# What words/pronounciations do you use that DIDN'T make it onto the dialect survey? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 24, 2003, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-pronounciations-do-you-use-that-didnt-make-it-onto-the-dialect-survey/157200 "2003-02-24T18:12:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Grelby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a5b964/32.png) [@Grelby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grelby)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2003, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-pronounciations-do-you-use-that-didnt-make-it-onto-the-dialect-survey/157200/21 "2003-02-25T00:22:19Z")
Again, the multiple lane change - chinese lane change?? WHAT? I’ve never heard of this. A Chinese Fire Drill of course is something totally different. My term for this is “lane surfing,” but that refers to someone weaving in and out of traffic at Stupid Speed than someone changing multiple lanes at once. I generally go with “asshole” as well. And for me, it’s always been “spinning donuts.” ---
**Author:** ![Grelby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a5b964/32.png) [@Grelby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grelby)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2003, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-pronounciations-do-you-use-that-didnt-make-it-onto-the-dialect-survey/157200/22 "2003-02-25T00:23:54Z")
Oh, geez, I forgot - they had “on accident” vs. “by accident.” Oh, lordy. “On accident” never fails to set my teeth on edge. Ack, how can you say it this way?? Hate hate hate that one. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2003, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-pronounciations-do-you-use-that-didnt-make-it-onto-the-dialect-survey/157200/23 "2003-02-25T00:24:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Grelby \* > \*\*Again, the multiple lane change - chinese lane change?? WHAT? I’ve never heard of this. A Chinese Fire Drill of course is something totally different. My term for this is “lane surfing,” but that refers to someone weaving in and out of traffic at Stupid Speed than someone changing multiple lanes at once. I generally go with “asshole” as well. > > And for me, it’s always been “spinning donuts.” \*\* Oh yeah, me too!! And a chinese fire drill was that silly (usually teenage) stunt where everyone jumps out of the car at a red light, dashes madly around it and jumps back in. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2003, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-pronounciations-do-you-use-that-didnt-make-it-onto-the-dialect-survey/157200/24 "2003-02-25T00:43:57Z")
I remember a transplanted Ohioan in Mississippi would say that he had to “carry his wife to the Doctor” instead of “take his wife to the doctor.” ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2003, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-pronounciations-do-you-use-that-didnt-make-it-onto-the-dialect-survey/157200/25 "2003-02-25T01:40:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Grelby \* > \*\*Oh, geez, I forgot - they had “on accident” vs. “by accident.” > > Oh, lordy. “On accident” never fails to set my teeth on edge. Ack, how can you say it this way?? Hate hate hate that one. \*\* Guilty as charged, yer honor. I guess I just assumed that if you could do something ON purpose, you could do it ON accident. You don’t do things BY purpose, do you? Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![GrizzRich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7ba0ec/32.png) [@GrizzRich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrizzRich)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2003, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-pronounciations-do-you-use-that-didnt-make-it-onto-the-dialect-survey/157200/26 "2003-02-25T03:06:32Z")
FWIW, I grew up in southeast Virginia. -When one takes another person along, one “carrys” them. -One uses a “buggy” in which to put one’s groceries while shopping. and, for some odd reason, I picked up on an unusual pronunciation of “protein”. I pronounce it 'pro-tee-in, rather than the more common 'pro-teen. I think I blame my 10th grade biology teacher for that. ---
**Author:** ![Salem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8c91f0/32.png) [@Salem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Salem)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2003, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-pronounciations-do-you-use-that-didnt-make-it-onto-the-dialect-survey/157200/27 "2003-02-25T04:45:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jessica2 \* > > **I’ve _never_ heard Chinese lane change OR Chinese fire drill used to describe this. I had to check the “other” box and put “asshole” in as my answer.** > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lsura \* > \*\*I put in “stupid”. > > I also realized after I finished it that I didn’t see “wicked” in there, and that’s a word I use fairly often in casual speech. \*\* Did the same thing with the lane change thing-checked “other” and typed in ‘I call the driver an idiot’. And those things they put on top of ice cream are jimmies. They can be sprinkles, too. I’m surprised that wasn’t in there. That usually comes up in the soda/pop and milk shake/frappe discussion. Wicked was definitely missing. I didn’t find out til I started posting on the internet about 7 years ago that it was just a regional word. Where are all you other _wicked_ posters from? I’m curious how far it actually does reach. Someone mentioned they grew up in CT. I’m from MA. ---
**Author:** ![Grelby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a5b964/32.png) [@Grelby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grelby)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2003, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-pronounciations-do-you-use-that-didnt-make-it-onto-the-dialect-survey/157200/28 "2003-02-25T05:22:14Z")
**LifeOnWry** , it’s nothing personal. I don’t consider you a sub-human form of life because you say that, AND you have a point. I just happen to hate it. I understood that it was grammatically incorrect, but I honestly don’t know… I certainly have never run into it in a formal published work, but that doesn’t mean it’s unacceptable in colloquial spoken English. Doesn’t mean I have to like it though! 😃 Again, nothing personal against those who say it. ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2003, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-pronounciations-do-you-use-that-didnt-make-it-onto-the-dialect-survey/157200/29 "2003-02-25T05:25:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Grelby \* > \*\*I understood that it was grammatically incorrect, but I honestly don’t know… I certainly have never run into it in a formal published work, but that doesn’t mean it’s unacceptable in colloquial spoken English. Doesn’t mean I have to like it though! 😃 > > Again, nothing personal against those who say it. \*\* No, you’re right, it IS grammatically incorrect. However, _I_ didn’t know that until about a month ago. My argument does make sense, at least to me, but I really have been trying to break the habit 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2003, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-pronounciations-do-you-use-that-didnt-make-it-onto-the-dialect-survey/157200/30 "2003-02-25T05:30:37Z")
A Southerner doesn’t “press” or “push” a button. He “mashes” that mother. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2003, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-pronounciations-do-you-use-that-didnt-make-it-onto-the-dialect-survey/157200/31 "2003-02-25T05:33:07Z")
