Slang phrases or words prevalent in your locale

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FluffyAngel

Senior Cook
Joined
Jan 25, 2012
Messages
421
Location
SC
As I lie here utterly exhausted after a 3 day stretch of work followed by washing & partially detailing my car until dark, knowing I should've been asleep a couple of hours ago and will fully pay for this joyous energy burst tomorrow, this stupid stupid thought keeps creeping through the confused & tired matter that is my brain: anudd'n - as in "gimme' anudd'n" or "here's anudd'n, you want one?". What, I wonder, makes the tired human brain digress to such silly thoughts? (Really, I don't want to know) my question is what odd phrases or words have you guys adapted into your vocabulary & what memory does it trigger if any? Anudd'n reminds me of my childhood when my grandmother would peel an apple and slice it as we ate it together. She would give me a piece then have a slice for herself. When we finished that apple that she had tricked me into eating (because as a child fresh fruit was the last thing I chose to eat) she'd look at me & say "you want anudd'n? " I was just wondering what slang people in another part of the world might have that would be unfamiliar to me.
Silly in SC.
 
Contrary to what most American's believe, Canadians don't say "aboot". We do say "eh?" Like most contries our slang will vary greatly from one part of the country to another. When I hear some Newfoundlanders talk, I can barely understand sometimes, and other times it sounds more like somebody from Ireland than from Canada.
I am from a region called the Ottawa Valley which is a rural area. We have a distinct accent, which I can fall into and out of using, and many sayings. We ask "How's she goin'?" And answer"Not bad joo?" Or refer to things as 'er, which is short for her, of course. One saying is "give'er", which is used when somebody is agreeable. A chimney can be chimley. We also say g'day. I will add some more as I they come to mind....
 
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Though from Wisconsin originally, I've lived in Minnesota for most of the last 20 years. If you've ever seen "Fargo" or "Grumpy Old Men", you get a sense of how Minnesotans talk, especially the rural dwellers who live outside of "the cities" (St. Paul and Minneapolis). It's kind of a generic Scandinavian sing-song like the Swedish chef. The movie accents are greatly exaggerated, of course, but you can hear it if you listen closely. The other observation is that people here are not easily rattled. We have an expression... "Minnesota nice", and I once heard Minnesota described as being "so laid back it's horizontal." :LOL:

A couple of observations:

  • A refrigerator, no matter the brand is a "Frigidaire".
  • People don't eat casseroles, they have "hot dish" (which is pronounced as one word).
  • Contrary to what you sometimes see in movies, we don't say "dontcha know" (as in "there's a big snowstorm comin', dontcha know") or "uff da" unless it's intentionally being used for comedic effect. But I do hear "you betcha" and "you bet" a lot.
  • If someone is curious about something you have, they will ask "whatcha got there?". In fact, we often put the word "there" at the end of sentences to add emphasis. If you want to add even more emphasis, you can also tack on the word "okay."
  • Almost every sentence that's a question begins with "So..."
  • I hear the expression "Cool Beans" a lot. No idea what that means. I gather that it's like saying "cool" or "awesome" in other parts of the country.
  • "Sven and Ole" (and sometimes "Lena") jokes are popular, especially among people of retirement age. I have a friend who knows every last one of them.
  • People don't say "I loaned Ted my hammer." They say they "I borrowed Ted my hammer".
  • We drink pop in Minnesota. Not soda. Not coke with a small "c".
  • When confronted with something new, a Minnesotan will almost always remark "well, that's different."
  • Three words: Prairie Home Companion
  • Not really a language thing, but I've noticed that whenever the weather is warmer than 40 degrees, you will see people out and about in shorts and t-shirts. :ohmy:


That's about all I can think of.
 
Being from Maine, there are more than I can remember. But here are some

Door yard- (pronounced as one word) is a driveway

Cunnin' - cute, adorable usually used to describe babies.

sideboard - countertop

Ayah - the older generation still says this, often said while someone is speaking to you to indicate that you are following along, but can also mean "yes"

Cockah (likely derived from "corker" in Ireland) meaning impressive, like "that new car is a cockah"!

Gum Rubbah (gum rubber) rubber, water proof boots
 
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Wouldn't you know I go to my hometown paper's website and there is an article about Maine Lingo.

Here are a few more.

My mom uses this one all the time. "no bigger than a fart in a mitten"

"stove up" damaged, beat up

"gawmy" clumsy, awkward

"cussid"Cursed, obstinate; “That cussid car won’t start up.”
 
Quebec English speakers say "dep" for the corner store. It's short for the French word, "depanneur". Some people broom a floor rather than sweeping it. That comes from French too. And we all call the freeway/turnpike the "autoroute".
 
In Canada you have a chesterfield on your stoop. In America we have a couch on our front porch. (Okay only in lower class neighborhoods. Middle and upper classers would never be seen sitting on their front porches. Not unless they had 10-20 acres and high walls around their property, and maybe armed guard dogs.)
 
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Chesterfield is a couch in Canada for sure. In Montreal, if you have a balcony at the back of your "flat", off the kitchen, it's called "the back gallery" or just the "gallery". A "flat" is an apartment in a duplex, triplex, fourplex, etc. and it has its own street number. It's an apartment if it's in an apartment building and has an apartment number.
 
I think one here on the Canadian West Coast would be "....ish". As in "the cleaning ladies will be there around 10ish" or "you better take a coat, it is a little coldish" and one of my favourites "the food was okay but somewhat blandish". There are so many words you can ish - I guess you might say that ish is the new eh! :rolleyes:
 
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From WV.. mostly from the older generations but not always!

Can you put this stuff in a poke? (bag)
I'm a fixin to go to the store later.
Bless her/ his heart
minner (minnow)
warsh (wash) (this one drives me crazy!)

Phrases such as: madder then a wet hen and running around like a chicken with his head cut off
and a few more that I am too polite to post! :LOL:
 
I've noticed some differences in other areas of the country.

As someone from Massachusetts, I have no right to point fingers but you can't help but notice.

We have relatives in Florida (north of Tampa) who add unneeded words to the end of a sentence. The most common version is along these lines. "Where are my car keys at?" You really don't need the "at" on the end. "Where are my car keys?" does the trick.

We have friends in the Chicago area who do just the opposite. They drop words from the end of a sentence. For example, "Are we taking this with?" When I would say, "Are we taking this with us?"

Or maybe it's just me...
 
I lived in Utah for a while, and heard these phrases.

"Oh, fer dumb!" when someone blundered.

"Oh, fer cute!", said about a new baby or a new dress.

Potlucks are 'pitch-ins'.

Once, a rancher came into the little convenience store where I worked, and asked to cash a check. It was early in the morning, and I didn't have enough spare cash to cover it. His response was "That's ok--I'll winter", meaning he would survive the hard times.
 
I read through these with avid interest. Having lived in many parts of the country --

Back in the day (another local euphanism), when I was stationed in Finley, ND, "Uff Da" was definitely said by all the locals; may not be now, but definitely was in rural ND in the 70s.

When I'd visit relatives in NH, soft drinks were "tonic" (I kept expecting medicinal something when someone asked me if I wanted it and turned it down).

Again, in NH, a water fountain was a "bubbler".

The main thing I've noticed here (upper NW corner of IL) is the pop thing.

A little aside, my husband says when he was an infantry platoon leader in Vietnam, two of his troops started to have a knock-down-drag-out fight about whether it was "soda" or "pop". (Young soldiers under stress will fight about anything). He had to decree that hence-forth, all soft drinks were to be called soda-pop, period.
 

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