Odd regional expressions

[HeroHog]

I moved from Louisiana to Virginia and I have ta tell ya, culture shock is a wild understatement! Back home in Louisiana, we have spare tires, we are fittin (fixing) ta do sumpin (something) and all Soda/Pop was Coke (Wanna Coke? Yeah! Gimme an Orange Soda.)

In Virginia, I live in Staunton, pronounced "Stanton". There is a town named "Buena Vista" that is pronounced "Boin-a-vista" (Boing without the g).  In Charlottesville there is a road named Rio. No not "Reo", "Rio" where i sounds like... well... i (eye)! A fellow that moved here from the Midwest about the same time I moved here and I were car pooling home one day discussing this and decided that, in Virginia, maybe they pronounce the "i" in everything as "eye". Soon were were splitting our sides pronouncing the i in everything we saw as "eye". "Fishersville, Va" started us laughing but when one of us pronounced "Virginia" the "Virginian way", we almost wrecked the car laughing! Try it. You will giggle every time you see Virginia in print from now on!

[grampster]

The one pronunciation that sets my skin crawl is when folks refer to their gums, as in what your teeth are affixed to, as gooms.

I'm wondering, do they also chew goom? 

[oldcop1971]

one that comes to mind is "NO COUNT".    have you seen that movie?  yeah, it aint no count.  meaning it does not give a good accounting of itself, ie, no good.
"directly" has been mentioned, but should be pronounced " die-wreck-lee"
the community i live in is spelled "Royal" but pronounced  "rawl"
a road in the community is "mt hebron rd" but locally pronounced mt he-burn rd 
we have two community names in south alabama of    intercourse and semen!!!   LOL
oc

[280plus]

Sangwich really annoys me, everybody knows it's a sammich! 

[MechAg94]

If you're asking for directions in Austin and someone tells you to take Lamar down to "manshack", don't pick up a guy named Lamar and go looking for a small shack.  You'll be looking for a street sign with "Manchaca" on it.  People who pronounce it like it's spelled are usually recent arrivals from California or Mexico.


There are a lot of regional Texas expressions, written here and there, that I've honestly never heard anyone say (and I've been here a long time).  One that is real, pretty common, and possibly odd is "more ____________ than you could shake a stick at"  example:  "When I hit the light on the back porch to see what was causin' the racket, I saw more coons than you could shake a stick at."

I have heard the "shake a stick at" expression, but it is not common.  That is actually one I try to say on occasion.  :)

I have always called all soft drinks Coke even though I drink Dr. Pepper.  I have also called it soda sometimes.  I never heard Pop until I got older.

[grampster]

I always liked my father in law"s sayings:  "Dryer than a popcorn fart." and "Shakin like a dog passin a peach pit."

[charby]

I always liked my father in law"s sayings:  "Dryer than a popcorn fart."

That is one of my Dad's favorite expressions.

have heard the "shake a stick at" expression, but it is not common.

Its pretty common where I grew up in SE Iowa.

Another one is "Happier than a pig in mud"

"Shut 'er down boys, she's sucking mud" was another expression to explain to go any further was futile.

[slugcatcher]

I used to hear, "He/She/It is more f'd up than a footbal bat." when I worked in Pasadena, Tx.

I heard "you'ins" while visiting relatives in Kentucky. I assumed they just hadn't learned the proper way to say ya'll as we have in Texas.

[charby]

something out of ordinary is refered to as "looks like a monkey f'ing a football"

[Uncle Bubba]

Referenced post corrected. Please re-read, Uncle Bubba.

Sorry, ct. One of my more severe pet peeves. Next time hit the "sarcasm" key a little harder.

;D

[Uncle Bubba]

I used to hear, "He/She/It is more f'd up than a footbal bat." when I worked in Pasadena, Tx.

I heard "you'ins" while visiting relatives in Kentucky. I assumed they just hadn't learned the proper way to say ya'll as we have in Texas.

Someone mentioned "you'uns" earlier and I meant to remark on it.

First time I ever heard it was at the Benning School For Boys in 1981, a fellow called "Cricket" from White Pine TN used it and it sounded like I typed it above. Next time I heard it was about five years later, a friend's co-worker from Pittsburgh PA used it but his pronunciation sounded more like "y'uns".

[grampster]

"a friend's co-worker from Pittsburgh PA used it but his pronunciation sounded more like "y'uns"."

That was me bringing up you'ens earlier.  But, you're right about y'uns or y'ens.  My dad and his family were from Pittsburgh.  My grandmother used that derivative all the time in that way.

[Uncle Bubba]

Thanks, gramps. I was in a hurry and couldn't recall where I'd seen it earlier.

Cricket's pronunciation was more countrified, came out in two syllables, and Brian's (I remembered his name! H'ray for my two remaining brain cells!) was more like city folk, one syllable.