colloquialisms

[megisnotreal]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colloquialism

I love them. What sort of phrases are unique to your area? Please, share them with everyone. Seriously, they fascinate me.

I've lived in Alabama for most of my life, and moved to Kentucky a few years ago. Most of the colloquialisms I've encountered/ used are similar, with a few exceptions. My favourites:

Yay big/small--describes the approximate size of something; this phrase is usually accompanied by a hand gesture of some short.
"Well, we're gonna need that box to be about yay big."

yonder--a general location that is not where you or your group are presently.
"Go over yonder."

don't know him/her from Adam--my grandma says this one a lot. this phrase is used when referring to a stranger or a friend with whom you are not familiar.
"I would invite her to the barbeque, but I don't know her from Adam."

I'll think of more later.

[peanut butter puddin surprise]

having grown up in PA, and then spent almost twenty years here in Kentucky, I can tell you there are some dramatic differences.

To wit:

PA Colloquialisms

1.  Red Up-to organize, classify, or otherwise clean up a particular area
2.  Youn's-the southwest PA equivalent of Y'all
3.  Gumband-rubberband
4.  Hoagie-a sub sandwich
5.  Pikksburgh-Pittsburgh
6.  Warshington-Washington
7.  Red Dog-a coal mining byproduct used as a road surface
8.  Slate Dump-another coal mining byproduct, a giant, mountain like pile of slate.  Usually catches on fire after a few decades.
9.  Crick-creek
10. Pop-soda, Coke, soft drink
11. Kicked-empty, used.  "The keg is kicked.  Man, this bowl is kicked"
12. Djeetyet?-Did you eat yet?
13. Birch Beer-a beloved soft drink or "pop"
14. Green Dragon-not a Chinese restaurant, but an Amish country fair

That just scratches the surface, there are countless others...True, help me out here... ;)

[bethofftherecord]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colloquialism

I love them. What sort of phrases are unique to your area? Please, share them with everyone. Seriously, they fascinate me.

I've lived in Alabama for most of my life, and moved to Kentucky a few years ago. Most of the colloquialisms I've encountered/ used are similar, with a few exceptions. My favourites:

Yay big/small--describes the approximate size of something; this phrase is usually accompanied by a hand gesture of some short.
"Well, we're gonna need that box to be about yay big."

yonder--a general location that is not where you or your group are presently.
"Go over yonder."

don't know him/her from Adam--my grandma says this one a lot. this phrase is used when referring to a stranger or a friend with whom you are not familiar.
"I would invite her to the barbeque, but I don't know her from Adam."

I'll think of more later.

I've heard all those!  My grandma says don't know him/her from Adam all the time!

Out here in Wisconsin.....

some parts of the state call a drinking fountain a bubbler.
some people say pop instead of soda.  

my grandma says she's going to warsh her hands rather than wash.  she also says zink instead of sink.  it might be old german.

borrow - used in place of lend, as in "Could youse borrow me a couple two-three bucks, yahhey - but you only say that in south milwaukee or up nort

BELIEVE-YOU-ME:attached to the beginning or end of a statement and makes it more credible, as in "really!"

M'WAHKEE: Wisconsin's largest city; located just down the lake from T'Rivers and Man'twoc.  If you are from Milwaukee - like me - you don't pronounce the il.

Hey Dere! C'meer once - you gots to read dis a couple-two-tree words on how ta talk like yer from Scansin, hey. Hit's a humdinger! Sit down witch'er brat an' brewski in yer blaze-orange and, cripes sake, in the spirit of Bart and Vince, take a gander, yahhey? I gotsta say, doh, dat I got dis from a fren' of mine so I don't know where it came from.  - people only talk like this in small towns, but I can and will bust it out if I go up north or am out with some good ole boys.

oh, good ole 'scanie.  just wait til i am at the dive bars up up in Portage tomorrow having a miller high life, you betcha, it'll be great!




