Southerners and "the rest of us"

[Homercidal]

Sofa or couch. Davenport is reserved for the pretentious. I only use it in my Thurston Howell III voice.

Pop, or Soda. Coke is a brand name. I suppose people who use it as a generic term for soda are simply doing what others have done with Scotch Tape, Kleenex, etc. But it sounds wrong to me.

Red could be short for "ready". As in, "Let's ready this place for the visit."

Fixin' to is definitely a southern thing, but I've probably used it once or twice, like I would use "Aim to". Usually when I want to affect a Southern Accent. I might use "All y'all" once in a while. Although that may only have been when I was pokin' fun at the country music channel on the radio.

One time at the local video store one of the girls that works there had family up from WAY down south. I swear to God that one guy literally said, "I hafta go outside. Y'alls accent's driving me crazy." Must have been pure torture, bless his heart.

 

[cluckk]

It should be noted, Texas is not the south. At least not all of it.

In any part of Texas, these words should not be spoken publicly.

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

y'all = small group (usually 2 or more)
all y'all = everybody present (may be some non-present, too)

y'all's = possessive, as in, "Is this y'all's car?"
all y'all's = possessive, as in, "Is this all y'all's office building?"

MC

 

[cluckk]

I have a habit of picking up the local ways wherever I live. After living in Montana and Idaho for many years I was speaking on the phone with a committee in Texas and someone asked me, "You're from Texas, so why do you keep saying 'You guys' instead of 'Ya'll'?" It hadn't even dawned on me that I had started doing that at some point. Some things never change though. I still say "Teexas" with the 'e' lengthened out.

 

[CreamyGoodness]

New York has its share of odd terminology and odd phrases. In most neighborhoods we are all smashed in together, so we pick up a lot of each other's slang, as well. Someone with gaul has "chutzpa." A woman of questionable moral fiber is subjected to the term "ho" by our less sophisticated membership, regardless of nationality or race.

We do use "y'all" but only when angry, and only with "all" proceding it. As in "screw all y'all, I'm leaving."

You only go on a pub crawl on St. Patrick's Day. Any other time you go bar hopping.

Whilst barhopping or pub crawling, when you see a group of early twenty-somethings yelling, carrying on and throwing up you shake your head and murmer "f'in Jersey."

No matter what your religion or nationality might be, if something odd "goes down" you say "oy vey."

Pronounciation-wise, "er" is a bit of a challenege. Your stapler winds up in your desk "draw." Make fun of our accents and you might wind up thrown through the "daw."

Any food sold from a street vendor that isnt a hot-dog cart is "street meat". Street meat is serious business, and those in the know seek out those carts that have won at least one "Vendy Award".

Contrary to popular opinion, New Yorkers dont feel too many negative feelings for those who live out in the country (after all, we remain pretty unaffected by them), but if a country dweller really annoys us in some way they are likely to be labeled a "hee-haw" or, if the offense is agregious enough, a "goat-f'er". Cross the line into hatred and he becomes a "f'in Red Stater" or "Red State d'bag."

"Soda" refers to Coca-cola. You want seltzer in your drink? Ask for seltzer. Asking for a scotch and soda might earn you a confused look. Who the hell puts Coke in their scotch? (Other than my lovely wife).

You don't deal with hipsters like us New Yorkers do. Screw all y'all, I dont want to hear it.

Here's a big one. You do NOT sell gas at a deli. You sell huge meat sandwiches and Dr. Brown's soda. Maybe a pickle. You want gas? Go to a gas station. Want a pack of cigarettes and a soda? Get together about a million dollars (cigarettes are amazingly expensive here. some of us ex-smokers just didnt feel like paying the taxes on them anymore) and head to your corner bodega. They also have newspapers, candy, slim jims, condoms (no one calls them rubbers) and airlocks there (some of you call them balloons). Some, but not all, bodegas also serve cheap Mexican food of wildly varying quality. There is no such thing as a convenience store.

