I've always known a brown cow to be a root beer float made with chocolate ice cream instead of vanilla.

This isn't really a colloquialism but, at least in this area, we don't measure distances in miles but in minutes or hours. Like Austin is 7 hours away, Dallas is 5, etc. Maybe a lot of people do that though?

Ok, you Kansas people, chime in . I can't think of a thing. Or am I so used to some things I think it is normal??

My dear mother would make us a purple cow, which was Welch’s grape juice over a glass of vanilla ice cream. My kids and grandkids always loved this and preferred it over a brown cow.

Marcopolo, a couple of my auntie’s would use that expression, I Swannie, back in the day here in Alabama too. I never could figure out what it meant exactly but thought it was funny looking back on it.

My mother used to say, "Well, I swan", marcopolo. My dad would say, "Aw, pshaw." They were originally from North Carolina. Born in 1903 and 1904. She had a lot of funny sayings. Like, "I wouldn't know him from Adam's off ox." Which I assume meant the ox on the right side of a team..called the off side.

Feeder roads, side roads that run next to the freeway just have red lights.

We would make red - or pink- cows, too, with Barq's Cream Soda (that brand of root beer was our favorite also).

I would much rather hear "I swan" than OMG -- just the way I was raised. I hate hearing OMG coming out of a child's mouth.

I've been trying to think if my grandparents, who were from southeastern KY, had any phrases like that -- but I can't recall any, only can think of some of their pronounciations like "crick" instead of "creek".

If I asked my mother, "Are you ready?" She would say, "I'm Reddy's calf." If I said "what for?" She would say, "What fur? Cat fur to make kitten britches. "

We tend to give driving distance in time instead of miles. I'm an hour away from you. It's 45 minutes from my place. Seems a bit odd since traffic conditions can change those times a lot but it's still what many of us do.

Regarding flats---

When I was a child in San Francisco many people converted single family homes into separate flats. A flat was a converted home with usually a separate floor level for each resident . Apartments were something that were built as multi-family units. My family owned a flat. My uncle owned apartments. In the suburbs single story units clustered or shared are duplexes, triplexes or fourplexes. If there are more than four than they are usually called apartments or condos. Condos generally, but not always, have an upper and lower level per unit.

Expressways in some parts of the country are high speed roads with controlled access. Here they have so many stop lights and intersections they took the express out. LOL They should rename them.

When I attended the Univ. of IL at Champaign, IL, I noticed that students from Chicago said, "bye bye", instead of goodbye or 'bye. Bye-bye was prevalent among the females and sometimes was a term of endearment. The males tended to say "bye" or "see ya", but if he was parting from a female that he was fond of, he might use bye-bye.

In the farming communities of southern Illinois, dinner is a hearty meal at noon, lunch is small or sandwich style noon meal, and the evening meal is supper. I do not know why that usage developed. I suppose it may hark to the early fundamental Christian faiths where they read in the Bible about the Lord's supper and that was supposedly an evening meal.

I can't think of anything regional here in the PNW that's unusual. Since there is little left of local culture because of the influx of people moving here, it's hard to retain any of it by those of us who were born and raised here.

I do cringe at the changes in speech/labeling, tho. We have always called the main N-S "freeway" I-5. Californians moved here and are everywhere in the media now and I hear "The 5". No, it's I-5. The main E-W freeway is 405, not THE 405.

The thing that seems to get under my skin more than anything, is people moving here and referring to Puget Sound as The Puget Sound. No, it's not THE Puget Sound, it's Puget Sound. It's The Puget Sound Region, or basin or whatever, but the body of water is Puget Sound. And another main body of water is Hood Canal. I hear The Hood Canal, or Hood's Canal. No, it's Hood Canal.

My husband was from California and I remember one difference in our speech was kitty corner vs. catty corner. I'd never, ever heard catty corner before. And we always called pop, pop. Not soda, not Coke, but pop.

And it's funny, I started reading about the Seattle Freeze about 20 years ago. It was referring to people moving here and feeling like there was no welcoming, they felt like there was a cultural cold shoulder given to newcomers. It made me laugh, because Seattle has always been such a warm and friendly place. But what happened was this huge influx of newcomers that were all giving each other the cold shoulder, expecting to be welcomed by the natives, but none of them were the natives! They were all new to town, giving each other the freeze, expecting the other to welcome them.

