@maya54 expensive, as in " she was wearing a high dollar coat"
Carry, as in “I’m fixin’ to carry Nana to the Winn-Dixie to help her with her buggy (grocery cart.)” I never hear anyone say, “I’m going to drive Nana…”
Re: #11 - I had no idea that “Where you at?” is Midwestern. I first heard it as “Where y’at?” from residents of Metairie and other New Orleans suburbs, who back then were referred to as “Y’ats” by some dismissive uptowners.
Thanks @maya54! Fun idea!
- Suckers instead of lollipops
- Tennis shoes instead of sneakers
- Sweeping the floor also means vacuuming the floor
“Sack” is used for “dismiss [an employee] from a job” in some places.
And tennis shoes are athletic shoes for the sport vs. simple KEDS (eg) which are “sneakers”.
Speaking of shoes… When my son was at Officer Candidate School he had to call his flip flops “Go-slows” and his sneakers “Go-fasts”. They had a lot of other stupid vocabulary, but that was particularly egregious.
Ah, the military:
Cover = hat
Long O = winter overcoat
Low quarters = shiny dress shoes
Green girl = blanket
High and tight = worst haircut ever
I got the stinkeye the first time I tried to order a milkshake in the Boston area. Server knew exactly what I meant but pretended to have no clue. Friends at the table told me I should order a “frappe.”
Where I grew up in Michigan, an umbrella was a “bumbershoot” and “hell’s bells” was a common expletive.
Where the heck did you grow up? Ha! @ChoatieMom I’ve never heard that before.
Here’s a few that are pretty Michigan specific:
-“Ope” when you accidentally bump someone or do something on accident. Normal people say “oops”
-Also “on accident” instead of “by accident” (that’s not Michigan-specific)
-“Crayon” is one syllable: “cran”
-“Devil’s night” the night before Halloween
-“Doorwall” (this is very specific to Detroit/metro Detroit… and more specifically the lower income places. Where I live now, only 10 minutes from where I grew up, most people don’t know the word.) the sliding door to a patio/backyard.
-We add an “s” to a lot of things: “I work at Fords” “I need to go to Meijers”
-“Party store” convenience store/liquor store
-“Lookit” look at the
Various conjugations of “to go and” to express exasperation with someone’s action -
Well, I guess they went and got married.
Now you’ve gone and done it.
"I got the stinkeye the first time I tried to order a milkshake in the Boston area. Server knew exactly what I meant but pretended to have no clue. Friends at the table told me I should order a “frappe.”
Oh, you could definitely get a milkshake but you’d be disappointed because it would just be flavored milk. If you want ice cream in it, it is a frappe or if you are in Rhode Island, it would be a cabinet.
Isn’t it funny how regional stuff like this is? I grew up in California, but I don’t live there anymore…
- describing how to get to your destination. You tell the person how long it will take to get there. not the actual distance in terms of miles.
- you can tell whether somebody is from northern or southern CA based on whether they put the word "the" in front of the freeway number. "The 405" vs "We're going to take 405." The former would be a So Cal person. The latter would be somebody from northern CA.
- nobody from CA calls it "Cali."
- pretty commonplace to refer to group of mixed gender people as "dude."
- Stoked - not something you do to a fire. means you're excited about something.
- Hella - means that same as "very." But this is a northern California thing only.
- soda - any carbonated beverage. If you ask for a Coke, you'll get a Coca-Cola. Ask for a pop and they won't know what the heck you are talking about.
Arizona, on the other hand…
- haboob - huge dust storm that rolls through often right before a monsoon rainstorm hits
- monsoon - summer rains. Usually late June - September. It could rain 1" in an hour at your house but 1 block away, nothing. Totally dry.
- thanks to the haboobs, it is actually possible for it to rain and your car end up dirtier than before it rained.
- wash - it’s not something you do. It’s something you don’t drive through when it rains or your car could get swept away.
- Sonoran dog - a kind of hot dog. Wrapped in bacon & loaded with pinto beans, Mexican guacamole (much runnier than the chunky stuff usually served in restaurants), mayo, cheese, pico de gallo.
When I lived in Boston, I would often stop at the package store on the way home from work. No, I wasn’t stopping at the UPS store. A package store is a liquor store. Also known as a packy.
@romanigypsyeyes - I’d never heard the term doorwall, but it makes perfect sense to me, as an exterior sliding door functions well as both and is distinctly different than a swinging door.
Better yet, it could be called a doorwallwindow.
@sherpa I never realized it wasn’t universal until I started working in a different part of the state. When I said it, one of my coworkers looked at me like I had two heads.
I find it to be a useful descriptor until I actually have to explain what it is haha.
A couple more Utahisms to go along with “Oh my heck”:
“Might could”, as in, “I might could go with you.”
Ignorant to mean rude, as in, “She was so ignorant to me,” the irony of which is priceless.
Many young Mormons wear “CTR” rings, which stands for “choose the right”. I would often point out that the “the” was superfluous and confusing, which was typically met with stubborn denial because, basically, “that’s what is, it’s a CTR ring, not a CR ring, silly you.”
Another odd usage: Worthy Mormons get a document from their Bishops which allows entry into their Temples. These are called “Temple Recommends”, rather than recommendations.
I was just going to mention “might could.” I grew up in Tennessee and have been teased about saying that.
I have also been teased about saying “fixin’ to” and “carry” as in I will carry you to the store.
I think of ‘might could’ as southern and ‘ignorant’ to mean rude as mid-western.
Somewhat related. When younger d went to University of Rochester during orientation a common question was whether or not she liked the Sabres… she had absolutely no idea what anyone was talking about as she had never heard of the hockey team from Buffalo, she assumed people were asking her if she liked sabers and couldn’t understand way so many people were interested in swords.
“Usually always” and “usually never” in CT.
We also say “package store” for liquor store.
I grew up in Connecticut and used to say alls as in “alls I have left.” When I moved to Boston it caused comment and I made it a point to say all instead. I once looked it up in the Dictionary of American Regional English and learned that it probably came from “alst” which was used in England and may have come over with the pilgrims. But I still don’t say it. I have noticed that my brothers still say it.