Check this out, but turn your sound on so you can hear the roll out the barrel!
http://www.homestead.com/cameronwis/WisDictionary.html

[megisnotreal]

also, where i am from, all carbonated soda beverages are coke.

like, if you came to my house and said, "can i have a coke?" i would then ask you what kind you wanted. i might tell you that there are cokes in the fridge, and you would open up my lovely green refrigerator to see that i have pepsi and mountain dew.

[mjkoehler]

having grown up in PA, and then spent almost twenty years here in Kentucky, I can tell you there are some dramatic differences.

To wit:

PA Colloquialisms

9.  Crick-creek

Growing up in Nebraksa, it was ALWAYS Crick and it was Pop, never ever Soda. When I moved to St Louis, I got such strange looks. It's taken 10 years to get rid of both.

St Louis ones (Dave, I'll need you help here since your native to the area)

Hoosier = white trash (no offense to any Indianans)
Furty/Furty Four = 40/44 as in Highway Furty
Warsh = Wash ugh
Missoura = Missouri <---this annoys me to no end
Fair To Midland- I still have no f'n clue what this means
Soda = Pop, Soda Pop, Cola, Coke, etc.
Chicken & Beer Wedddin = Wedding reception held at a VFW usually, were Fried Chicken & beer are served and if they are fancy, Mosticolli is also served.

[red]

A couple from the top of me head:

Bunnyhug - a hooded sweatshirt
Wicked - excellent, awesome, etc.

[ManNamedTruth]

having grown up in PA, and then spent almost twenty years here in Kentucky, I can tell you there are some dramatic differences.

To wit:

PA Colloquialisms

1.  Red Up-to organize, classify, or otherwise clean up a particular area
2.  Youn's-the southwest PA equivalent of Y'all
3.  Gumband-rubberband
4.  Hoagie-a sub sandwich
5.  Pikksburgh-Pittsburgh
6.  Warshington-Washington
7.  Red Dog-a coal mining byproduct used as a road surface
8.  Slate Dump-another coal mining byproduct, a giant, mountain like pile of slate.  Usually catches on fire after a few decades.
9.  Crick-creek
10. Pop-soda, Coke, soft drink
11. Kicked-empty, used.  "The keg is kicked.  Man, this bowl is kicked"
12. Djeetyet?-Did you eat yet?
13. Birch Beer-a beloved soft drink or "pop"
14. Green Dragon-not a Chinese restaurant, but an Amish country fair

That just scratches the surface, there are countless others...True, help me out here... ;)

Most of them are covered above-pop, crick etc.....
We say yins more than youn's
When referring to the Pittsburgh Steelers, its 'the stillers'
Here's a couple good ones from this "you know you're from Pittsburgh when..." list
You've told someone to "quit jaggin around"
You've called someone a 'jaggoff'.
You drink "pop", eat "hoagies", pierogies, and gyros(jy-rows)
Chipped ham was always in your refrigerator when you were growing up.
You walk carefully when it is "slippy" outside.

[ManNamedTruth]

A couple from the top of me head:

Bunnyhug - a hooded sweatshirt
Wicked - excellent, awesome, etc.

You need to start the 'hoodie' trend, just sart calling them that, it'll catch on.

[colleen]

My mom has some real winners. Can't say I've heard other people use these much:

"His mouth runs like a whippoorwill's ass."
"I'm bouncing around like a fart in a mitten."

A few that make me wince:
Around here people sometimes say "yous guyses." "Youns" would really irritate me too.
I often hear people in this area say "cousint" instead of cousin.
Or "I seen her" instead of I saw her.
"Onnaconna" which I guess means on account of.
"Sanguich or Samwhich" instead of sandwich
"Hamburg" instead of hamburger

We call jimmies sprinkles (like what you put on ice cream).

