Odd regional expressions

[freakazoid]

When we would go to Oklahoma for our family reunions they would call them crawfish while we would say crawdads. Or was it the other way around, been a long time since then.

[Uncle Bubba]

Down where I hunt in Southern Illinois just north of KAY-Ro (Cairo) and close to VIY-Enna. (Vienna), it's "Sodie" not Soda.

Thank G-D that those of us from Chicago speak proper English unlike the rest of you rural hicks.......

There's Vienna, Georgia, pronounceded VI-EE-na.

Albany, New York is pronounced all-buh-nee. Albany, Georgia is pronounced ALL-benny.

A Southernism my dad used now and again to express amazement, surprise, or sometimes disgust, depending on where the emphasis was - "Well, sh*t fire and save matches."

[Lee]

I love this stuff.  I use a lot of mid-western/southern isms, while my wife uses a lot of Michigan isms.  My wife also does that yes/no thing.  She'll say things like, "are you going to Krogers to pick up some Hamburg?"...to which I'll reply," I'm going to one Kroger to get some hamburger".  Then she'll ask if I'm going to get buns, to which I answer "yes"; then she'll say "no?" 99% of the time. 
I drive her and a lot of other people crazy by saying 'probably' or 'more than likely', when I mean absolutely yes. I'm not sure where that comes from....rural anywhere, more than likely. 

[makattak]

I love this stuff.  I use a lot of mid-western/southern isms, while my wife uses a lot of Michigan isms.  My wife also does that yes/no thing.  She'll say things like, "are you going to Krogers to pick up some Hamburg?"...to which I'll reply," I'm going to one Kroger to get some hamburger".  Then she'll ask if I'm going to get buns, to which I answer "yes"; then she'll say "no?" 99% of the time. 
I drive her and a lot of other people crazy by saying 'probably' or 'more than likely', when I mean absolutely yes. I'm not sure where that comes from....rural anywhere, more than likely. 

Hmm... I didn't realize it was a regional issue. I say "more than likely" as well. (Orignally from Illinois)

However, my favorite from Illinois are the city names. Far better than anything posted so far:

Cairo? Pronounced "KayRow"

Athens? Pronounced "Ay-thens"

New Berlin? Pronounced (as in NH) "New Ber' lin"

AND my all time favorite:

San Jose- pronounced, yes, you guessed it: "San Joes"

[grislyatoms]

Tierra Amarilla is a fun one out here...had trouble with it myself when I first arrived.

Spoken properly, it sounds like "Tierra Maria" but most gringos say it Tierra ama-RILL-uh.

State question is "Red or Green?", meaning which type of chile sauce to slather on your entree. I was asked that in a restaurant here and replied "Red or green what?" Response was "You're not from around here, are you?"

[Manedwolf]

Another one. Ice cream places always have "frappe" on the menu.

The pronunciation I knew was "fra-PAY". It's French.

Nope. In New England, it's "frap".

You get your "frap" and your grinder (sub sandwich) at a little window at countless places in the summer.

[charby]

There's Vienna, Georgia, pronounceded VI-EE-na.

Towns in Iowa

Madrid- Pronouced Mad-drid

Tripoli- Pronouced Tripola

Nevada- Pronouced Na Vada (first a short, second a long and final a is short)

Back home there was an old stage road that is a gravel road called Jamestown Road, the signs even say Jamestown Road, but everyone calls it Jimtown Road.

 

[crt360]

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."

[grampster]

I was hitchhiking from Michigan to Alabama the summer of '61.  Going through Illinois.  Came upon a sign that said Peru.  I mentioned to the guy I was riding with, that it was funny naming a town in Illinois after a country.  He said no, it was pronounced Pee' roo.

We have a little town near us in Michigan named Ravenna.  But everyone including those who live there call it Rehvanna.

[RaspberrySurprise]

Revived ...?  I wasn't aware that it had ever feinted 

Where did swordplay come into this?

Also Michigan contains both Hell and Paradise. Needless to say Paradise is in the UP.