Another one out of towner's misunderstand. "Sir" and "Ma'am." This isnt usually a term of respect. More often than not it means "annoying person I don't want anything to do with," "person whom I need to give me money," or "police officer." Is it really $6 dollars for a Rolling Rock? Yes, sir.

I can think of more if anyone wants.... who knows... you might need to visit.

 

[cheesehed007]

So what so you call people from other states? Up here in Wisconsin anyone from Minnesota is a "Mud-Duck" if you're from Illinois you're a "FIB. " F'n Illinois Bastard (and you pronounce the S, cuz it pisses them off). If you're from Michigan's Upper Peninsula you are a Yooper.

 

[cluckk]

So what so you call people from other states? Up here in Wisconsin anyone from Minnesota is a "Mud-Duck" if you're from Illinois you're a "FIB. " F'n Illinois Bastard (and you pronounce the S, cuz it pisses them off). If you're from Michigan's Upper Peninsula you are a Yooper.

Being from Texas, I was 19 before I learned Damned Yankee was two words. I always thought they just went together.

 

[alpha224]

Here in CENPA (central PA) when we shovel snow on our porches we "muck " the porch/deck...

 

[Yooper]

So what so you call people from other states? Up here in Wisconsin anyone from Minnesota is a "Mud-Duck" if you're from Illinois you're a "FIB. " F'n Illinois Bastard (and you pronounce the S, cuz it pisses them off). If you're from Michigan's Upper Peninsula you are a Yooper.

We use FIBs a lot. But then, there are a lot of FIBs here. Way too many, if you ask me. :cross:

 

[PapsD]

So what so you call people from other states? Up here in Wisconsin anyone from Minnesota is a "Mud-Duck" if you're from Illinois you're a "FIB. " F'n Illinois Bastard (and you pronounce the S, cuz it pisses them off). If you're from Michigan's Upper Peninsula you are a Yooper.

****in cheesers! LOL

 

[iaefebs]

My Dad still says, "Fixin' to", and "Red up". I don't know if "red up" is a Southern thing, a West Virginia thing, or just maybe a family thing. but "red up" means to get ready, as in to clean up.

You are the first one outside my family that I've heard use "redd up". As in after dinner it was the kids job to "redd up" the table, or get your bedroom "redd up" It took awhile to stop using the phrase because no one outside family knew what it meant. Every few years I like to throw it into a conversation to see if anyone else knew what it meant. I don't think it's a regional thing, my folks are from PA. I think it's ancestral. It appears to be a Scotch, Irish saying.

 

[cheesehed007]

We use FIBs a lot. But then, there are a lot of FIBs here. Way too many, if you ask me. :cross:

1 FIB is 1 too many...LOL. But to be honest, we have a lot of great customers up in the north woods that are FIBs. And they are not afraid to spend money with us.

 

[cheesehed007]

****in cheesers! LOL

I've been called worse.. Cheers!

 

[Ryush806]

My grandparents were missionaries in Japan so after they moved to Arkansas my grandma befriended all of the Japanese students from the local college. She's always helping them with learning English along with many other things. One day some Japanese students came to her and told her they kept hearing a strange word but they couldn't tell what it meant and had no luck looking it up in the dictionary. They told her the word was "jeet". As in "Jeet yet? We're fittinta if-u-unto." Poor Japanese kids didn't stand a chance in the South.

I've recently seen several heated debates on Facebook about whether it's "ya'll" or "y'all".

 

[lumpher]

When we winter in Texas, they have three kinds of beer, not just "cold beer". Shiner Bock, Zwiegenbock, and Corona/Dos Equis. .

We have some of the best beer selections in the US here in Texas. Within a very miles of my house, we have 10-12 places that specialize in craft imports, and more opening constantly. Not sure where you look, but here in Texas, we have a thriving community, including 1 of the largest homebrew clubs in the US. Ever hear of the Bluebonnet BrewOff? How about Iron Mash?

