# Regionalisms in Language **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 27, 2001, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionalisms-in-language/66628 "2001-05-27T00:25:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Flymaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c4cdca/32.png) [@Flymaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flymaster)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2001, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionalisms-in-language/66628/41 "2001-05-28T05:57:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by elfkin477 \* > \*\* I’m a life-long New Englander, and there are things we say I had no idea were odd until I was in my late teens or older. > > - I was in 12th grade, when the teacher, a recent transplant from NJ, for my Spanish 4 class asked (all 3 of us) if we’d tell her the truth about something, since we were older she trusted us…“What does wicked mean?” we looked at her in surprise. “You do realize that people from other parts of the country don’t say that, don’t you?” We didn’t! The fact that not everyone uses the word to mean really or very came to quite a shock to us. > > - Is it true that people don’t use “all set” universally, too? I’ve heard that it sounded strange to some people. You use it like this. " Would you like some more pie?" " No thanks, I’m all set." > > - Like robinh said, “down cellar” is pretty common too. I don’t like the word basement. > > - I do pronounce the “r” in car correctly, but I can’t say the word “drawer” as it was meant to be pronounced, though neither can most people I know. We say it as one syllable. > The stress is different from “draw,” but… “borrower” is hard to say also. > > - A book I read several years ago on regional expressions claimed that people here say pop and grinders, which I take exception to. They’re soda and subs! My dad said his aunt used to use the term “pop” in the 50’s, though, so maybe things have just changed. > > - When we say “the north country” we are not referring to Canada, but to the northern parts of NH. That confuses the tourists. > > I’m sure there are other expressions we us that I don’t realize are local, but if you want to know what they mean, I’d be glad to tell you 🙂 \*\* Well, in Worcester, they’re grinders and soda. But in Boston, they’re subs and tonic. Sometimes, it might be a spukie and tonic, but only if you’re dealing with REALLY old Italian people. Another one that I just recently found out people don’t use: “Bulkie roll”, as in a big, firmer and larger than hamburg roll, kinda chewy sandwich roll. As a north shore native, I can honestly say that I’m only vaguely aware of the “er” on the end of the word draw. Down cellar (or cella’, as it’s properly pronounced is an every day phrase) All set, of course, is another good New England phrase, right up there with bubblah and frappe. As for “Awesome Blossom,” how the hell would that not rhyme? I’ve tried every pronunciation I can think of, and they always rhyme. ---
**Author:** ![AerialCartwheels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/45deac/32.png) [@AerialCartwheels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AerialCartwheels)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2001, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionalisms-in-language/66628/42 "2001-05-28T06:02:48Z")
In Michigan’s U.P. people say “camp” instead of “cottage”. “My dad was just up at camp this weekend going fishing.” “You’se guys” is a pretty frequent phrase, so is saying, “eh.” I guess “seen” is a big regionalism here. As in, “I seen it yesterday.” It annoys the heck out of me, but I guess its not bad grammar, its just the way we talk up here. Oh yeah, there is a city here called Ishpeming, but lots of people say it as IshPERming. I don’t get it, there is no “R”! I was on a trip to Kentucky with my youth group. We were working on a house and the people there kept asking if we had enough “sheet rock.” (Drywall!) Took me forever to figure that one out! ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2001, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionalisms-in-language/66628/43 "2001-05-28T07:50:55Z")
There is more to Northern California than the Bay Area. “Hella” has been a slang term in Sacramento for as long as I can remember. I think the main thing to remember is those silly people from So-Cal don’t say it. There are some vague musings on the orgins of “hella” in this thread: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=8622](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=8622) ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2001, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionalisms-in-language/66628/44 "2001-05-28T09:58:57Z")
