# Unique local/regional names for common things **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 16, 2021, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unique-local-regional-names-for-common-things/946610 "2021-07-16T04:45:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Didi44](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47c2d/32.png) [@Didi44](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Didi44)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2021, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unique-local-regional-names-for-common-things/946610/61 "2021-07-17T19:15:47Z")
I got Indiana. Born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2021, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unique-local-regional-names-for-common-things/946610/62 "2021-07-17T19:26:00Z")
I’ve seen that used elsewhere, but it’s not common. I was just reading Pete Hammill’s memoir and he mentions calling it a front room growing up in Irish neighborhood in Brooklyn. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2021, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unique-local-regional-names-for-common-things/946610/63 "2021-07-17T19:28:36Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > As well as “frontroom” for a house’s living room; with bonus Chicago points if it’s pronounced “frunchroom.” My Utah family used “front room.” ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2021, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unique-local-regional-names-for-common-things/946610/64 "2021-07-17T19:47:09Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > There is the Florida panther, which is technically a distinct subspecies, but still part of the same overall species as mountain lions. I’m in California, so I’m used to mountain lion or cougar, but when I first heard of the Florida panther, I thought it sounded like some exotic creature and made it seem to me that Florida was still rather wild. But it’s not so different than the ones we have here – who actually attack people here\* – so I’m in a rather wild place, too. - only 17 verified attacks since 1986. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2021, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unique-local-regional-names-for-common-things/946610/65 "2021-07-17T19:49:14Z")
When traveling overseas, I kept ordering coffee with cream, when I should have said milk. I got lots of funny looks, and a variety of things ranging from whipped cream to butter. ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2021, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unique-local-regional-names-for-common-things/946610/66 "2021-07-17T21:19:57Z")
Showed me as New Jersey, but I was raised in the Hudson River valley of NY. When the question referred to the names of sandwiches, I had to pick “Other” as the term ‘Wedge’ was the most ubiquitous in our area. Oh we knew what Subs and Heroes ( and even Hoagies and Grinders ) were, we just didn’t call them those names. ---
**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:** [July 17, 2021, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unique-local-regional-names-for-common-things/946610/67 "2021-07-17T21:26:27Z")
It showed me as from Michigan. While I lived there for a time, I’m thoroughly Wisconsonian. They disregarded my use of the word ‘bubbler’ and focused too much on my knowledge of the term ‘devil’s night’ (which also happens to be my birthday). ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2021, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unique-local-regional-names-for-common-things/946610/68 "2021-07-17T21:43:45Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > I’m from the Michigan/Ohio/Indiana region and I have never heard it called shave ice, always shaved ice. I live in Hawaii, and it is “shave ice,” every time, all the time, written and oral. Period. Possibly someone in your region just tried to correct the English and it stuck. As just one example, possibly the most popular shave ice place is [Matsumoto Shave Ice](https://matsumotoshaveice.com/), which we never fail to hit when we go to the North Shore. ---
**Author:** ![Didi44](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47c2d/32.png) [@Didi44](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Didi44)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2021, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unique-local-regional-names-for-common-things/946610/69 "2021-07-17T21:47:19Z")
It’s _ice shave_ in Hilo. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2021, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unique-local-regional-names-for-common-things/946610/70 "2021-07-17T21:49:17Z")
Upcountry yokels, what can I say. Sniff. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Didi44](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47c2d/32.png) [@Didi44](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Didi44)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2021, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unique-local-regional-names-for-common-things/946610/71 "2021-07-17T21:51:27Z")
Ehhh…no make fun da braddahs and sistas! LOL! ---