[BH]

St Louis ones (Dave, I'll need you help here since your native to the area)

Furty/Furty Four = 40/44 as in Highway Furty

Actually, it's more like farty far

Missoura = Missouri <---this annoys me to no end

Don't even get me started.  This a rural Missouri thing, not generaly used by people in the St. Louis area.   Our politicians love to say Missoura and it just eats me up.

Missouri is the capital of colloquialisms.  Just read Mark Twain for a million examples.

Here's one in reference to Mike's list.  "You done good"

[.Walt]

In Minnesota its pop
People say, yah sure yah betcha - means ok
if you really wanna know how Minnesotans talk, watch Fargo. its true, maybe not that bad, but people do talk like that here.  

When i go to Milwaukee, they say bubbler for drinking fountain. My mom has a shirt that reads, "wheres the bubbler?". she's from milwaukee, so she knows there the bubbler is.

[The DARK]

Pluff mud- Deep, thick mud filled with oysters found in most salt marshes
Gapers- People who stare at car crashes and hold up traffic

[megisnotreal]

this is another good one. when i used to teach summer school, some of the parents said this about their kids. it would make me mad, but whatever.

s/he "ain't no account" -- someone with a bleak future; one of undesirable character or repute

here's one my mom and grandma say:
high hat--of elevated socioeconomic status.

Her mamma acts like she's high hat, but she ain't no account.

[ManNamedTruth]

,
Gapers- People who stare at car crashes and hold up traffic

good one! We call 'em rubber-neckers!

[The DARK]

Lowcountry- Charleston area
Palmetto Bug- Cockroaches that get into your house

[The DARK]

Also...

Coke= Coke, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, whatever soda you happen to have at the time.

[bethofftherecord]

Palmetto Bug- Cockroaches that get into your house

I don't get that one.  Last summer when I was in Savannah on vacation some people told me that the cockroaches were palmetto bugs.  To me, a cockroach is a cockroach.  Nasty!

I hear that they don't sell Brady all over the country.  It's big in WI.  Every Friday it's Brandy Old fashions and a fish fry.  well, not for me, but I've had it and it's GOOD.

OK - I got a few more....
FIBS (Fibber)
FIBS is an acronym for F**king Illinois Bast**ds - those people "south of the border" who drive like wild maniacs (toll-free) all the way to the Dells.


IMPORTED BEER
This is any variety of brewski that is not produced in Milwaukee. When you ask for an imported beer in a Milwaukee tavern, you'll probably get a Coors.

I found a website that says...you know you're from WI if....(too funny.  hope you guys don't mind me posting it here).

You know you are from Wisconsin if....
You think George Webb's is a four star restaurant (which it totally is)
You ever ended a relationship because you found out she/he was a Vikings fan.
You end every sentence with the word "hey?" regardless if you are asking a question or answering one.
You order a brandy and your bartender actually knows what it is!
You spent more on beer than you did on food at your wedding.
Your grandmother made you eat lutefisk.
You know how to polka. (i can polka.  i learned at the VFW for a wedding.  nice!)
You were baptized with Blatz beer.
You know where to look for a bubbler.
You know that "Mawaukee" has no "L." (Milwaukee)
Your definition of a small town is one that only has one bar.
You were unaware that there is a legal drinking age.
You consider Madison "exotic." (cause most of WI does, but it's the best city in the state!)
Your best shirt has a big letter G on it. (i actually own a brett favre jersey.  i know.  it rocks.)

[.Walt]

funny enough, i got kicked outta a geogre webbs (which is awesome), for making fun of brett farve. i'd also say that wisconsin has the most personalized license plates. most involve something about the packers.

[.Walt]

i also believe that minnesota is the only state to say this:
Hot Dish = casserole

Minnesota Nice. if you do something so simple as to open a door for someone outside the state. they always give you a weird look and say "you're not from here, are you?"

[mjkoehler]

Furty/Furty Four = 40/44 as in Highway Furty

Actually, it's more like farty far

That does sound better.