[cfabe]

Most obscure one I've heard& used is two terms used in the cleveland/akron ohio area to refer to the narrow strip of grass between the street curb and sidewalk. In cleveland it's the "tree lawn" which is a reference to parts of the city and suburbs that have large trees planted there, and in Akron area it's the "devil's strip" apparantely to scare children and keep them from playing too close to the road. I grew up near Cleveland and didn't know this was a regional term until I went to college in Michigan and a roommate looked at me like I had two heads when I asked him to help me "take the trash out to the tree lawn."

[Tallpine]

We always called that the "parking strip" (in Colorado) which was weird because you weren't supposed to park on it  :rolleyes:

The trouble with the so-called Southern expressions is that I just think that they're normal. 

[DJJ]

My Canadian born-and-raised wife drives me NUTS with this pattern:

Her: <insert normal yes/no question here>
Me: "Yes."
Her: "No?"
Me: "YES!"

Argh! I said YES! Pressed on why she responds that way, the explanation is something about "just making sure" - as if a clear answer to a binary question wasn't clear.

Try this:

You: Yes.
Her: No?
You: No (meaning, "No, not 'no', but 'yes'").

The only one that comes to mind seems to be exclusive to northern New Mexico (from Santa Fe north): "¿que no?". It's used at the end of a sentence like, "right?" or "isn't it?" or "know what I mean?". I thought "no" by itself would be enough, but "que" is a strange word in Spanish. It can mean about half a dozen things depending on context.

[trapperready]

I'd never heard the expression "a horse apiece" until I moved to WI. It means the same thing as "six of one, half dozen of another".

In far southern IL, I know folks who refer to all types of soda as "coke".

[Uncle Bubba]

In far southern IL, I know folks who refer to all types of soda as "coke".

Same way in Georgia, Trapper. You get asked, "What kinda Coke you want? We got Co-Cola, Dr. Pepper, Mountain Dew..."

[ctdonath]

We usually call it a Coke, or sometimes a pop, we never call it it a soda.

The correct term is, of course, "soda".
</sarcasm>
(Edit: clarification added for Uncle Bubba's benefit.)

[ctdonath]

Try this:

You: Yes.
Her: No?
You: No (meaning, "No, not 'no', but 'yes'").

I occasionally do that, but slightly different. She promptly gets flustered that I changed my answer, and I respond "well, you didn't like my first answer so I tried something else hoping that would satisfy you." Ducking usually follows.

When pressed for why she does this, it's about wanting confirmation and assurance for the first answer. "It's a yes/no question - what is it about 'yes' that you're having trouble with?" Ducking usually follows.

[charby]

My last boss was from Oklahoma by way of New Mexico.

He was alwasy full of expressions. One of my favorites of his was "I'm busier than a one armed man in a paper hanging contest" of course I would reply "I'm busier than a cat trying to bury crap on a marble floor."

[Scout26]

My last boss was from Oklahoma by way of New Mexico.

He was alwasy full of expressions. One of my favorites of his was "I'm busier than a one armed man in a paper hanging contest" of course I would reply "I'm busier than a cat trying to bury crap on a marble floor."

Or my personal fav....Busier then a one legged man in butt kicking contest.

[trapperready]

A couple others...

In Southern IL, I've heard the highway referred to as "the slab".

My wife used to have some of her patients refer to having "the fleem" (i.e. phlegm).

In WI, the term "Nesco" will occasionally be used to reference any item brought to a pot-luck dinner.

[charby]

13 lined ground squirrels are refered to as "Road Boners" here. This is to to their activity of standing up in the middle of the road.

[GigaBuist]

We have a little town near us in Michigan named Ravenna.  But everyone including those who live there call it Rehvanna.

Well, yeah, how else are you gonna pronounce it? :D

[mtnbkr]

13 lined ground squirrels are refered to as "Road Boners" here. This is to to their activity of standing up in the middle of the road.

LMAO!

Chris

[Uncle Bubba]

The correct term is, of course, "soda".

The correct term is, of course, whatever it's called where you are.  :rolleyes:

[ctdonath]

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