| boy wundyr x | 02 Sep 2015 3:34 p.m. PST |
Slate has come up with their list of the #1 slang word (based on their own subjective criteria, which they explain) for each state in the US:
link Comments as a Canadian:
1) Sourdough, Snowbird, Mess, Kybo translate here as well.
2) I really thought "hella" was just a made-up South Park thing.
3) Some states – looking at you Massachusetts, New York, Maryland, Missouri – need to try harder (or Slate does).
4) Rhode Island, please explain yourself. A lot of the rest though demonstrate some unexpected hipness, I'll have to try and remember some of these. |
 Editor in Chief Bill   | 02 Sep 2015 4:48 p.m. PST |
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| Winston Smith | 02 Sep 2015 5:51 p.m. PST |
"Yinz" is Pittsburgh.
"Hainna?" is up where I come from. Pennsylvania is really three different states. |
| jpattern2 | 02 Sep 2015 7:06 p.m. PST |
Good to see "Cackalacky" on the list. |
 enfant perdus  | 02 Sep 2015 7:53 p.m. PST |
"Runza" is not Nebraska slang, it's what the damned things are called. Also the name of a fast food chain that serves them. It's not like the regional differences in subs/hoagies/grinders/heros. They're delicious, BTW. The Maryland "hon" is really confined to white, working class Greater Baltimore and parts of the Shore. If you don't hear it spoken in it's native accent, you can't grasp it's awful majesty. In the same vein, "wicked" can't truly be appreciated unless it's coming out of the mouth of a Bostonian, especially a Southie. |
 Parzival | 02 Sep 2015 8:26 p.m. PST |
I've lived in Tennessee for going on nigh thirty years, and I've never heard anyone say "whirlygust."
Before that, I was in Bama, and "cattywampus" wasn't to be heard there, either. |
| Atomic Floozy | 02 Sep 2015 9:19 p.m. PST |
I've lived in Texas for all of my life & I've only heard "hoss" used 2 or 3 times. |
| Ed Mohrmann | 02 Sep 2015 11:49 p.m. PST |
'Nabs' for commercial peanut butter crackers (specifically
the products of the Lance Corporation) is common
throughout the South. 'Cackalacky' is 'Carolina' and is commonly in use in
both states 'Snowbird' has been in common use in Florida for decades
as a term for people escaping Northern winters. 'Shucky-darn' I've heard all my life in North Carolina. Uff Da is a Norwegian phrase. My step-mom used it a
lot (her parents were from Norway and came to the US
to Wisconsin) |
| Gunfreak | 03 Sep 2015 5:55 a.m. PST |
As Ed says uff da or huff da, is norwegian. |
| Raynman | 03 Sep 2015 8:17 a.m. PST |
The Wisconsin slang, TYME, stands for Take Your Money Everywhere. That started when ATM's were new and has stuck since. Real slang would be, Bubbler. Wisconsin was the first place I heard that for water fountain. |
| jtkimmel | 03 Sep 2015 12:04 p.m. PST |
Lived in eastern PA 40+ years, never heard anyone say "Yinz". Winston must be right that its a Pittsburgh thing. Philly slang should be "Iggles" or "Wudder" (referencing our football team and water in general, water ice is quite popular here). My relatives from Taxechusetts say "wicked" all the time, gets very annoying, so they are right on that one I think. |
 Saber6 | 03 Sep 2015 12:38 p.m. PST |
"Dout" Never heard it. However to not use any form of "to be" is a regionalism "that car needs fixed" |
| dandiggler | 03 Sep 2015 12:43 p.m. PST |
Yinz is indeed a Pittsburgh thing. But for Philly – No jawns up in here though? We've got a problem! |
| Texas Jack | 03 Sep 2015 2:26 p.m. PST |
I agree with Atomic Floozy, "hoss" ainīt it for Texas. And we would never truss a pig in Texas, sounds more like an Iowa thing to me.
I think the best one word slang for Texas would be yeahbuddy!
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| Ditto Tango 2 3 | 03 Sep 2015 5:50 p.m. PST |
2) I really thought "hella" was just a made-up South Park thing. YouTube link 
--
Tim |
| Ed Mohrmann | 04 Sep 2015 1:24 p.m. PST |
According to a cousin in Pennsylvania who studies
these things, 'yinz' is no more nor less than a
contraction of 'you'uns'. I asked for a citation – she said it was a car made by
Chevy years ago. So much for academic integrity….:-) |