I also remember many years ago having people from the east coast visit and complain that we were a passive aggressive culture! I realized that because people here were warm and honest and welcoming that they (mostly New Yorkers) couldn't believe it could possibly be genuine. We must be harboring anger and resentment and whatever because we were not in your face with it, we must be passive aggressive. I was mystified at their views.

I also never have heard "shore" used for beaches. We go to the beach, we go to the ocean, we might go to the coast, if we live east of the mountains or go to the Oregon Coast (for some reason, I seldom hear the WA coast, but it is used). But shore is not part of our vernacular.

Oh, and despite some of the country's worst traffic, people here, for the most part, don't honk at each other. I remember a trip to Manhattan and riding in a taxi, when the driver laid on the horn at a SQUIRREL crossing the street! I could not quit laughing; like who honks at a squirrel? Just hit the brakes and let it cross!

eta: wow, I'm so wordy!

THE this or that got established much earlier in SoCal than in Norcal (Norcal being the Bay Area). I hear it very occasionally up here, and hear nothing but that down there and from people from down there.

We always refer to the Jersey beaches as going down to the shore. But since I don't live in Philly or Pittsburgh, we use both terms...hoagie and sub. I never heard of any of those southern sayings. The only odd thing I remember is people would say crick for creek.

When I was in Connecticut, if you were going to the city, you were going to NYC. Even though there were plenty of closer cities in Connecticut.

I can't think of any other regional thing. Well, soda was always soda. Coke could mean Pepsi, Coca Cola, or some generic store brand or cola beverage.

Subs or grinders, never hoagies. Sprinkles or jimmies seemed interchangeable.

I remember a fellow from CA wanted to know why we called the highway the turnpike instead of the freeway...because it had tolls...it wasn't "free".

I had a gal from NJ visiting who kept referring to our stone walls as "stone rows". But they're not rows, they're walls. When I visited her, in her area, they were "rows". Instead of stacked into walls, they were just sort of heaped along in rows instead of stacked neatly to a height.

She also called the flowers "brown eyed susies" instead of "black eyed susans" as we did.

Cleveland - known for its use of "tree lawn" for that strip of grass between the sidewalk and street. Also "marginals" for those access roads leading to the freeway.

Annie - My dad told me a rhubarb (not from the garden) was an argument on the baseball field. I can see how that could translate into "don't give me any off your rhubarb." I've heard "don't give me any of your guff". Wonder where that originated?

I came from north central Mass, but never heard of a tag sale until Martha Stewart started writing about them.

In my extended family, dinner was a more formal meal served between noon and 6pm. Lunch was an informal meal at mid-day and supper was a regular evening meal.

My sister in law lives in Rome Georgia. When we all visited shortly after her mother was moved there, SIL said: I had to carry mother to the hospital.

WHAT? Carry mother... well, it meant she had to drive mother to the hospital. We were all really worried at first.

:)

Moni

Speaking of hospitals, we always went to *the* hospital or were in *the* hospital, and we went to college but went to *the* university. I hear a lot of brits say she's 'in hospital' or 'in university'.

Regarding rhubarb, I found that it came from Shakespeare......when a crowd is supposed to be talking to each other, they just say "rhubarb,l rhubarb, rhubarb"!

The only thing, locally, that I can drag up is referring to the Happy Hour road, which is a street on which a tavern of that name stood many, many years ago. I still hear it called that, even though the tavern has gone by the way.

Funny how those names stick. In our small town, many years ago, there was a "major" (for our town) intersection -- 2 state roads came together -- where they had little lollipops...the round road signs where the pole was stuck in what looked like a bucket of dried concrete....in the center of it that all said "go right". In the old days, it was referred to as the "rotary". The intersection was redone decades ago, the lollipops long since gone. But I was surprised when my "new" neighbor -- only lived here 20 years -- asked me where the "rotary" was! I guess some still remember.