**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:** [July 17, 2021, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unique-local-regional-names-for-common-things/946610/72 "2021-07-17T21:53:44Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > When traveling overseas, I kept ordering coffee with cream, when I should have said milk. I’ve no idea whether this is still an issue, but: in the summer of, I’m pretty sure it was 1971, I was in Missouri. I got in an argument (not a very vehement one) with somebody who lived there, because I wanted to buy cream for my coffee at the grocery store, and all I could find was half-and-half. She insisted that half-and-half was cream. I never did figure out what she thought it was half of and half of. (In case there are places in the world where people are puzzling over that: it’s half milk and half cream. It was in Missouri, too; you could tell by the label.) ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2021, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unique-local-regional-names-for-common-things/946610/73 "2021-07-17T22:02:21Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > (In case there are places in the world where people are puzzling over that: it’s half milk and half cream. It was in Missouri, too; you could tell by the label.) Those “Show Me State” folks, I tell ya… I was just puzzling over how “Fat Free Half and Half” could be a product. Mrs. L uses it when she’s trying to drop a few lbs. I’ll have to tell her what I found. > “It typically replaces the milk fat with corn syrup and thickeners,” says **Julia Zumpano** , an RD at Cleveland Clinic’s Heart and Vascular Institute. ( **Kristi King** , senior clinical dietitian at Texas Children’s Hospital, agrees that the real thing is better than additives.) The ingredient list on a typical brand of fat-free half and half contains fat-free milk, corn syrup, carrageenan, cream, artificial color, disodium phosphate, guar gum and vitamin A palmitate. It has half the calories (20) as regular half-and-half and about twice the sodium (20-30 mg), plus sugar (1-2 grams). > **[Should You Drink Fat-Free Half and Half?](https://time.com/3814015/fat-free-half-and-half/)** > > “Fat-free half and half strikes me as an absolutely unnecessary product" ---
**Author:** ![Didi44](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47c2d/32.png) [@Didi44](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Didi44)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2021, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unique-local-regional-names-for-common-things/946610/74 "2021-07-17T22:06:55Z")
Growing up we never had fresh cream or half and half. Cream came from the little Carnation cans. My parents used milk in their coffee, but we always kept a can of Carnation for guests. If I’m correct, the cream at restaurants was usually also Carnation. The clue being that it wasn’t chilled. ---
**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:** [July 17, 2021, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unique-local-regional-names-for-common-things/946610/75 "2021-07-17T22:50:21Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > In Philly, the strip between the sidewalk and street is called the verge. I’ve heard it called a road verge… But the real problem is, I’ve never gotten a real answer from anyone as to why it’s called what they call it. I mean, they’re using a word, with ZERO curiosity as to WHY! I have friends who call it a parkway, others who say boulevard, and relatives in Seattle who call it the parking strip. “Oh”, I ask innocently, “can you park there?” _“Where?”_ “On the parking strip.” _“No, of course not!” (looks at me like I’m from Back East and don’t know any better)_ . I grew up in Milwaukee. You know what we called it? “The grass between the sidewalk and the street”. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2021, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unique-local-regional-names-for-common-things/946610/76 "2021-07-17T23:17:22Z")
All across Thailand are little beer stands that are called, not “beer bars” like you would think, but “bar beers.” ---
**Author:** ![Fair\_Rarity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fair_rarity/32/153_2.png) [@Fair\_Rarity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fair_Rarity)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2021, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unique-local-regional-names-for-common-things/946610/77 "2021-07-17T23:37:49Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > In my experience in the eastern US, “mountain lion” and “cougar” are both common, “puma” is rare, and “panther” (at least for that species) is almost unheard-of. But if you venture into Vermont, it’s “catamount”. Also sub/hoagie sandwiches are grinders and soft serve ice creams are creamies. ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2021, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unique-local-regional-names-for-common-things/946610/78 "2021-07-17T23:58:09Z")
I’m a Wisconsinite born and bred. That quiz said I’m a New Yorker. Nope. And by the way, the correct word is tennies, not sneakers or tennis shoes. TYME machine has slipped out since I’ve moved away now and then. ---
**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:** [July 18, 2021, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unique-local-regional-names-for-common-things/946610/79 "2021-07-18T01:57:13Z")
Well, the quiz said I’m from California. Which is really interesting, since I’ve only ever lived in Ontario, Canada; and Alberta, Canada. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2021, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unique-local-regional-names-for-common-things/946610/80 "2021-07-18T02:22:20Z")
If you want unique and hyper-local, there is [boontling](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boontling), spoken only in Boonville, CA. Examples: - briny – the coast - higgs – money - zeese – coffee [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unique-local-regional-names-for-common-things/946610.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unique-local-regional-names-for-common-things/946610.md?page=5)