the language meme

[cellio]

I'm 40 and I grew up in Pittsburgh.

What do you call...

1. A body of water, smaller than a river, contained within relatively narrow banks?

Stream. Maybe a creek (not "crick"). A creek is smaller than a stream; an average person should be able to jump across a creek.

2. The thing you push around the grocery store?

Shopping cart.

3. A metal container to carry a meal in?

Huh? Consensus seems to be that we're talking about lunch boxes, but they're plastic these days and I think were when I was a kid, and anyway, I carry my lunch in a decidedly non-metal bag. :-)

4. The thing that you cook bacon and eggs in?

(No bacon here!) Frying pan or skillet; the words are interchangable.

5. The piece of furniture that seats three people?

Couch. I'll accept sofa as synonymous, but it's not the word I use.

6. The device on the outside of the house that carries rain off the roof?

Gutters (horizontal) and downspouts (vertical).

7. The covered area outside a house where people sit in the evening?

Porch.

8. Carbonated, sweetened, non-alcoholic beverages?

Pop. "Soda" is a concoction involving pop and ice cream.

9. A flat, round breakfast food served with syrup?

Pancake. For the Aussies: we have several kinds of syrup, maple and various fruit-based ones being the most common. If you go to a pancake house you may well encounter all of: maple, blueberry, raspberry, boysenberry, apricot, and several more. What is "golden syrup"?

10. A long sandwich designed to be a whole meal in itself?

I suppose they're talking about hoagies here (known by some as subs). While I grew up with only the word "hoagie" to describe this kind of sandwich, my first job was at Rudy's House of Submarines. Go figure.

11. The piece of clothing worn by men at the beach?

Assuming the men are headed for the water... swimsuits. Same word as for women; I don't distinguish.

12. Shoes worn for sports?

Tennis shoes. We didn't have different shoes for different sports when I was a kid; they were all tennis shoes.

13. Putting a room in order?

Cleaning up, which is different from cleaning (the latter involves the removal of dust, cat hair, etc). The phrase "redd up" is native to Pittsburgh, but I have never uttered those words except in conversations like this one.

14. A flying insect that glows in the dark?

Firefly.

15. The little insect that curls up into a ball?

This description means nothing to me. Several of my friends describe it as a "roly poly", which is also meaningless to me. ksnell tried to further clarify for me, but lo, I am a clueless city kid, even though I grew up in the suburbs.

16. The children's playground equipment where one kid sits on one side and goes up while the other sits on the other side and goes down?

See-saw.

17. How do you eat your pizza?

(Hey, that's not a language question!)

Pick up slice with left hand, eat starting from point, frequently discard bones (the remnant of crust that contains no sauce or toppings and that is usually overcooked to my taste). If the slice is too droopy to be held this way, I'll use a fork in my right hand to help support the piece. Failing that, I'll flip the point over onto the rest of the piece and pick it up. Failing all that, it's time to get out the knife and fork.

18. What's it called when private citizens put up signs and sell their used stuff?

Garage sale. Also yard sale.

19. What's the evening meal?

Dinner. The canonical meals are breakfast, lunch, and dinner, not breakfast, dinner, and supper. This is true even if the large meal that day is lunch.

20. The thing under a house where the furnace and perhaps a rec room are?

Basement. I grew up knowing this as the cellar (the term my parents use); I have no idea when I switched to basement.

Comments

[jducoeur]

8. Carbonated, sweetened, non-alcoholic beverages?

Pop. "Soda" is a concoction involving pop and ice cream.

Fascinating -- I haven't come across this particular construction of "soda" on its own before. I mean, we have the concept, but it's always specifically an "ice cream soda".

"Soda" vs. "pop" has always been my favorite way of distinguishing East Coasters from inlanders. One of those distinctively memorable Pennsic moments was going shopping at the then-King Valoo, and coming across an entire wall of "Generic Red Pop". Kind of scary, really -- like a moment out of "Repo Man"...

I suppose they're talking about hoagies here (known by some as subs).

Yes -- this was a difference that I had to learn when I moved north from my native New Jersey (hoagies) to Boston (subs).

