What are the origins of this fun-filled festive custom?
Snail: a cinnamon roll or similar spiral-shaped pastry.
Mom-mom and pop-pop: grandmother and grandfather, respectively.
Jook: a jukebox.
Hana: to work.
Magofer: A gopher. And a gopher would be a turtle in Georgia.
Parky: a playground attendant or park employee.
Camp robber: a bird, especially a Canada jay, that hangs around campsites and steals food.
Lucerne: alfalfa.
Slug: someone who hitches a ride with a driver in search of extra passengers in order to use a high-occupancy vehicle lane.
Stewer: a deep, usually metal, vessel for cooking food.
Greasewood: a creosote bush.
Slip one’s wind: to die.
Not give a kitty: to not care.
Pogonip: thick, icy fog.
Penco: an orphan lamb.
Kentucky oysters: chitterlings.
Pickle: a pull-tab lottery ticket.
Diddledees: pine needles.
Headlighting: hunting deer by dazzling them with a car’s headlights.
Kittenball: softball game.
Ish: used to express disgust.
Sooey: Shoo! As in the command often given to drive an animal away.
Spasm band: an impromptu band.
Limpa: rye bread.
Dope: a dessert topping, usually for pudding or ice cream.
Cascade: vomit.
Soak: a heavy drinker.
Table tapper: an amateur preacher.
Closet: pantry.
Barn burner: kitchen match.
Garlicky: milk or other dairy products that taste bad because of something the cow ate.
Tag-tail: a person who lags behind.
Sources: (DARE)
Silver thaw: freezing rain.
Berm: the shoulder of the road.
Leaf peepers: tourists who come to the state to see the fall foliage.
Sluff school: to play hooky.
Poor soul: cornmeal dumpling.
Whoopensocker: something extraordinary.
Angledogs: worms used for bait.
All languages are beautifully alive, and English is no exception. It's no surprise that the influences of immigration and expansion have shaped American English in different ways across the vast country.
According to the ‘Dictionary of American Regional English’ (DARE), these are some of the unique words commonly used in each state. Do you agree with them? Click on to find out.
The land of colloquialisms: slang from every US state
Do we talk funny?
LIFESTYLE Language
All languages are beautifully alive, and English is no exception. It's no surprise that the influences of immigration and expansion have shaped American English in different ways across the vast country.
According to the ‘Dictionary of American Regional English’ (DARE), these are some of the unique words commonly used in each state. Do you agree with them? Click on to find out.