> [@](#): > > As for “Awesome Blossom,” how the hell would that not rhyme? I’ve tried every pronunciation I can think of, and they always rhyme. > [@](#): > > Please help me, Libertarian - how would you pronounce them? for me, they’re rhyming. This is going to be pretty hard to 'splain. Blossom is easy enough; we pretty much say that the same way you do. But awesome’s first syllable, awe, has no equivalent sound outside the South. In fact, the “a” in y’all is pronounced exactly the same way we pronounce “awe” (and any of the other “aw” words, like paw, awful, slaw, crawl, etc, and any of the “all” words, like all, call, tall, etc.) About the best way I can think to describe it is to take the dipthong produced when Marisa Tomei says “awe”, and then reverse the sounds! That’s pretty close anyway. ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2001, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionalisms-in-language/66628/45 "2001-05-28T10:43:58Z")
**Hazel-rah** Read this and then tell me that mass media has only a very small influence on our speech patterns and accent. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/routesofenglish/storysofar/series3.shtml](http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/routesofenglish/storysofar/series3.shtml) Specifically this [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/routesofenglish/storysofar/programme3\_4.shtml](http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/routesofenglish/storysofar/programme3_4.shtml) The way we speak is heavily influenced by our exposure to our peers, parents, and what we ourselves choose to be seen as, and that last is where mass media fits in. **Ruadh** Here’s your cite, I remeber the original program by Melvyn Brag being broadcast and a large article appeared in the Independant on Sunday. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/routesofenglish/storysofar/programme1\_1.shtml](http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/routesofenglish/storysofar/programme1_1.shtml) In particular this section, > [@](#): > > A Nordic influence > The spoken English of Wigton is directly related to Old Norse, says Dr William Rollinson, lecturer at Liverpool Institute of Continuing Education and author of The Cumbrian Dictionary. Now I know that relates to Wigton which is in the North-West but in the article written in the Independent by Bragg gives examples of dialectic words such as Parne = rain, Ducal = dog, Morte = woman, Gadger = Man plus a few phrases . These are still very widely used in both Scotland and around the Newcastle area. ---
**Author:** ![Timchik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@Timchik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Timchik)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2001, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionalisms-in-language/66628/46 "2001-05-28T13:27:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Northern Piper \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > Do you call a 66 oz bottle, a Texas mickey ? I do. > > **detop,** I’ve never actually had to buy one, but yes, that’s what we called them in high school. > > hmmm - any other Canucks able to contribute to this one? \*\* I grew up in southern Ontario, and we called a mickey a mickey (and the 66 oz bottles were Texas mickeys). Other Canadian booze terms - 750 ml - a 26er (formerly 26 oz.) and 1.14 l - a 40-pounder (formerly 40 oz). Case of 24 beers - a two-four, case a’ two-four 6-pack - peanut-pack, peasant pack. Are these others pan-Canadian also? or are they Ontario-isms? ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2001, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionalisms-in-language/66628/47 "2001-05-28T14:42:57Z")
**Timchik** , you beat me to it. But I’ll second the terms you’ve used–in my experience, at least in southern Ontario, we use the term _mickey_ for a 12-ounce bottle of spirits. (Or is it 13 ounce? Been a long time since I’ve bought one). Mind, if it is a similar sized bottle of wine, we knew it as a _split_. The other terms are the same: _twenty-sixer_ for a 26-ounce bottle and _forty-pounder_ for a 40-ounce bottle. As for beer, the most common term for a case of 24 bottles or cans is a _two-four_, although I’ve also heard the term _deuce_ occasionally. Packages of 12 bottles or cans were _twelves_ or sometimes _half-deuces_, and packages of six were _sixes_. I never heard _peanut-_ or _peasant-pack_ though. **Northern Piper** , where in Ontario did you have trouble with _mickey_? ---
**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2001, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionalisms-in-language/66628/48 "2001-05-28T15:34:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Spoons \* > As for beer, the most common term for a case of 24 bottles or cans is a _two-four_, although I’ve also heard the term _deuce_ occasionally. Two dozen stubbies of beer make a _slab_ here in Australia. We drink them from pots, schooners or middies depending on region. Heard on the radio last weekend: **Those bloodnuts are waxing** meaning the two red-headed footballers were sharing the ball effectively. ---