Of course, the biggest difference was in what they call Potstickers -- they're usually Pan-Fried Dumplings in New Jersey (or were when I was growing up), and they're frequently Peking Ravioli in Boston. Far as I know, we're the only place in the world that uses that peculiar term, a strange regionalism that seems to be slowly dying out...

17. How do you eat your pizza?

Having grown up with Greasy, Floppy New Jersey Pizza (mmm, grease), I usually pick the slice up with my right hand, and fold it in half lengthwise, with my index finger in the fold and the other fingers holding it up from the outside. Then lift to the mouth quickly, to try to get the tip into your mouth before the cheese all slides off. Not efficient, but an enjoyable form of consumption.

I tend to save a piece or two of pepperoni to go with the bones, if it's good enough pizza to make the bones worthwhile. The mark of really good pizza is that the bones are worth eating -- crisp and flavorful bread, not just dry cardboard...

Yum, and regionalisms

[patsmor.livejournal.com]

That lovely description, Justin, was what inspired me to order in Pizza tonight (and give the delivery guy a $10 tip, as it is raining poodles, 43 degrees [very cold for our area] and we've had sleet off and on this afternoon and evening [exceptionally strange for our neck of the woods...]).

The first time I heard someone order Ravioli in a Chinese restaurant (it was Geoffrey Matthias, when we were all up for Cynthia's Laureling) I thought I was going nuts. Even tho I lived in Boston for (wow!) almost 7 years, I had never encountered that before. So I think it must be a Boston/Cambridge/MIT-ism and never made it as far as Needham-Newton or Framingham-Natick, which is where I lived.

Speaking of which, I will be in the Boston area next weekend for my college's 150th Anniversary, and staying with Cynthia & collection. The schedule is looking bizarre, but we could at least consult calendars if desired?

Re: Yum, and regionalisms

[jducoeur]

(it was Geoffrey Matthias, when we were all up for Cynthia's Laureling)

Now waitasec -- okay, fine. I honestly hadn't realized that I knew you until just now. One of the oddities of LJ is figuring out what names are associated with what account names. Hi!

Anyway...

The schedule is looking bizarre, but we could at least consult calendars if desired?

Definitely possible. We've actually got a Cute Little Event on Saturday evening -- my apprentice is running a Winter Ball. Nothing fancy (it isn't even in Pikestaff), but it should be a pleasant evening of dance if you find yourself free by some chance...

Re: Yum, and regionalisms

[cellio]

You know you've gotten used to LiveJournal when...
two people use a third journal to coordinate social events. :-)

(I do not mind in the least; I just find it amusing.)

I hope you guys manage to hook up! Sorry I can't join you.

The cult, the cult...

[patsmor.livejournal.com]

Lol! And cynthia is here, now, too, you know. I'm sorry I forgot you weren't in Boston, Ms. Monica!

JdC said:Definitely possible. We've actually got a Cute Little Event on Saturday evening -- my apprentice is running a Winter Ball. Nothing fancy (it isn't even in Pikestaff), but it should be a pleasant evening of dance if you find yourself free by some chance...

Well, my college, Framingham State, is having their 150th Anniversary this year, and they're throwing a Cute Little Event Saturday evening as well -- a formal, "Gala Dinner and Ball" to which I am wearing a sequined evening gown, irridescent bead collar, and a velvet swing evening wrap. So, if you tell me where you might be post-event, and if you're likely to be going on later than the 10 or 11 it will be before I get done there, and you don't mind if a strange lady in modern evening wear shows up, I can do my best. I'll send you my cell phone number, so we can actually discuss this once I'm on the ground at Cynthia's.

Monday morning is my currently most free time, as I want to spend as much time on Sunday with Cynthia as possible, especially (one hopes) while her kids aren't throwing up on everyone in sight, as happened when they visited us out here in The West this fall. I'm officiating at an OTO Mass on Sunday night (Giggle! In the "Witch Church" in Salem!!!!) and have to be there by 6 PM to have another run-through, set up the ceremonial stuff, etc. It's my priest's first Mass and I want to be sure everything goes well for him.

Which reminds me, I want to put a note on my own journal so I can ask a question about carrying a sword on an airplane....