Things are wicked all the way down here in NZ. What puzzled me was that Americans “write someone” rather then write to someone. But my American is purely garnered from T.V and movies. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2003, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-pronounciations-do-you-use-that-didnt-make-it-onto-the-dialect-survey/157200/32 "2003-02-25T06:13:28Z")
calm kiwi, the first time that I heard a Brit say, “I took her to hospital” instead of “I took her to **the** hospital,” I snapped a crick in the back of my neck. > [@](#): > > Most of my friends from the Southern US use these terms. They also tend to say “get ON the car, go ON the house, and throw your shoes IN the floor.” And “plug that radio up” rather than in. I’m Southern but I throw my shoes _on_ the floor. However, I do leave them _in_ the floor. My mother says _piano_ as if it were **pie-anna**. And sometimes she calls it **panna**. That drives me crazy. A lot of people in West Tennessee pronounce _Clinton_ as if it were pronounced **Clin’un** – with a very very slight glottal stop. The same is true for other words ending in “ton.” How do y’all pronounce _dog_ and _oil_? ---
**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:** [February 25, 2003, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-pronounciations-do-you-use-that-didnt-make-it-onto-the-dialect-survey/157200/33 "2003-02-25T06:22:27Z")
I’m worried I’m going to be an anomalous blip near Winnipeg. Plenty of my usages (autoroute, metro, etc) are Quebec English, a recently recognized dialect. Some other usages that didn’t make it on there are: -subvention, meaning a subsidy; -stage (pronounced stajh), meaning an internship -cinq à sept, a cocktail party (especially one that takes place between five and seven o’clock); -vernissage, a one-person art show/reception; -danse à dix, a more salacious variety of a lap dance; -inscription, meaning registration. Seriously, it’s getting to the point where I had to think hard about what some of these are in English. I should have also mentioned “leftenant”. ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2003, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-pronounciations-do-you-use-that-didnt-make-it-onto-the-dialect-survey/157200/34 "2003-02-25T06:24:57Z")
How bout al-yoo-min-ni-um vs al-u-min-ni-um 🙂 or is that too toe-mate-toe vs toe-maht-toe 😃 ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2003, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-pronounciations-do-you-use-that-didnt-make-it-onto-the-dialect-survey/157200/35 "2003-02-25T06:27:45Z")
Ah-loom-in-uhm. Tah-may-doe (ifd you are my mother, this would be tah-may-dah.) ---
**Author:** ![mblackwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5fc32e/32.png) [@mblackwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mblackwell)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2003, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-pronounciations-do-you-use-that-didnt-make-it-onto-the-dialect-survey/157200/36 "2003-02-25T06:55:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CanvasShoes \* > \*\*We say “spin brodies” rather than “doing donuts or cookies” when describing spinning your car around in circles on the ice. \*\* You forgot to mention “Whipping Shitties.” That makes me laugh every time I think of it. I might try to introduce it into the local vocabulary. ---
**Author:** ![thirdwarning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecccb3/32.png) [@thirdwarning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdwarning)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2003, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-pronounciations-do-you-use-that-didnt-make-it-onto-the-dialect-survey/157200/37 "2003-02-25T07:17:53Z")
LifeOnWry, I think the “going by” thing must be only a Chicago city thing. We don’t use it here in the suburbs, and we didn’t in the boonies where I grew up. The first couple of times I heard one of my city friends use it, I had to figure it out. I thought he meant just driving past the place. Oh, and don’t forget the left-off “h” in words like “Nort’” and “Sout’”. BTW, did you grow up in the 'burbs? Or are you a transplant? ---
**Author:** ![Tansu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/67e7ee/32.png) [@Tansu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tansu)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2003, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-pronounciations-do-you-use-that-didnt-make-it-onto-the-dialect-survey/157200/38 "2003-02-25T12:40:34Z")
Athena - my mum says “boughten” too. ---
**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 25, 2003, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-pronounciations-do-you-use-that-didnt-make-it-onto-the-dialect-survey/157200/39 "2003-02-25T12:48:43Z")
In Hawaii you don’t have goose bumps. You have chicken skin. ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2003, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-pronounciations-do-you-use-that-didnt-make-it-onto-the-dialect-survey/157200/40 "2003-02-25T12:53:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Salem \* > \*\* Where are all you other _wicked_ posters from? I’m curious how far it actually does reach. Someone mentioned they grew up in CT. I’m from MA. \*\* Well, to throw you off, I’m in Tennessee, about 100 miles from where I grew up. I picked it up from my college roommate, in Maine. She was from Hingham, MA. I also picked up “Draw” instead of “Drawer” from her, but I’ve managed to drop that from my vocab. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-pronounciations-do-you-use-that-didnt-make-it-onto-the-dialect-survey/157200.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-pronounciations-do-you-use-that-didnt-make-it-onto-the-dialect-survey/157200.md?page=3)