Sayings from "Up Nawth"
Nov 29th, 2003, 08:45 PM
#41
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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". ;-)
Dec 1st, 2003, 04:12 AM
#43
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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"?
Pedantic hat off: OK who knows the right way to say "quahog"?
Dec 1st, 2003, 07:44 AM
#45
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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?"
Dec 1st, 2003, 11:11 AM
#51
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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 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.
Dec 1st, 2003, 11:14 AM
#52
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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.
Dec 1st, 2003, 11:40 AM
#54
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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...
Dec 1st, 2003, 12:00 PM
#56
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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.
Dec 1st, 2003, 12:08 PM
#57
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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".
