Regionalism (can you get more than 40?)

The following are colloquialisms for each state. Guess what they mean before looking at the spoiler.

1. Alabama
2. Alaska
3. Arizona
4. Arkansas
5. California
6. Colorado
7. Connecticut
8. Delaware
9. District of Columbia
10. Florida
11. Georgia
12. Hawaii
13. Idaho
14. Illinois
15. Indiana
16. Iowa
17. Kansas
18. Kentucky
19. Louisiana
20. Maine
21. Maryland
22. Massachusetts
23. Michigan
24. Minnesota
25. Mississippi
26. Missouri
27. Montana
28. Nebraska
29. Nevada
30. New Hampshire
31. New Jersey
32. New Mexico
33. New York
34. North Carolina
35. North Dakota
36. Ohio
37. Oklahoma
38. Oregon
39. Pennsylvania
40.Rhode Island
41. South Carolina
42. South Dakota
43. Tennessee
44. Texas
45. Utah
46. Vermont
47. Virginia
48. Washington
49. West Virginia
50. Wisconsin
51. Wyoming

I am 61. I have lived in Pennsylvania for 58 of those years, half of them in Western PA and half of them in Eastern PA. I have never heard the word "skimmelton" spoken out loud. I never saw it written out until now. And the only time I have ever seen or heard the word "sugaree" is in the song "Shake It Sugaree". I had to look it up to find the definition.

We don't talk like that in PA. at least we haven't in the past 100 years. Maybe in Lancaster, the Pennsylvania Dutch might. The old ones maybe. 80 and up.


They should have used "cattywampus". It means the same as "all awiddershins". At least I heard that one, 25 years or so ago.

Quote: Mosca

We don't talk like that in PA. at least we haven't in the past 100 years. Maybe in Lancaster, the Pennsylvania Dutch might. The old ones maybe. 80 and up.

Dictionary of American Regional English - University of Wisconsin–Madison

They did not indicate that most of the state speaks those words. And in particular pulling words from Pennsylvania Dutch vernacular is not really fair. The following regional sentence would be absurd if you ever heard anyone actually say it.

Pennsylvania
Lighting a barn burner near a doodle is never a good idea, whether or not there’s a mowhole nearby to use as an escape route. You might suspect a elbedritsch of trying such a thing, though. When planning a horning, try to find a way to keep people from playing hasenpfeffer or drinking ratgut. At the very least, get someone to make a kuchen and arrange for a skimmelton. No one should be snoopy about what is offered.


Nevada
You would expect to see a parada in a cow county, but it might be a lot harder to spot in a pogonip. If you’re in desert country, you might see burrofat, peach thorn, perky Sue or Mormon tea. The cui-ui, which can live up to 50 years, once flourished in Pyramid Lake but now exist in much smaller numbers. You might see some splatter-ass there, too. Looking for pogy? You’re better off heading to Lake Tahoe. For dinner, have some French frog.


New Jersey
Heading out to visit your mom-mom and pop-pop? Be careful not to be laggy on your way through a jug handle. If you get a craving for some ratgut after eating a hoagie, think twice. The result could be Lucy Bowles, which is a lot more painful than doing a belly-whopper.

Quote: Pacomartin

Dictionary of American Regional English - University of Wisconsin–Madison

I seem to recall from the dim recesses of what has passed for my brain that this work is considered to be of rather doubtful scholarship.

Now there were times when safe travel meant understanding regionalisms. Mormon Tea is important if riding a horse through the dessert. A small tributary to give you access to a large bay is of total irrelevancy in such a situation. Stopping by a campfire and asking about Joe was a necessary social skill.

Quote: Fleastiff

Stopping by a campfire and asking about Joe was a necessary social skill.

When we went to the Arabian peninsula, I remember being told that if someone offered you coffee it was considered extremely rude to refuse the offer. The giant coffee pots in the middle of the traffic roundabouts give you a clue about how important it is in their culture.

Quote: History of Coffee

The Arabian Peninsula
The Arabs were the first, not only to cultivate coffee but also to begin its trade. By the fifteenth century, coffee was being grown in the Yemeni district of Arabia and by the sixteenth century it was known in Persia, Egypt, Syria and Turkey.

Coffee was not only drunk in homes but also in the many public coffee houses -- called qahveh khaneh -- which began to appear in cities across the Near East. The popularity of the coffee houses was unequaled and people frequented them for all kinds of social activity. Not only did they drink coffee and engage in conversation, but they also listened to music, watched performers, played chess and kept current on the news of the day. In fact, they quickly became such an important center for the exchange of information that the coffee houses were often referred to as 'Schools of the Wise.'

With thousands of pilgrims visiting the holy city of Mecca each year from all over the world, word of the 'wine of Araby' as the drink was often called, was beginning to spread far beyond Arabia. In an effort to maintain its complete monopoly in the early coffee trade, the Arabians continued to closely guard their coffee production.
http://www.ncausa.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageID=68

Quote: Pacomartin

When we went to the Arabian peninsula, I remember being told that if someone offered you coffee it was considered extremely rude to refuse the offer.

Most definitely.
>> The giant coffee pots in the middle of the traffic roundabouts give you a clue about how important it is in their culture.
Or how engineers can be hired to spend Petro Dollars.

"..........Coffee was not only drunk in homes but also in the many public coffee houses -- called qahveh khaneh -- which began to appear in cities across the Near East. The popularity of the coffee houses was unequaled and people frequented them for all kinds of social activity. Not only did they drink coffee and engage in conversation, but they also listened to music, watched performers, played chess and kept current on the news of the day. In fact, they quickly became such an important center for the exchange of information that the coffee houses were often referred to as 'Schools of the Wise.....................'
Sort of similar to Seattle coffee shop today: chess, board games, soup, sandwiches, pies and cakes, community events, films, skits, poets, mimes, musicians. As well as business meetings.

The UK and Europe developed coffee houses also ... and a tradition of equality. No matter how finely dressed, no one was served or seated in response to his class status.

One thing the Arab coffee houses featured from time to time was a Traveling Scholar. I forget the Arab term for it or what type of uniform it was that was worn but it was sort of a Scholarly Minstrel who would receive and impart knowledge by visiting local men of wealth and stature who had personal libraries but perhaps not much ability to travel to major centers of learning. Local wealthy men would give him room and board in return for enlightening discussions about distant libraries and distant schools.

Arabia kept control over all its goods, even giving them exotic or false names to indicate even more miles of travel for western merchants who faced great dangers trying to penetrate the spice trade through zillions of "enemy" miles.

It took me looking at 10 spoilers before I figured out what this thread was about.


"Can you get more than 40?"

I'd be surprised if anyone can get more than FOUR!

Quote: DJTeddyBear

It took me looking at 10 spoilers before I figured out what this thread was about.

My bad. I should have titled it "51 American Colloquialisms" instead of "regionalism".

If you want to read the answers without having to click on spoilers see the NPR article

Quote: Pacomartin

My bad. I should have titled it "51 American Colloquialisms" instead of "regionalism".

No, you should have had an introductory paragraph to explain what you were posting.

Quote: Mosca

...They should have used "cattywampus". It means the same as "all awiddershins"...

Hehe... That's pretty funny.