In Maine, we have Dynamites. I just made some yesterday, delish! I have been told that they are strictly a Maine concoction but I know plenty of natives who have never heard of them. What most call a sub is an italian here, be it turkey, salami, ham, roast beef, whatever...if it has meat, cheese & veggies, it's an italian or italian sandwich. I have also learned over the past few years that you can't buy Coffee Brandy outside of New England. It's the alcoholic beverage of choice for many a Mainer.

We also measure distance by time, as in, the mall is an hour away or it's a good two hours to Portland.

We have brooks, rivers & streams, no creeks or cricks. We have door yards, some do say front yard though and we all have backyards (behind the home, not adjacent to the road or street).

One thing I often catch myself saying (I am in my mid 50's) that I get strange looks for is when I say something is "all stove up". Meaning, it's wrecked, usually beyond repair. I also say "go put that on the sideboard", meaning counter top because that's what my Mom called them.

Lastly, depending where in town you are, you are going uptown if traveling north and downtown if traveling south. If you are in the country "woods or backwoods" you are simply going to town or running to town (driving of course, not literally running).

Here in NE Ohio we say grocery carts or just carts. My friends in Mass call them buggies. One time one of them emailed that her daughter had hit a buggy in the store parking lot and at first I thought she meant a baby buggy!

Philly area;

if ordering a cheesesteak: "wit" -means with onions, " widdout" - no onions.

Our street names are mispronounced. "Cache La Poudre" street is pronounced "Cash la poo-dre". "Uintah"= "you-in-tah".

I live 60 miles north of St. Paul, MN. When we go to Duluth, or really anywhere more than a few miles north, we call it going "up north".

If people are having a yard sale, it is called a rummage sale.

Casseroles are called hot dish.

Dragonflywings - my family also used gaumy. I thought it was a family invention because no one here (in Vt) knew what it meant. My family is from Maine so it makes sense to me now. Love that word.

Here we recently changed rotary to "round-about". I don't say that because I don't like it and I'm stubborn.

We call them shopping carts here in Vancouver BC or just carts.

A sale in your yard or garage is called a garage sale or yard sale. Mostly it's called a garage sale. No garages are sold though generally speaking. ;-)

The Patullo bridge is called the Pattoolo Bridge by many here. I think people forget that there's two L's in the name.

We have creeks which are small, streams which are a little larger and smoother and rivers. No brooks.

And where did waRsh instead of wash come from?

Lisa, my mom (who would have been 98 in a couple of weeks,) used to use "all stove up" to describe feeling really stiff and achy. I have no idea where she got that--she grew up in Spokane.

I stubbornly, after living here for 35 years, refuse to say "soda" instead of "pop". Of course, no one but my family would know what I'm taking about so I'd have to specify the kind.

My dd, who has lived in NYC for the last 8 years, now says "standing on line" rather than "in line". What the heck??

Round-abouts are often referred to as 'traffic circles' here. Puget Sound is almost always referred to as just 'the Sound', Hood Canal as just 'the Canal' and when Mt. Rainier is visible (not obscured by clouds or fog), locals say the "mountain is out".

And only newcomers or tourists will refer to the Pike Place Market as Pike's Market or Pike's Place. That is a major giveaway!! You will also seldom ever see natives using umbrellas - that is another newcomer or visitor giveaway. The University of Washington is referred to as the 'Udub' and Washington State University as 'Wazoo'.

And when locals use the term 'coffee', they seldom mean anything that comes out of a can or jar!! Starbucks may be the biggest and most widely known but boutique coffee companies and fresh ground coffee have been a staple of life in the Puget Sound area for decades.

The term "down below" to describe a large metropolitan area located to the south. We would say we were going "down below" for the day to shop or do business, which meant we were traveling to the city. One day when I was a kid, a man from another part of the country called looking for Dad and without thinking anything of it, and after hearing it all my life, I told him, "My Dad is down below for the day, but will be back tomorrow." That led to a short, but very confusing conversation as the other guy tried to figure out what Dad was beneath.

Moni mentioned using the word carry for take, in Georgia. They say that too, in Alabama. They also call a bag, a poke, and use tote for take. "I had to tote him to school." I think this is among the older generation....what,'s left of them.

I still call the refrigerator the ice box. Even tho I didn't grow up in the generation that actually used them. My mother did, so I guess I got that from her. I still say breakfast, dinner and supper....lunch is what you carry to school or work.