**Author:** ![Odieman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a87d85/32.png) [@Odieman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odieman)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2001, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionalisms-in-language/66628/49 "2001-05-28T15:38:05Z")
I am also from Saskatchewan and I never heard two-four until I went to University in Ontario…we called a case of twelve a case…as in a case of beer… and a mickey is half of a twenty-six so it has 13 ounces. We also refer to the 66 ounce bottles of booze as a Texas Mickey. When I leave chat I will occasionally say “Well I’m gonna head her…” and it always gets someone saying “Huh”. It is a rural Saskatchewan regionalism that means leave and it is short for “Head her out of here”…but I tend to avoid it now just because nobody understands it. 😉 Keith ---
**Author:** ![Shiva](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@Shiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shiva)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2001, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionalisms-in-language/66628/50 "2001-05-28T15:42:36Z")
[http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~almccon/pop\_soda/](http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~almccon/pop_soda/) ---
**Author:** ![berdollos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@berdollos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/berdollos)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2001, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionalisms-in-language/66628/51 "2001-05-28T15:46:36Z")
The Balamer dialect is notable. Example: Look at the spars next to the flars. The man with the paramour is mowing the lawn. Let’s drive to Warshinton, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2001, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionalisms-in-language/66628/52 "2001-05-28T16:17:12Z")
_The whole milkshake/frappe thing is curious too. In RI, a milkshake is flavored syrup and milk, a frappe is ice cream, syrup and milk. But they’re not usually called frappes, they’re called cabinets. Go fig._ The story goes that that’s because they used to be made with a machine housed in a big wooden cabinet. Never seen one so I can’t say for sure. (We also traditionally have grinders instead of subs (though “subs” seems to be growing commoner, esp. with the advent of “Subway” franchises) or hoagies or po’boys.) Other random regionalisms: - I thought “side by each” for “side by side,” “next to each other,” was Rhode Islandese, but I see it’s also the title of the Vermont-based group Woods Tea Company’s new album. Anybody got a better regional fix on “side by each”? - The use in the Boston area of the term “spa” to mean “small food store” or “convenience store” may finally be obsolete by now, but it was still kicking a few years ago; I remember the Melrose Spa and the Montrose Spa within a mile or so of each other on Massachusetts Avenue in Arlington/Cambridge, at both of which places you’d get some pretty funny looks if you tried to make an appointment for a facial or a massage. 🙂 - My best friend, from Delaware, had to explain to me that the way you pronounce “Newark” depends on which city you mean: for Newark NJ it’s “New’rk”, but for Newark DE it’s “New-ark”. ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2001, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionalisms-in-language/66628/53 "2001-05-28T16:41:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kimstu \* > > * * * > > - The use in the Boston area of the term “spa” to mean “small food store” or “convenience store” may finally be obsolete by now, but it was still kicking a few years ago; \*\* The college I attended had a small restaurant/convenience store area called “The Spa”. I never thought about where that came from, but with the abundance of people from the Boston area that makes sense, I suppose. \*\* > [@](#): > > - My best friend, from Delaware, had to explain to me that the way you pronounce “Newark” depends on which city you mean: for Newark NJ it’s “New’rk”, but for Newark DE it’s “New-ark”. \*\* That happens anywhere. Take Lafayette. The small town in northwest Georgia is Luh-faye-ette. In Louisiana it’s La-fee-ette. In either state you can tell when someone is from away. ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2001, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionalisms-in-language/66628/54 "2001-05-28T16:44:10Z")
And I really meant to preview. I swear. I hit the wrong stupid button though. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2001, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionalisms-in-language/66628/55 "2001-05-28T19:09:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by sjc \* > **[li]Canadian ‘eh’[/li]** There’s actually only one usage of “eh” that’s unique to Canada. That’s as a mild tag question in a declarative sentence, indicating a point where the listener can choose to inject her comment, as in “It’s ten miles away, eh, so I can’t get there by bike.” There are lots of Anglo-Quebecer regionalisms, adstratum-borrowed from French. For example: “metro” for subway, “autoroute” for highway, “subvention” for subsidy, “experience” for experiment, “CV” for résumé, as well as things that are unique to Quebec such as cégep and CLSC. (In fact, I deduced that **Collounsbury** had once lived in Montreal since I saw him use the word “subvention” in a post.) ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2001, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionalisms-in-language/66628/56 "2001-05-28T19:13:21Z")
