Regional colloquialisms

[Taur]

Flood pants end somewhere just above the ankles and are a fashion faux pas. Capris and clamdiggers end at the knee or mid-shin, where they're supposed to.

[tunaman]

Wow. I just realized that, until this thread, I had never referred to those church parties generally. My Catholic ex-GF used to talk about "Monsignor Keirnan's Hoedown" (shortened to "the Hoedown" or "Mr. K's Hoedown". I (an Anglican) used to talk about the "Church of Our Saviour Summer Cookout" as "the Cookout". Growing up (Methodist), we used a shortened version of whatever the official title was (the "SUMC Harvest Festival" was just the "Harvest Festival" or "Festival" and the "SUMC Summer Picnic" was just "the Picnic").

A question for the "grocery carts are baskets" people: what do you call the plastic, handheld thing you put groceries in? Because, in my neck of the woods, the big things you push are "carts" and the handheld ones you carry are "baskets". I can see where your version could be slightly confusing.

Pants which are unintentionally too short are called "clam diggers" here, although I've heard "high waters" on occasion. Which seems odd, because both Atlanta and Charlotte are hours from any ocean. Yet they're still clam diggers. Pants which are supposed to be short are just called "capris" or whatever the name they're supposed to be called.

To cover a few other things mentioned thus far:

- water fountains are called "water fountains".

- long sandwiches are called "subs" generally, although one of my favorite chains here is "Bellacino's Pizza and Grinders".

- liquor stores are called "liquor stores" in GA, even though the store's actual name might include "package". So, "Dave's Package Store" is a "liquor store". In North Carolina, such places are called "ABC stores" thanks to the retarded, ass-backward laws here. I believe they're also called "ABC stores" in SC as well, because (I think) SC used to be an ABC state (since liquor is cheaper in SC, most of the SC liquor stores I've been to are just over the NC\SC border, so folks there are familiar with the term).

In NC a "garden hose" is called a "hose pipe" by natives. Threw me for a loop the first time my GF asked me to hand her the hose pipe. I understand that's also the official term in the UK, so I wonder how NC ended up with it (it's not like people used hose pipes before the American Revolution).

We were at a Christmas party for my GF's family one time, and her step-mother called something was "woppy-jawed". The rest of the family burst out laughing, and the step-mom said it was some "new phrase" she'd picked up from someone at her work. I'm like "WTF? I've heard 'woppy-jawed' my whole life! Is this really new to these folks?" Apparently it was.

[Tug]

Originally Posted by Uthrecht

Are clamdiggers the same as floods/capris, or are they a different cut?

No, those are more like peddle pushers.

[Salambo]

Liquor stores are called the LC, the liquor store, and then there's just beer stores.

I used the term "puckerbrush" a few years ago at an in-law family gathering and it greatly amused everyone, much to my surprise. It's just any prickly/thorny bushes that don't feel very good to fall into. Raspberry/blackberry bushes are probably the most common, but like I said, anything scritchy, scratchy, or prickly. You walk into the house covered in dirt and tiny, bleeding scratches, you tell your mom you fell into the puckerbrush. Or if you're a smartass, you were attacked by kittens.

[eleanorigby]

A liquor store is a liquor store. WTF? I've never seen a package store and I've been to 41 of the 50 states.

[redtail]

So pedal pushers are the form-fitting silly looking short pants and capris/clamdiggers are the ones that are a bit looser around the calf? Or are pedal pushers & clamdiggers just subgenres of the generic capri category? (And why am I asking these questions? It's not like I really care or need to know. But it is something that I've wondered about before, this seems like a good opportunity to get them answered.)

Funny, I just realized earlier that I do often call a grocery cart a "basket". Differentiation from the arm-held baskets is by context and usage, same as anything else.

And I was thinking last night that I don't hear the generic "coke" used nearly as often as I used to. "What kinda coke do you want" was a standard phrase of my childhood.

We use dinner/supper pretty much interchangeably for the evening meal. Mid-day meal is lunch. Only rarely do I hear "dinner" instead of lunch, mostly from older, rural folks. (As far as I've ever figured out, if you have dinner/supper, you're probably eating your main meal early. If you have lunch, it's usually a lighter meal with the main meal in the evening.)

Liquor stores sell liquor. Sub shops sell subs (I haven't even heard them called 'submarine sandwiches' in a long time).

Schools will often have bingo nights, chili suppers, and raffles as fund-raisers. I've seen other charities have raffles, pancake breakfasts and such. The only church thing I've seen is a yard/garage/rummage/lawn sale. Speaking of which, I'd say it's almost 50/50 between garage and yard sale, with a few percent going to anything else.

[Amp]

Originally Posted by eleanorigby

A liquor store is a liquor store. WTF? I've never seen a package store and I've been to 41 of the 50 states.

Both in Florida and Virgnia they are called ABC's. Alcoholic Beverage Control. In Cleveland where I grew up they were just liquor stores.

[AuntiePam]

I think clam diggers are like capris -- fitted and tapered -- but are shorter than capris. In my head (not up on fashion, I admit) clam diggers would end just below the knee, capris end mid-calf.

Cropped pants aren't tapered/fitted -- they're high waters. And yeah, cropped pants just look silly.

ETA: Actually, capris end at the ankle. ??

[DoubleJ]

Originally Posted by Amp

Both in Florida and Virgnia they are called ABC's. Alcoholic Beverage Control. In Cleveland where I grew up they were just liquor stores.

I grew up in Akron; there they were called "State Stores" since they all are (were?) owned by the state.

[redtail]

And "ABC" here means the Alcohol Beverage Law Enforcement Commission. I think it used to be the Alcohol Beverage Control Board. Probably young whippersnappers call it ABLE instead of ABC.

It's the people that bust bars/stores for selling underage and such. (Or selling liquor by the drink, back in my day.)

[tunaman]

It always amused me that the people who bust bars here in NC are called ALE (Alcohol Law Enforcement). I mean, yeah, it's spoken as "ay-el-ee", but it spells ale, people! Makes me wonder if the people who bust massage parlors are JERKOFF or if the people who bust head shops are GEAR.

According to Wiki, "[i]n Alabama, Connecticut, Georgia, and Massachusetts, liquor stores are also technically known as 'package stores' because purchased liquor must be packaged in a sealed container or bag when it is taken from the store". I wonder how old that law is, because most liquor stores in GA don't insist on you using a bag, and never bag something bulky, like a keg or case of beer.

[Taur]

Which reminds me... drunk driving police traps are called Stop Checks here. In Alberta, the program is called Checkstop.

[redtail]

A long time ago, there was a sting operation here. I think it was for stolen goods. The fake company was called something like Central Oklahoma Pan Supply or some such.

[Valerieblaise]

Originally Posted by [B

tunaman[/B];755535
According to Wiki, "In Alabama, Connecticut, Georgia, and Massachusetts, liquor stores are also technically known as 'package stores' because purchased liquor must be packaged in a sealed container or bag when it is taken from the store". I wonder how old that law is, because most liquor stores in GA don't insist on you using a bag, and never bag something bulky, like a keg or case of beer.

But liquor bottles (or kegs or cans) are sealed, as opposed to buying liquor in a bar, where you buy it by the glass. That's my guess, anyway.

[eleanorigby]

And the cardboard case is also sealed shut, despite the holes in it to carry it. The law never disappoints.