We lived in Pittsburgh for a few years, and one local speech peculiarity there is that the verb "to be" is left out of phrases, so one would end up saying "the car needs washed" or "the baby's diaper needs changed". I always said that when Hamlet is performed in Pittsburgh, the opening of the famous soliloquy could simply be shortened to "or not". ;-)

Your bit about Hamlet is great!

Pedantic hat on: The reason New Englanders drop R's at the end of some words and add 'em to others has to do with the part of England most of their ancestors came from -- you'll hear the same peculiarities in certain parts of England (I think Yorkshire, but not really sure) -- e.g., "lawr" -- but note that you'll most often hear that extra R at the end of a word if it's just before another word that begins with a vowel. Law and order becomes "lawrandohdah." Also, the habit Sara noted of using the past participle without "to be" -- like "it wants washed" -- comes from German, which was the ancestral language of many now that area.

Pedantic hat off: OK who knows the right way to say "quahog"?

Co-hog.

I always wondered why my dad said "outen." It must be a Dutch or German thing - his parents grew up in a Dutch community in Illinois. Outen is kind of a useful word, and I find myself saying it. However, I could never get used to boughten, as in "Are those homemade or boughten?"

OK, I've never heard of any of these except "gravy" and I've lived in the north my entire life-are these East Coast sayings?

swalter, I believe that in this thread "North" is being used to refer to the states that were the North during the Civil War.

Really wicked pissa Boston saying.....

Wait 'til next year!

gc...not anymore. Pedro,schilling,lowe...goodbye yankees,hello world series!!

doc,

Not so fast....we've got a Super Bowl to get through yet...

The big question is are we going to win the World Series with or without Nomahhhh Gahhhseeyaparrer. That guy has the perfect name for a Boston accent.

In elementary school on the South Shore we always went to the "basement" not the bathroom. Jimmies were wicked good on your ice cream but never in a frappe. And ice cream was good after having a sub for dinner. The next meal after dinner was supper which could have been stuffed quohogs or maybe macaroni with gravy.

In NE Pennsylvania ("PA" for short) they say ask you to "slower" the radio. My MIL will also ask you to "slower" the lights, which means to dim the light or turn it off. The folks up there also say "Heyna?" after they tell you something, when they want an acknowledgment. My husband grew up buying "mangoes" at the store for his grandmother, but you don't hear that much anymore. My personal favorite is "sorry for your troubles," which I've heard said numerous times to the grieving family at funerals.

I have a question......what parts of the U.S. say DINNER, vs. SUPPER or is it the time of day you have it....

Anoynmous, we (Illinois) were in the North during the civil war, in fact, the President during the Civil War was from our state...still doesn't change the fact that I've never heard any of these but the gravy reference. Wednesday, here it's dinner...

In New England,Supper was during the week and dinner was on Sunday after church.

swalter, I certainly didn't mean to slight Illinois' vital contributions. Since you didn't specify where you were, I was picturing someplace like Minnesota or North Dakota -- you know, really NORTH.

Anonymous, Minnesota is just as much the North as New England. Ask a Texan! Why are you referencing all geography to the Civil War? I lived in the South for many years and everyone considered me to be from "Up Nawth".

Anonymous,that's not North, that's southern Canada!

Well, jor, when you refer to "The South," are you including Arizona and New Mexico?

Anonymous, Minnesota is considered the North. Period. New England is not the only area of the North and is not the center of the Universe! The New England mind-set amazes me.