Oh! And I forgot “dépanneur” for convenience store. There’s even an abbreviation in English (“dep”) that doesn’t exist in French. Then we get into all the \*French-\*Canadian regionalisms… ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2001, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionalisms-in-language/66628/57 "2001-05-28T20:51:37Z")
**Odieman** , I never realised “Head 'er” was a Saskatchewanism; I’ve used it all of my life and never even noticed. Other Western Canadianisms - we use “sweatpants”, Easterners use “Track pants”. We say “cabin at the lake”, Easterners say “cottage at the lake”. A few other suspected regionalisms: I sit on a chesterfield, not a sofa. I have a register in the floor that blows hot air when the furnace runs. I have dinner at noon, and supper at night. I have dressing in my turkey, not stuffing. And the infamous “amn’t” (for “am not”), as popularized by the Mennonite kids I went to school with. Oh yeah, then there’s the whole “pronounce Saskatchewan” thing - nobody but Saskatchewanians can pronounce it correctly. It always makes me giggle when I hear any other group pronouncing it (even Calgarians). ---
**Author:** ![robinh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b77776/32.png) [@robinh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robinh)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2001, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionalisms-in-language/66628/58 "2001-05-29T00:57:55Z")
\*Originally posted by featherlou \* **I have a register in the floor that blows hot air when the furnace runs.** Well, yes. What else would you call it? (Really, I’m curious!) **I have dinner at noon, and supper at night.** Now, I have lunch at noon, and dinner in the evening. Once, while discussing travel plans for visiting my mother (who has loved her entire life in Maine) I told her we would arrive around dinner and could plan to eat together. My mother asked, “do you mean ‘dinnah’ or ‘suppah’.” Since they mean pretty much the same thing to me, I just replied, “We’ll get there around 6:00.” ---
**Author:** ![sjc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@sjc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sjc)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2001, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionalisms-in-language/66628/59 "2001-05-29T02:54:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by featherlou \* > \*\ ***Odieman** , I never realised “Head 'er” was a Saskatchewanism; I’ve used it all of my life and never even noticed. > Other Western Canadianisms - we use “sweatpants”, Easterners use “Track pants”. \*\* We say sweatpants in Washington state too. \*\* > [@](#): > > Oh yeah, then there’s the whole “pronounce Saskatchewan” thing - nobody but Saskatchewanians can pronounce it correctly. It always makes me giggle when I hear any other group pronouncing it (even Calgarians). > > \*\* How the heck **do** you pronounce Saskatchewan? I’m dying to know. Another thing while we are on the subject of Canada, I’ve noticed that most of the posts on Canadian subjects tend to be about, or include the subject of, beer (though not this one), is this a preoccupation up there? ---
**Author:** ![PaperBlob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/58956e/32.png) [@PaperBlob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaperBlob)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2001, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionalisms-in-language/66628/60 "2001-05-29T04:29:03Z")
Dang, **Kimstu** beat me to the Newark thing. But I have others. In Philly/South Jersey, the sandwich most people call a sub, we call a hoagie. Also, the beach is referred to as “the shore.” And you don’t go “to the shore” or “down to the shore,” you go “down the shore.” A friend of mine from the Erie, PA area has the annoying habit of saying “whenever” in place of “when.” A good example escapes me right now - I haven’t talked to him recently. My wife frequently says give when she means gave. “I give it to him yesterday.” I don’t know if that comes from growing up in Camden, NJ or from having an father from Oklahoma. Her Okie relatives say a lot of things that sound funny to me, but the one that sticks out for some reason is that “oil” is pronounced “awl.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionalisms-in-language/66628.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionalisms-in-language/66628.md?page=4)