12/22/2002: Word usage maps

[Torrere]

I use care-ah-mel to describe caramel on it's own. I use car-ml to describe caramel on something; such as a car-ml apple or car-ml corn or car-ml candies.

For the pantyhose; that is most unacceptable in the Northeast, and mostly unacceptable in the South. However, it's acceptable in a region around Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, and Western Pennsylvania.

Some of your responses to this were quite interesting. I had no idea that "The Cellar" was supposed to mean "The Basement". I thought you meant a cellar, as in a place where someone stores wine.

It seems very funny to me that most (68%) of the people of the United States don't have a word for the area of lawn between the road and the sidewalk. I remember having to mow "the strips of lawn out by the street". Some of the possible responses to this question seem to be very bizarre: "tree lawn"??? "terrace"???? "berm" might be acceptable, but "parking"??? or "beltway"??? Some people think of a beltway as being that!?

[slang]

Originally posted by Torrere
It seems very funny to me that most (68%) of the people of the United States don't have a word for the area of lawn between the road and the sidewalk.

That strip will soon be referred to as the "Segway lane" and the side walks will be lengthened/added to so that people can walk or ride safely.

Then we can all trade the annoyance of some passing dog shitting in that section with the annoyance of some asshead zipping past the house at 12 mph while talking on a cellphone and eating a burger.

[jaguar]

You know, if I see a woman that wears pantyhose, tights, or stockings...that's more of a turn-on to me than bare legs, depending on the situation.

It's probably just me.

*raises an eyebrow*
Yes, yes it is.

[Griff]

Originally posted by jaguar

*raises an eyebrow*
Yes, yes it is.

Finally, a chink in the armor of the Sycamore psychy. How do we exploit? *Griff bides his time, this may be a useful little chestnut.*

Speaking for my region, pantyhose are hideous.

[perth]

Originally posted by sycamore


You know, if I see a woman that wears pantyhose, tights, or stockings...that's more of a turn-on to me than bare legs, depending on the situation.

It's probably just me.

thigh highs yes, pantyhose no.

~james

[andcal]

Originally posted by sleemanj
Just went and had a look at the results, some of those questions are pretty wierd, like this one...

56. Pantyhose are so expensive anymore ...

What's that about ?

It's about the choice of words, not the price of pantyhose. In many places, it would sound really weird to use the word "anymore" like that.
I would say "gasoline is so expensive these days...". (I don't buy pantyhose, being a guy). I would never use the word "anymore." like that sentence did; It would sound weird to me.
I suspect using "anymore" is an American east coast thing, but I haven't looked at the results map for this to know for sure. (I grew up in Louisiana, but have also lived in Alaska, Utah, Nevada, Texas, and I now live in South Carolina).

[99 44/100% pure]

I don't know how 'All y'all' didn't rate mention in the usage survey -- I've heard it used by many friends from all over the south.

Another odd Picksburgh-ism: dropping the infinitive, as in "I'd love to go dahn t' th' mall with y'uns, but the lawn needs mowed."

As for the use of 'anymore' to mean 'nowadays,' that's common throughout the industrial midwest, where y'uns can't hardly find a decent job, what with the plants closing anymore.

[Uryoces]

I like hearing women say "naughty bits", but especially Cathy Rogers of "Junkyard Wars/Scrapheap Challenge" fame.

[99 44/100% pure]

. . . a friend of mine cracks up every time he hears that women cover their naughty bits with 'dainties.' (Especially when said dainties are a big ol' pair of white cotton undees.)

[lhand]

I grew up in the Los Angeles area but my wife is from the Pittsburg area, Beaver County/Potter Township actually. I thought their use of "yuns" instead of "y'all" was really weird. One day, my wife's family was visiting and a couple of my co-workers came by to pick me up to go to work. As they visited with my inlaws, my sister-in-law asked "so, what'a yuns do?" Everyone of my wife's family (including my wife) turned and looked at my friends expecting an answer. My friends just looked scared.

This was language never heard by them before. They had no idea what was being asked. I held it in for as long as possible and can only be glad I wasn't drinking milk, because I started laughing--hard.

Everyone had a good chuckle when I explained it to them. Otherwise they just would have thought each other rude.

Now if I can only get my wife to stop dropping infinitives. "Clothes needs warshed." Sigh.

Man, where the hell does the "r" in "warsh" come from? This is something that drives me <b>nuts</b>. I know a lot of people that say it - like it's some sort of invisible R. Well folks, <b>it's NOT THERE!</b> I don't mind the dropping of infinitives so much, but who actually looks at "wash" and sees "warsh"? AAAAGGGGGGHHHHH!

I had a friend that used to say "refrigulator" also. It's RE-FRIDGE-ER-A-TOR! She was also, of course, a member of the "warsh" crowd.

[hermit22]

That warsh thing pisses me off too. My family's from the Midwest and they say it.

I can honestly say I've never heard anyone say "y'uns" before. Your friends, who are probably as Californian as I am, had every right to be frightened.

[Torrere]

Originally posted by dave
I had a friend that used to say "refrigulator" also. It's RE-FRIDGE-ER-A-TOR!

Nope. It's RE-FRIDGE-ER-ATE-ER!

Fortunately, I've never actually met anyone who warshes the dishes.

[wolf]

My sister has moved to Rhode Island and is starting to lose her "R's".

Hey, youse, I'm gonna pahk the cah ... and get a carriage and go into the mahket ...

[helen]

Random thinkings

On the night before Halloween, which is Cabbage night,
we drink pop from the fridge with our subs while sitting on the couch (not sofa or davenport) and admire the lovely lawn cutting job someone did on the verge.