Since I haven't asked before, here's a little survey on your regional slang:
What do you call...?
-- Shoes commonly used in athletic pursuits (My answer: Gym shoes. People who say "tennis shoes" really annoy me. They're used for more than tennis! Given, gym shoes are used outside of gyms, but whatever.)
-- Carbonated, sweet beverages (Soda. "Pop" is the standard here, but I only call it by its full name, "Sodapop" if I'm being old-timey/ironic or referring to The Outsiders.)
-- A large, frankly delicious sandwich, as in Subway ("Submarines", technically, but I say sub. This being the prefix of "SUBway", I say it's right.)
-- The underground room of a house (I didn't know a basement could be called other things, but Wikipedia says otherwise.)
-- Sweet, dessertish round things (Cookies, but "biscuits" are so posh-sounding and British. I enjoy this term and am trying to use it more.)
-- Squares of cement that you walk on outside (It's weird to describe sidewalks without using the word sidewalk. It's a sidewalk.)
Question! (It's been a while since I've asked one, so I thought I should, in keeping with the questiony theme of this post. Note: I almost never say "been" as "bean", but as "bin". Again, "bean" sounds British.)
Have you ever called an American/a northerner a "yankee"?
2 comments:
1) Sneakers (unless they're spikey and supposed to be used for soccer/whatever, in which case I call them cleats)
2) Soda, or I refer to it by its specific name (Coke/Sprite/whatever)
3) Ahh... not sure about this one, strangely. I'd probably call it a sandwich, even though I guess it's slightly different from your standard sandwich.
4) Basement
5) Cookie (biscuits are different! Unless you're English, as you pointed out)
6) Sidewalk
7) No, but my mom's friend (who is British and lives in England) refers to my dad, my sister, and I as "Yankees," mostly as a joke. I just call them... American, or as being "from [insert city/state/part of the country."
1. Running shoes. Or runners.
2. Soda, or pop. I'm not particular but I think soda is more whimsical. People around my mostly say pop.
3. Sub. Or just sandwich of awesome. I love Subway.
4. Basement.
5. Cookies. Biscuits are those hard cookies that you have to dip in tea before actually putting them in your mouth. Ew.
6. Sidewalk.
If I ever did call anyone a yankee it was meant as a joke. But I'm pretty sure I have. Darn yankees.
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