# Regional expressions you didn't always realize were not widespread **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 11, 2021, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-expressions-you-didnt-always-realize-were-not-widespread/930263 "2021-01-11T15:00:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 15
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-expressions-you-didnt-always-realize-were-not-widespread/930263/281 "2021-02-19T01:14:37Z")
Once again, 7 years after taking that quiz for the first time, and having forgot how I answered last time, the quiz nails me down into central/southeastern WI. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-expressions-you-didnt-always-realize-were-not-widespread/930263/282 "2021-02-19T01:19:59Z")
I found it odd that “interstate” was not a choice for the “highway/freeway/expressway” question. I answered “highway”, since that’s what I often call a limited-access high speed road. However, in my area, a highway can also be a large multiple access road with stop lights and intersections. An interstate, however, is always the big road. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-expressions-you-didnt-always-realize-were-not-widespread/930263/283 "2021-02-19T01:22:21Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > I found it odd that “interstate” was not a choice To me, “interstate” means an expressway that goes into another state. Many expressways do not. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-expressions-you-didnt-always-realize-were-not-widespread/930263/284 "2021-02-19T01:22:43Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Used to be—maybe still is—that in the Boston area a convenience store might be called a “spa”. I know of two “spas” in that sense. Most other places have changed to the more widely-known “convenience stores” ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-expressions-you-didnt-always-realize-were-not-widespread/930263/285 "2021-02-19T01:35:29Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > > [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > > > I found it odd that “interstate” was not a choice > > To me, “interstate” means an expressway that goes into another state. Many expressways do not Well, here in Atlanta, we have a highway that completely encircles the city. It’s called Interstate 285 despite the fact that it only passes through four counties in Georgia. There’s also Interstate 16, which runs from Macon to Savannah. So in Georgia, at least, an interstate doesn’t have to actually go between states. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-expressions-you-didnt-always-realize-were-not-widespread/930263/286 "2021-02-19T01:38:47Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > an interstate doesn’t have to actually go between states Yeah, I know there are exceptions, we have one in WI, I-43 that goes from Green Bay to Beloit. But my mind always keys in on the ‘interstate’ bit. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-expressions-you-didnt-always-realize-were-not-widespread/930263/287 "2021-02-19T01:41:05Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > > [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > > > an interstate doesn’t have to actually go between states > > Yeah, I know there are exceptions, we have one in WI, I-43 that goes from Green Bay to Beloit. But my mind always keys in on the ‘interstate’ bit If you want to say that Southerners use the language in illogical ways, I won’t argue with you. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-expressions-you-didnt-always-realize-were-not-widespread/930263/288 "2021-02-19T01:45:21Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > If you want to say that Southerners use the language in illogical ways, I won’t argue with you. Lol, you must never have listened to us Sconnies, talking about goin’ over by Culvers, near dem stop 'n go lights, aina? I won’t claim logic to our local lingo. And I think perhaps the survey should have included ‘interstate’. I use that term also. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-expressions-you-didnt-always-realize-were-not-widespread/930263/289 "2021-02-19T01:50:59Z")
Of course the standard shibboleth out here is whether or not you use “the” when referencing the interstate. The correct answer, of course, is “Of course!” Anything else is a sign you are from foreign parts and don’t know any better. Or Oakland. ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-expressions-you-didnt-always-realize-were-not-widespread/930263/290 "2021-02-19T02:29:02Z")
To me, interstate, freeway and highway are all interchangeable. I found it interesting that kitty-corner was a main determiner word. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-expressions-you-didnt-always-realize-were-not-widespread/930263/291 "2021-02-19T02:44:16Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > > [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > > > If you want to say that Southerners use the language in illogical ways, I won’t argue with you. > > Lol, you must never have listened to us Sconnies, talking about goin’ over by Culvers, near dem stop 'n go lights, aina? I won’t claim logic to our local lingo. > > And I think perhaps the survey should have included ‘interstate’. I use that term also Sheee-yit, boy, I knew an ol’ girl from upair in WIS-consin. Y’ain’t lying, she shore did tawk funny. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-expressions-you-didnt-always-realize-were-not-widespread/930263/292 "2021-02-19T02:48:13Z")
