Very local word usage...

izzarina · Post by **izzarina** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 9:33 am

Innocent Bystander wrote:The use of the word "ignorant" to mean "badly-mannered" also sounds Irish to my ears. It's probably just archaic English, but the usage is only preserved in places in Ireland. And, clearly, some places in the U.S.

It makes me think there must have been quite a few Irish immigrants in this area (and apparently around Albany). More than I had known about, anyway. Thanks for that information, IB

And thanks for that lovely piece of verse...I think I'll learn it so I can recite it to the children

Post by **Nanohedron** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 10:04 am

fearfaoin wrote:One of my favorite Appalachian colloquialisms is "Katy, bar the door",
used in place of "Watch out!":

"Once the storm overflows the bank, it'll be Katy bar the door!"

You'll hear that one in my neck o' the woods, too. It's not universal, but it's not altogether exotic, either. I've used it myself, although when I say it, it's with an "ie" instead of a "y".

People make fun of Minnesotans for saying, "Are you coming with?", or "I wanna come with," or "Hey, she's gonna come with, dontcha know." Stuff like that.

I don't see the big deal.

ISU Trout Bum · Post by **ISU Trout Bum** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 10:09 am

One that is common around central Iowa is a strange cross between "frustrated" and "flustered" - it's "flustrated".

I used to say it a lot as a kid, but was made so much fun of when I went off to college that the habit was quickly broken.

mutepointe · Post by **mutepointe** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 11:04 am

ISU Trout Bum wrote:One that is common around central Iowa is a strange cross between "frustrated" and "flustered" - it's "flustrated".

I used to say it a lot as a kid, but was made so much fun of when I went off to college that the habit was quickly broken.

I've heard folks from west virginia use that word too. I looked it up, it's an actual word. Go Figer.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=fluster

CountryKitty · Post by **CountryKitty** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 11:13 am

When my folks first moved the family to TX, we ran across "like to" used as "almost". As in: "I like to died laughin' at that silly devil!"

Here in KY, if you're about to do something, it's "I'm fixin' to do....."

Innocent Bystander · Post by **Innocent Bystander** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 11:22 am

Have you heard this one before? When I was in my twenties, and taking a pot of jam out of the press, my Mother spotted the jar I had my hand on and said "Don't take that one, it's boast."

I had to get her to repeat it, and she couldn't understand why I couldn't understand her.

What she meant was, the jam was past its safe date, bacteria had been at work and the air had expanded under the lid, and raised it. So the lid was "boast" by being a) proud (raised) and b) hollow (vain).

From spending time in Scotland I'd be more inclined to call it "toom" (as in "Toom Tabard"). But I loved the usage. "Boast!"

Post by **Nanohedron** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 11:27 am

I would have said, "No, leave it; the jam is toast."

Oh, my head.

Innocent Bystander · Post by **Innocent Bystander** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 11:29 am

scheky · Post by **scheky** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 12:39 pm

Ok, first a rant. Muete....it's Pittsburgh. THE H IS THERE. We fought the federal government for the right to that H and I'll be damned if I'll stand for it being dropped...

I'm a Yinzer. Pittsburgh, or rather, SW PA has a few little oddities. We tend to say "'n at" at the end of a phrase....like "Are yinz going to the store n at". I have no clue why, it's just Pittsburghese. Also, TO BE doesn't exist here. "This needs washed" is fairly common and honestly the one local habit I'm guilty of. Hamlet's speech in Pittsburgh would have been "...or not...".

SteveB · Post by **SteveB** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 12:41 pm

Newfoundland is a treasure trove of weird word usage. A few examples:

"Some" and "right" are used as qualifiers in place of "very" eg - "He thinks he's some smart" or "He thinks he's right smart".

"crooked" is most often used to mean "cranky" or "in a foul mood" as opposed to "dishonest". eg - "the baby was some crooked this morning"

"blocked" meaning "stuffed" as opposed to constipated. eg - "Would you like another piece of cake? No thanks I'm blocked".

"to squat" means to squish or pinch something vs. to go down on one's haunches. Eg - "I squat my fingers in the door".

"coopy down" - to squat on one's haunches

"the pole of your head" - the nape of the neck

the list goes on. I assume that many of these word usages orginate from the founder populations (mainly from the West Country of England and southeast Ireland) and are/were in common use over there.

ISU Trout Bum · Post by **ISU Trout Bum** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 1:07 pm

mutepointe - Wow! Thanks for the "heads-up". I had no idea (though, notice it is a 2006 dictionary).

SteveB - keep 'em comin'! some of these are just fantatic! I've never heard most of them.

Denny · Post by **Denny** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 1:08 pm

SteveB wrote:"the pole of your head" - the nape of the neck

poll

Anstapa · Post by **Anstapa** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 1:36 pm

I love the language usage of Newfoundland and Labrador, back in the armed forces in the sixties, I was stationed in Canadian Maritimes and we had a lot of Newfoundlanders, the one phrase that sticks to my mind sounds something like "arn smarn?" both as a question and a greeting. I finally asked what heck are you saying..."Herring this morning" Meaning good day or did you catch herring this morning, meaning was it a good morning.

Anstapa

SteveB · Post by **SteveB** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 2:22 pm

I love the language usage of Newfoundland and Labrador, back in the armed forces in the sixties, I was stationed in Canadian Maritimes and we had a lot of Newfoundlanders, the one phrase that sticks to my mind sounds something like "arn smarn?" both as a question and a greeting. I finally asked what heck are you saying..."Herring this morning" Meaning good day or did you catch herring this morning, meaning was it a good morning.

Anstapa

The phrases one typically hears passing between fishermen as they meet on the water are:

ar'n? (contraction of "either one?")

nar'n. (contraction of "neither one")

which, at 7 letters, perhaps is one of the shortest full conversations in the English language.

A Newfoundland term I always liked is "twacking", which means to go shopping without being successful in finding/buying anything of consequence. (eg - "I spent all Saturday morning twacking around the mall"). No word I know of in standard English seems to convey the exact same sentiment. Another is "streel", which means an untidy (but not dirty) person (eg- "Tuck in you shirt, you look like a streel").

mutepointe · Post by **mutepointe** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 2:30 pm

scheky wrote:Ok, first a rant. Muete....it's Pittsburgh. THE H IS THERE. We fought the federal government for the right to that H and I'll be damned if I'll stand for it being dropped...

I'm a Yinzer. Pittsburgh, or rather, SW PA has a few little oddities. We tend to say "'n at" at the end of a phrase....like "Are yinz going to the store n at". I have no clue why, it's just Pittsburghese. Also, TO BE doesn't exist here. "This needs washed" is fairly common and honestly the one local habit I'm guilty of. Hamlet's speech in Pittsburgh would have been "...or not...".

That was a typo. I remember when WPGH 53 TV was invented. I am crawling under the rock now.