Vocabulary meme!
Apr. 4th, 2008 01:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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corelog:
Where did you grow up: Southeastern Michigan, outside Detroit (Wayne and Oakland Counties) but relocated to Northeastern Illinois (Cook, Lake, McHenry Counties) in 1977 at age 27.
WHAT DO YOU CALL:
1. A body of water, smaller than a river, contained within relatively narrow banks.
Creek. Pronounced to rhyme with "seek" rather than "sick".
2. What the thing you push around the grocery store is called.
Cart but back in Michigan we often said "buggy."
3. A metal container to carry a meal in.
Lunch box. My father called it a "lunch pail." But I haven't seen a metal one in more than 20 years.
4. The thing that you cook bacon and eggs in.
Skillet, but in Michigan we said "frying pan."
5. The piece of furniture that seats three people.
Sofa, but in Michigan we said "couch."
6. The device on the outside of the house that carries rain off the roof.
Gutter, but in Michigan we said "eaves trough."
7. The covered area outside a house where people sit in the evening.
Porch. Front, back or side, it's still a porch. Verandas are for snooty people.
8. Carbonated, sweetened, non-alcoholic beverages.
Soda, but in Michigan we said "pop."
9. A flat, round breakfast food served with syrup.
Pancakes.
10. A long sandwich designed to be a whole meal in itself.
Sub or submarine.
11. The piece of clothing worn by men at the beach.
Swimsuit, swimming suit but in Michigan it was "swim trunks."
12. Shoes worn for sports.
Sneakers I guess. Or tennis shoes, though no one says that any more.
13. Putting a room in order.
Straightening up, unless you are removing dirt, in which case it becomes cleaning.
14. A flying insect that glows in the dark.
Wah-wah-tay-see. Little shining white fire insect. (Sorry, I couldn't resist. Firefly, of course.)
15. The little insect that curls up into a ball.
Sow bug now, "pill bug" in Michigan. (Not a "millipede" which is quite a different critter.)
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 here, "teeter-totter" there. Not that you can find either one these days, what with lawsuits and fear of injuries and all that. They've all been removed from the playgrounds.
17. How do you eat your pizza?
With a fork if at all possible, because I'm picky about getting my hands messy.
18. What's it called when private citizens put up signs and sell their used stuff?
Yard sale.
19. What's the evening meal?
Dinner now, but "supper" back in Michigan. Midday meal was a "dinner" in Michigan if it was hot food, but "lunch" if it was cold stuff like sandwiches or salad.
20. The thing under a house where the furnace and perhaps a rec room are?
Cellar now, but "basement" in Michigan.
21. What do you call the thing that you can get water out of to drink in public places?
Drinking fountain.
Aren't regional variants interesting? There are some significant differences here in a distance of just 300 miles or so.
corelog:Where did you grow up: Southeastern Michigan, outside Detroit (Wayne and Oakland Counties) but relocated to Northeastern Illinois (Cook, Lake, McHenry Counties) in 1977 at age 27.
WHAT DO YOU CALL:
1. A body of water, smaller than a river, contained within relatively narrow banks.
Creek. Pronounced to rhyme with "seek" rather than "sick".
2. What the thing you push around the grocery store is called.
Cart but back in Michigan we often said "buggy."
3. A metal container to carry a meal in.
Lunch box. My father called it a "lunch pail." But I haven't seen a metal one in more than 20 years.
4. The thing that you cook bacon and eggs in.
Skillet, but in Michigan we said "frying pan."
5. The piece of furniture that seats three people.
Sofa, but in Michigan we said "couch."
6. The device on the outside of the house that carries rain off the roof.
Gutter, but in Michigan we said "eaves trough."
7. The covered area outside a house where people sit in the evening.
Porch. Front, back or side, it's still a porch. Verandas are for snooty people.
8. Carbonated, sweetened, non-alcoholic beverages.
Soda, but in Michigan we said "pop."
9. A flat, round breakfast food served with syrup.
Pancakes.
10. A long sandwich designed to be a whole meal in itself.
Sub or submarine.
11. The piece of clothing worn by men at the beach.
Swimsuit, swimming suit but in Michigan it was "swim trunks."
12. Shoes worn for sports.
Sneakers I guess. Or tennis shoes, though no one says that any more.
13. Putting a room in order.
Straightening up, unless you are removing dirt, in which case it becomes cleaning.
14. A flying insect that glows in the dark.
Wah-wah-tay-see. Little shining white fire insect. (Sorry, I couldn't resist. Firefly, of course.)
15. The little insect that curls up into a ball.
Sow bug now, "pill bug" in Michigan. (Not a "millipede" which is quite a different critter.)
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 here, "teeter-totter" there. Not that you can find either one these days, what with lawsuits and fear of injuries and all that. They've all been removed from the playgrounds.
17. How do you eat your pizza?
With a fork if at all possible, because I'm picky about getting my hands messy.
18. What's it called when private citizens put up signs and sell their used stuff?
Yard sale.
19. What's the evening meal?
Dinner now, but "supper" back in Michigan. Midday meal was a "dinner" in Michigan if it was hot food, but "lunch" if it was cold stuff like sandwiches or salad.
20. The thing under a house where the furnace and perhaps a rec room are?
Cellar now, but "basement" in Michigan.
21. What do you call the thing that you can get water out of to drink in public places?
Drinking fountain.
Aren't regional variants interesting? There are some significant differences here in a distance of just 300 miles or so.