To me, ‘highway’ can be anything resembling a main road. Could have anything from two lanes to twenty, could be limited-access or have intersections every mile and driveways more often; but probably a state road (not town or county road or city street) and probably going some significant distance (though I do know one only about five miles long, at least if you go by the road numbers.) If I want to specify a limited-access highway, I’ll probably say ‘limited-access highway’. If I’m talking about a particular one, I’ll probably use its number (e.g. ‘How do I get back onto I81 from here?’ or more likely just ‘81’, or ‘81North’, or whatever.) An expressway is limited access, but it also isn’t a word I use much. It’s probably around a city. An interstate is a limited-access highway that continues through more than one state. I recognize the word “freeway”, but again I don’t use it much. I certainly wouldn’t use it for a toll road. The Thruway is the Thruway. (New York State Thruway, that is.) ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-expressions-you-didnt-always-realize-were-not-widespread/930263/293 "2021-02-19T05:32:19Z")
I took the test again. This time, it pegged me as both Cleveland and New York. Interesting, since I’ve spent about half my life in or around each city. This time, no question about Halloween or soda. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-expressions-you-didnt-always-realize-were-not-widespread/930263/294 "2021-02-19T05:39:42Z")
Now I tried it with a different browser. Some different questions, and I wound up in California, where I’ve never lived. ---
**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 19, 2021, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-expressions-you-didnt-always-realize-were-not-widespread/930263/295 "2021-02-19T05:45:18Z")
I’ve taken it 4 times now, every time it’s the same results: New York/Jersey City/Yonkers. ---
**Author:** ![eburacum\_45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum_45/32/3385_2.png) [@eburacum\_45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum_45)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-expressions-you-didnt-always-realize-were-not-widespread/930263/296 "2021-02-19T15:36:47Z")
Mischief Night is 30 October or 4 November here in Yorkshire, so this looks like an old tradition. > **[Mischief Night](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mischief_Night)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > Mischief Night is an informal holiday on which children, teenagers and adults engage in jokes, pranks, vandalism, or parties. It is known by a variety of names including Devil's Night, Gate Night, Goosey Night, Moving Night, Cabbage Night and Mat Night. > The earliest reference to Mischief Night is from 1790 when a headmaster encouraged a school play which ended in "an Ode to Fun which praises children's tricks on Mischief Night in most approving... The main trick on 4 November is setting fire to people’s bonfires early. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-expressions-you-didnt-always-realize-were-not-widespread/930263/297 "2021-02-19T15:48:06Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > New York/Jersey City/Yonkers. I’d have expected Beleriand by the mouths of the Sirion. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-expressions-you-didnt-always-realize-were-not-widespread/930263/298 "2021-02-19T16:21:30Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > talking about goin’ over by Culvers… I’d almost forgotten about this Wisconsin quirk. But I had a roommate who’d ask if you needed anything because he was “goin’ by the store”. “Well, if, after you go _by_ the store, you turn around and go back _to_ the store, I could use some peanut butter.” My mom explained it stemmed from the huge German population (she grew up in _M’waukee_ when there were neighborhoods that only spoke German, and none of the store signs were in English). She’d parody it whenever we’d go to Schuster’s department store, by saying “Hey, Chahlie, I’m comin’ the back door out, goin’ down by 'Chuster’s.” ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-expressions-you-didnt-always-realize-were-not-widespread/930263/299 "2021-02-19T16:43:25Z")
@digs It’s always great to go by Schuster’s, Goldman’s, Prange’s, Farm & Fleet, Fleet Farm, da Kwik-Trip. Here’s some more stuff you can hear in our region, from the Manitowoc Minute’s Charlie Berens. [Stuff Wisconsinites say](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqefhF4t4XE) [more stuff Wisconsinites say](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcQYVKkMA9Y) ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-expressions-you-didnt-always-realize-were-not-widespread/930263/300 "2021-02-19T18:40:35Z")
> [@OttoDaFe](#): > > Madison and Milwaukee are total mysteries. At least you know you can speak the language should you feel the need to visit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-expressions-you-didnt-always-realize-were-not-widespread/930263.md?page=14) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-expressions-you-didnt-always-realize-were-not-widespread/930263.md?page=16)