Regional Expressions

I'm digging the Southern similies and metaphors more than anything else:

"Does a one-legged duck swim in a circle?"

"Like Grant took Richmond." (have to be up on your Civil War to get that one)

And people's names blow me away here. A "Rucker Alvoid Holliman" filed in the bankruptcy court last week and there's a Boyce, a Boyd, a Woody, and a Baldy everywhere you look. And the other day on the news they were looking for a missing 12-year old girl whose name was Iola. I hadn't seen that name since my grandmother's high school yearbook!

[houseelf]

Eliz,

I, too, love those Southern-isms.

-Colder than a well digger's butt in January.
-Tighter than Dick's hat band. ( I have no idea what it literally means, but it means that you are tight for cash.)
-Hotter than a three peckered goat.


Oh, yeah, they get much classier than this, but I think that I'll stop here.

Kelly

I thought of another one...

"I am fuller'n a tick"....means that you have eaten all that you can at one sitting!

When we used to have family reunions when I was little, I remember my Grandpa eating homeade ice cream and wearing a winter coat. Not unusal, except that the reunions were in August!!!

[Rapunzel]

Only in the south can you call your grandfather "Granddaddy"....

My Granddaddy used to call my white-blonde little brother "Cottonhead".

I still use the expression, "fuller than a tick"!

And grandmothers in the south are renowned for saying to their grandkids, "Come over here and gimme some sugah!" I miss my grandmother saying that!

[Rapunzel]

Just thought of another unique New England expression as I drove around today: "Thickly Settled". It seems that this means the same thing as the term I am used to hearing: "Densely Populated". The first few times we saw signs in Boston reading "Thickly Settled" we were truly baffled - first by the odd language used, and secondly by the reasoning for letting people know the area has a dense population. I just found out a few months ago that it has to do with the speed limits. If an area has a sign that says thickly settled then the speed limit is 30mph. The thing is very few people seem to know this and I only found out when I was given a "warning" from a police officer for going 40mph on a thickly settled road I have often traveled (other cars on that road average 40-45mph - if you go slower you'll get run over). Anyway, another regional expression with its own unique reasoning!

"I am fuller'n a tick"....means that you have eaten all that you can at one sitting!

I love that! I'm going to have to start using that one!

These are great!

I grew up in the Midwest (Ohio) and notice all the differences now that I live in Philly. Here's some of them. Ohio's the first and the Philly equivalent is second:

Purse -- Pocketbook
Tennis shoes -- Sneakers
Pop -- Soda
Highway -- Freeway
Subs -- Hoagies
Beach -- Shore
ATM -- Mac

Those are the ones that come to mind. Of course, there are the Philly expressions such as "down the shore" and "up the mountains". Going "down the shore" is going to the Jersey shore and "going up the mountains" is going to the Poconos.

My bf grew up here in Philly. An example of something he says is "I'll call you when I'm done my laundry" rather than "done with my laundry". Another expression is "Youse guys" rather than "you guys."

Sharon

I just thought of another one. People who live in Philly say, "Philly P-A." You don't say Philadelphia or Pennsylvania. It's Philly and P-A (saying the individual letters). New Jersey is "Jersey". I don't think I've ever heard anyone say the "New" part of it. And like Jenn mentioned, it's South and North Jersey.

Sharon