<p>In that “wish I’d hear some news from my kid” stage of adaptation to college departure, I find the Cafe a source of renewing laughs to go to when my email box is news-less…the worst purchases thread is a hoot…and I was reminded of laughing over a past thread on regional (and historical?) differences in words for things, like soda/pop, purse/handbag, etc. I’d love to either find that thread again–or maybe better yet, get a renewable list going we could all add to. (I don’t know how to do the set up for those–kind of like the decisions lists–but if any of you can launch one–I’m for it. Example categories I’d propose as starters:</p>
<p>Nouns: Clothing category: flipflops, go-aheads, zoris, thongs (well, we can see why that one is out of fashion, since it has changed categories!!!</p>
<p>Verbs: Actually, I’m blank on a good one at the moment but I know this gang will have ideas (and appropriate standards as well…)</p>
<p>I’m a native Texan, and I grew up saying “fixin’ ready to” for “getting ready to,” as in, “I’m fixin’ ready to go to the store.” Took me FOREVER to break that habit! <em>lol</em></p>
<p>In the upper midwest, a ramp is a parking garage. This completed confounded me when my Minneapolis SIL gave me directions to a store and told me to park in the ramp at the end of the block.</p>
<p>I would always (and still do many times) say I’m going to the grocery rather than grocery store or store. My parents always used grocery as a noun rather than adjective, and thus I do as well (they were raised in Indianapolis, not sure if it’s local).</p>
<p>As for local to the area I grew up, my parents always got ticked off at me when I said I’d be back in ‘awhile’. “How long are you going to be?” reply: “awhile”…I think I’ve become more conscious of that phrase and don’t use it often anymore.</p>
<p>To most of us it sounds horrible and uneducated, but there are parts of the country (Philadelphia comes to mind) where the plural form of “you” has an audible “s” at the end, as in, “yous guys.” In certain contexts I find it charming. </p>
<p>When I moved from the east coast to Michigan many many years ago I learned that soda pop was called “soda” on the east coast, but only “pop” in Michigan.</p>
<p>I was not intending to give anyone a “bad name.” Just remarking on something I hear all around the area in which we live. Please forgive me if I inadvertantly insulted you. ~berurah</p>
<p>no offense taken! It’s just that Kansas has enough grief with what the state board of education has done lately- I don’t want anyone to think we’re all yokels!</p>
<p>My favorites come from my partner, when the german that runs around in his head gets tangled up with the english coming out of his mouth. He recently said to an audience of 25 persons trying to describing a point of copyright permission “we’re not allowed to do that, and so is nobody else”. I almost burst out laughing on the spot. </p>
<p>He does this constantly, and I don’t ever bother with trying to correct him, but later when I told him how funny I found his “so is nobody else” (vs. “neither is anyone else”) was, he insisted it was the correct translation.</p>