longer really maintain that distinction, if I ever did. But it was definitely something that I was taught. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2024, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-personisms-that-have-sneakily-snuck-into-your-habits-or-vocabulary/978111/248 "2024-02-29T20:28:05Z")
It is or was considered high register speech within the US, especially in the Northeast. IOW: > Ignorant yokels say “wite”. We grand people of high breeding say “hwite”. Pinkies extended, but more than that noses elevated. Of course. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2024, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-personisms-that-have-sneakily-snuck-into-your-habits-or-vocabulary/978111/249 "2024-03-01T00:09:24Z")
I am still not old enough to have commented nostalgically on a specific variety of fruit (“Ah! Cox’s Orange Pippins!”), nor have I ever said how particularly delectable said fruit was while eating it (“now _that_ was a peach!”) ---
**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:** [March 1, 2024, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-personisms-that-have-sneakily-snuck-into-your-habits-or-vocabulary/978111/250 "2024-03-01T00:24:45Z")
The best peach I ever ate was sun-warmed and straight from the tree in a Washington State orchard. It was a small orchard owned by distant relatives. It may not have been as big as I remember it. As nostalgia goes, it’s pretty good. No idea what variety it was. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2024, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-personisms-that-have-sneakily-snuck-into-your-habits-or-vocabulary/978111/251 "2024-03-01T00:59:06Z")
You’re eating hair! ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2024, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-personisms-that-have-sneakily-snuck-into-your-habits-or-vocabulary/978111/252 "2024-03-01T01:04:42Z")
Over the last few years my wife started ending sentences with, “Ya know it?” As in, “It’s supposed to rain this afternoon, ya know it?” or “If she doesn’t create a will we’re going to have to go to probate, ya know it?” I find it mildly annoying but haven’t said anything because it would just hurt her feelings and I’d rather not do that. Plus I’m sure I do a whole hose of annoying things she never says anything about. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2024, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-personisms-that-have-sneakily-snuck-into-your-habits-or-vocabulary/978111/253 "2024-03-01T01:31:07Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > Plus I’m sure I do a whole hose of annoying things Women of a certain age hate it when you give them the hose. 😁 ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2024, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-personisms-that-have-sneakily-snuck-into-your-habits-or-vocabulary/978111/254 "2024-03-01T04:05:41Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > I am still not old enough to have commented nostalgically on a specific variety of fruit (“Ah! Cox’s Orange Pippins!”), nor have I ever said how particularly delectable said fruit was while eating it (“now _that_ was a peach!”) I’m old enough…I remember when I was a kid the Red Delicious apple was actually delicious, crisp and sweet. But apparently the growers kept breeding it for perfect shape and redness, as well as storage longevity, over flavor, and now it’s bland and mushy. NBD, since these days there are Fujis and Galas and Honeycrisps that fill the bill just fine. but they sure did ruin the good ol’ Red Delicious. I also remember Temple oranges from when I was a kid. They were actually a hybrid, between an orange and a tangerine I think, and they were seasonal— only appearing in the grocery stores right around late January, early Feb, and were only around for a month or two. They were seriously good, with a sweet, juicy, intensely orange flavor. The last I remember seeing them in stores was maybe the early 90s- I introduced a friend to them. We juiced a bunch of them and made the best screwdrivers ever. Anybody remember Temples, or seen them in stores recently? Now _that_ was an orange! ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2024, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-personisms-that-have-sneakily-snuck-into-your-habits-or-vocabulary/978111/255 "2024-03-01T04:10:17Z")
I still call a TV remote control a “clicker” sometimes (the first TV I remember as a kid…the only one in the house…had a remote control that literally clicked to change the channel). Dunno why but I used the word “davenport” somewhat recently (not sure how that popped out…my grandma would use that word…not me). ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2024, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-personisms-that-have-sneakily-snuck-into-your-habits-or-vocabulary/978111/256 "2024-03-01T04:16:20Z")
> [@solost](#): > > I remember when I was a kid the Red Delicious apple was actually delicious, crisp and sweet. But apparently the growers kept breeding it for perfect shape and redness, as well as storage longevity, over flavor, and now it’s bland and mushy. I think tomatoes had a similar problem. IIRC there was a botanist at the University of Michigan (I think) and he agreed with this and spent years getting back to a really yummy apple. He let his new apple out there and apple farmers went for yield and looks and ruined the yummy-ness of the new apple. The botanist was seriously pissed off so, he then developed another new breed of apple, also yummy, but patented it and makes anyone who wants to grow it sign an very restrictive agreement to not change the apple. Sadly, I forget the name of it. (I may be forgetting some details but I think that is the gist of it.) ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2024, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-personisms-that-have-sneakily-snuck-into-your-habits-or-vocabulary/978111/257 "2024-03-01T04:31:34Z")
You don’t have a bowl of 15 YO ribbon candy sitting around somewhere, do ya? (It’s a grandmother thing.) ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2024, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-personisms-that-have-sneakily-snuck-into-your-habits-or-vocabulary/978111/258 "2024-03-01T04:33:45Z")
Are you perhaps thinking of the Honeycrisp apple from the University of Minnesota? They’re great, but I think even better varieties are out there now. Honeycrisp is no longer under patent; they don’t seem as good lately. > **[Honeycrisp | Minnesota Hardy](https://mnhardy.umn.edu/honeycrisp)** > > The Honeycrisp apple, also known in Europe as the 'Honeycrunch' apple, is one of the University of Minnesota's best apples. They are widely grown around the world. Millions have been sold to people who love the well-balanced sweet-tart taste, and... ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2024, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-personisms-that-have-sneakily-snuck-into-your-habits-or-vocabulary/978111/259 "2024-03-01T04:49:56Z")
You might be right. I really do not remember the details but a quick Google search suggests the University of Minnesota (not Michigan as I said) is well known for working on apple cultivars. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2024, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-personisms-that-have-sneakily-snuck-into-your-habits-or-vocabulary/978111/260 "2024-03-01T05:18:15Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > IIRC there was a botanist at the University of Michigan (I think) and he agreed with this and spent years getting back to a really yummy apple. A lot of our fruits and vegetables have that problem. Growing up, it was a mystery to me why fresh tomatoes didn’t taste very good given my love for various tomato based sauces and other foods. Adding a tomato to a sandwich seemed pointless since it was just a wet, pulpy, and flavorless much. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I got a fresh tomato from someone’s garden that I discovered just how tasty they were. I’ve had the same problem with strawberries which were bred for size and presentability with nary a concern about flavor. I do believe they’ve gotten better, but for a time it seemed as though every strawberry I bought lacked a strong strawberry flavor. And speaking of which. I’m sometimes still surprised to find fruits like strawberries during the off season. When I was a kid, I don’t ever remember seeing strawberries at winter, but these days you can still find them in the store even if they’re expensive. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-personisms-that-have-sneakily-snuck-into-your-habits-or-vocabulary/978111.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-personisms-that-have-sneakily-snuck-into-your-habits-or-vocabulary/978111.md?page=14)