I think the odd little sayings my mother used were left from her school days. I had some yearbooks from a university at the turn of the century and some of their sayings and terms they used would be really funny and completely foreign to us today.

We called it soda water, when I was a kid, but now if I tell my husband to stop off and bring me some cokes...he knows I mean RC.

Gardengal - what do the natives call Pike's? In case I ever go there I want to blend....

My dad called club soda "soda water".

Just Pike Place - no possessive suffix. It was named for the culmination of Pike Street, a major east-west thoroughfare, where it is located. Not for an individual :-)

Warsh for wash is something I didn't know I said but grandson always cracks up. When I briefly lived in northeast PA as a young bride, people would say did you get your order? Completely confused until I realized it meant did you get your groceries.

Some old timers used to say zinc for sink.

As a native Pittsburgher I still remember quite a few language oddities;

nebby - noisy, inquisitive

jumbo - bologna

gumband - rubber band

carbarn - where the trollies are parked overnight

trollies - streetcars

jaggerbush - any plant with thorns

red dog - crushed gravel for a driveway, leftover from coal mines

Kennywood's open - your zipper is down (Kennywood is a local amusement park)

chipped ham - or sometimes chipped chopped ham - thinly sliced ham for sandwiches

redd up - to clean

In Kentucky dinner or lunch is the noonish time meal and supper is the evening meal. All soda is coke. Over yonder can mean something a few feet away or down the road. When you say somebody is from down around the house, that means you grew up with them, In the same neighborhood, went to the same school or church.

Where I live in Ky, yonder is used a lot, something is either up yonder, or down yonder. Windows are also called winders. If someone has an appt and needs to be driven, they will tell you when you talk to them later, that I carried so and so for her appt today.

In Saskatchewan Canada we call sweat shirts with a hood a -Bunny Hug- I think others call them Hoodies?

Wow, some of these take me back! And make me question ... :?

It always irritated my Dad when we measured distance by time. "How far is it to Charlotte?" "About three hours". "I didn't ask how many hours, how far is it?" "Well I have no idea how far it is in meters, but I know it takes about three hours to get there!" (Dad was a stickler for accuracy.)

Growing up in NE Ohio, we had pop, and chipped-chopped ham, and shopping carts. My mother would say "outten" the lights. Living way out in the burbs, we went "into" town, unless we went all the way to where the tall buildings were, then we were downtown.

Curious about THE Puget Sound. We sail, and everyone we connect with says things like The Chesapeake and The Neuse. Maybe because the bay/river is left off? If I said I was going to Chesapeake, that's a town in VA.

Never heard Kennywood's open...we used to say XYZ...examine your zipper. Or we'd ask if they were selling lemonade...when the person said 'no' we'd say well your stand is open.

Annie - we say you're "flying low" if your zipper is down, lol

LOL! aok, it's a subtle distinction but it is never THE Puget Sound..........it is just Puget Sound or more usually, the Sound. It is the only sound around so needs no further designation :-) Same with Hood Canal.......never "the" Hood Canal, unless you drop the Hood part, so then just the Canal. Oddly, it isn't even technically a canal at all as it is a completely natural waterway albeit a very long and skinny one. Really more of a fjord! But Hood Fjord doesn't have the same ring!!

A very old one about the zipper....did Marilyn Monroe die? You are wearing your zipper at half staff. (Heard this one long ago, before MM actually did die.)

More common, " the barn door is open".

"Barn door is open" is what I remember from my school days.

Such a variety of ways we all have to express ourselves here in the USA!

Thanks everyone for playing along!

Gardengal, you're right about the Sound and the Canal being used more in conversation. "We're going sailing on the Sound." Or "going to our cabin at the Canal. I was referring more to media and hearing the names being said "incorrectly" by announcers, advertisers, etc.

I still call the venue for The Seattle Opera and PNW Ballet, The Opera House, even though it was torn down and replaced by McCaw Hall many years ago.

Growing up in NYC, we said the subway; in Washington DC it is the Metro. From the Bronx, we say we are going downtown when we take the subway to Manhattan.

Scarmorz is smoked mozzarella.