 

[JonM]

We have our foibles up here, too. I've been here 37 years and I'm still getting used to "pridner" for "pretty near," as in "Ooh, yah. Gene hooked a muskie that was, oh fer cry yie, pridner a couple, tree foot."

 

[lumpher]

y'all = small group (usually 2 or more)
all y'all = everybody present (may be some non-present, too)

y'all's = possessive, as in, "Is this y'all's car?"
all y'all's = possessive, as in, "Is this all y'all's office building?"

MC

southern talk lessons from a canadian... somebody listened to bill engvall. it's all "y'all or y'all's"

 

[h4mmy86]

I live around plenty of hillbilly types, moved here from Indiana, and the things that really got me were:
1. I always considered a toboggan a type of sled, not a hat.
2. I had no idea what a commode was.

 

[Homercidal]

We have our foibles up here, too. I've been here 37 years and I'm still getting used to "pridner" for "pretty near," as in "Ooh, yah. Gene hooked a muskie that was, oh fer cry yie, pridner a couple, tree foot."

We pronounced it "Pertneer", as in pretty near. And of course we had a crick by our house when I was a kid. The sentence might have sounded like this: Went down ta tha crick last night and pertneer caught a mess a brookies.

 

[GrogNerd]

Minnesotans ask, "can YOU BORROW ME some money?"

me asks, "what? who's giving money to whom here?"

 

[cheesehed007]

We pronounced it "Pertneer", as in pretty near. And of course we had a crick by our house when I was a kid. The sentence might have sounded like this: Went down ta tha crick last night and pertneer caught a mess a brookies.

The town I live in has Creek in the name. You can tell the locals by how they pronounce it. Locals say Fall Crick.. Everybody else says Fall Creek. Ya hey dare don't ya know.

 

[CoalCracker]

I like in Eastern PA in the Coal region. We have a whole dictionary...

http://www.coalregion.com/speak/speaka.php

 

[CreamyGoodness]

PA has at least 3 distinct accents that I have detected. And thats not even counting the out-of-town transplants on the main line.

 

[Yooper]

We have some of the best beer selections in the US here in Texas. Within a very miles of my house, we have 10-12 places that specialize in craft imports, and more opening constantly. Not sure where you look, but here in Texas, we have a thriving community, including 1 of the largest homebrew clubs in the US. Ever hear of the Bluebonnet BrewOff? How about Iron Mash?

Oh, yes, there are MANY great breweries in Texas. That's why it's frustrating that there isn't a decent selection at any bar, restaurant, or liquor store within 50 miles of us (or even more, as Houston is probably the closest place to the north- about 200 miles north). HEB has the best selection, but not many Texas breweries' selections, not even Rahr or Real Ale or even St. Arnold's. Near Austin, the picture totally changes, and I know Houston has several great places. Down south, though, a "good beer" is Dos Equis.

 

[CreamyGoodness]

Say what you want about Dos Equis, it makes a great marinade for chicken wings

 

[Yooper]

Say what you want about Dos Equis, it makes a great marinade for chicken wings

Ha- and it's not bad in a cowboy bar "dressed", either! It helps cut the cigarette smoke flavor and smell out of your nose, especially if you have the lime up near the top of the bottle.

 

[CreamyGoodness]

Texas still allows smoking in public places? Wasnt aware.

 

[PapsD]

Texas still allows smoking in public places? Wasnt aware.

I think most of the south still does.

 

[cluckk]

Texas still allows smoking in public places? Wasnt aware.

It depends on where you are. In San Antonio the smoking storm-troopers took this privilege away recently.

 

[Airborneguy]

In Texas, do restaurants allow smoking and is it posted whether do or not? I refuse to go to bars or restraunts that allow smoking, and have walked into a few places that I didn't realize allowed it until I was already seated. I don't mind the funny looks when I get up and leave, but it is annoying.