Regional sayings

[JonGirl]

"She had a good innings" isn't used in the US, from what I can tell. I've sometimes heard, "He had a good long run," but I'm not sure how common that is.

What we do have is a variety of ways of saying that someone died, without actually using the word "die."

He passed
She passed on
She passed away
He was taken
She has breathed her last
He's gone to glory

Informal:
He kicked the bucket
She cashed in her chips
He bought the farm
She gave up the ghost

What about "took a dirt nap?"

[Redsoil]

We regularly use "That'll be the phone, Reg" (can't even remember the ad now!) and "Not happy Jan!".

Other phrases include such things as:

Dry as a dead dingo's donger.

Crackin' hardy.  (Mainly used when it's cold and someone is wearing a t-shirt)

Dead horse.  (Tomato sauce)

G'arn git!  (As in "go and get *coughed*")

Mad as a cut snake.

[Thipu1]

For vomiting we have

Driving the porcelain bus
Calling Ralph

Cold, raw, windy weather is sometimes called 'Hawk'. 
I love that image.

In upstate NY and New England, 'wicked' is used as an intensifier mostly in a positive way.
'That pie was wicked good.'
'He's a wicked pitcher!'

[gadget--gal]

i

I was thinking about this when I heard that Phyllis Diller died at 95. Here we would say that she had a good innings. Do Americans say that? It's a cricketing term because 95 or 88 or 100 or a large number like that is a good amount of runs to make, ie a good score.

it's a known phrase in the UK, though I think it's becoming less common

[mrs_deb]

It means to make a U-turn. An example would be "Oh, I missed my exit. I'll flip a witch and go back."

Here in New England they say, "Bang a u-ie" (pronounced yooie).

A couple other regional sayings that drive me nuts are "Not for nuthin, but..." and "So don't I" (for "So do I").

[WillyNilly]

It means to make a U-turn. An example would be "Oh, I missed my exit. I'll flip a witch and go back."

Here in New England they say, "Bang a u-ie" (pronounced yooie).

A couple other regional sayings that drive me nuts are "Not for nuthin, but..." and "So don't I" (for "So do I").

We say "bang a u-ie" in NYC too.  And when you are parallel parking you start in at an angle then you "cut the wheel" (or "cut it") to turn in the other direction to straighten out.

One of my favorite regionisms is deli sandwiches on a long roll.  In NYC they are "heros" you can get a regular hero (about 8-12 inches long) or a 3 or 6 foot for parties.  A NYer would probably know what you meant if you said a "sub" or "hoagie" but we'd know you were from out of town.

A lot of NY-isms are just us speaking quickly.  lots of people know "fuggetaboutit" but we also often say/hear "lemmegeta" (let me get a) and "cannageta" (can I get a) or "omigosh" (oh my gosh) "s'up" (what's up).

And of course there is "yo" which can mean hello, hey you, excuse me, what, you dropped something, come here, go away, you startled me, that's outrageous, and several other things all depending on context and tone.  One can have an entire conversation of "yo!" "yo?" "yo" "yo" and the two people will totally understand (they have just said "hey you!" "what?" "you dropped something" "thanks").  Of course its also a thing to call a person - "s'up, yo?" "good lookin' out yo" "yo thanks".

[Mental Magpie]

It means to make a U-turn. An example would be "Oh, I missed my exit. I'll flip a witch and go back."

Here in New England they say, "Bang a u-ie" (pronounced yooie).

A couple other regional sayings that drive me nuts are "Not for nuthin, but..." and "So don't I" (for "So do I").

Despite now living in CO, I grew up in Pennsylvania and learned "flip a witch".

Speaking of northwest PA...we have a few regional "things" (not necessarily sayings) and a lot of a regional accent.  Y'ins is our form of y'all.  Gum band and rubber band.  "Go red up your room" means to go clean up your room, or you would red up because people are coming over.

Dark Boyfriend, Texan, likes to say, "How much time do you like?" to ask how much longer it is going to take me to do something.  Drives me nuts.

[baglady]

Someday I'm going to write down all the slang terms for getting drunk, dying and playing Scrabble, just to see which list is the longest. I suspect Scrabble, because it's the most fun!

In Massachusetts, what's known elsewhere as a roundabout or traffic circle is a rotary.

These are very old Bostonisms I learned from my mom: A straight pin is a common pin (to distinguish it from a safety pin). Baseboards are mopboards. If you have a double sink, the side that isn't being used to wash the dishes in is the settub.

I haven't lived in New England for 30 years, so I don't know if anyone still says "tonic" for soda or pop. When I was a kid "soda" meant only one thing: an ice cream soda. Coke, Pepsi etc. were tonic.

This is a pronunciation thing, not a saying thing, but how do you pronounce "sauna"? Like "fawn" and "dawn" or like "sauerkraut"?

[Outdoor Girl]

This is a pronunciation thing, not a saying thing, but how do you pronounce "sauna"? Like "fawn" and "dawn" or like "sauerkraut"?

I work with a Finn.  He pronounces it like 'sauerkraut'.  I pronounce it like 'f/dawn'.

[Sharnita]

I tend to pronounce it more the Finnish way.

[katycoo]

This is a pronunciation thing, not a saying thing, but how do you pronounce "sauna"? Like "fawn" and "dawn" or like "sauerkraut"?

Saw-na.

In Australia We'd 'chuck a u-ie', not bang one...

[jmarvellous]

I say "sauna" "sah-nah."

I commonly hear:

"I'm fixin' to ..." (As in "I will soon do ...")

"Those y'alls'?" (As in "Are those things yours (plural or singular)?") "Y'all" is so common I barely register it anymore, but "y'alls" as extra-plural or possessive is weird to me, still.

What we called the "feeder" in Houston is called an "access road" or "frontage road" elsewhere -- the road that goes along the side of a highway for on-and-off access.

Some people around here "hang a left" whereas I "turn left."

I say, "Oh my goodness!" or "Oh my gosh!" and people look at me funny, like I'm a prude or a *gasp* northerner. It seems to be "Oh my G-d" or nothing.

[Danika]

What we called the "feeder" in Houston is called an "access road" or "frontage road" elsewhere -- the road that goes along the side of a highway for on-and-off access.

That is so confusing. We were in Houston for a wedding and the driving instructions to get to the rehearsal dinner said "Take Feeder Road." DH and I keep looking for a road named "Feeder." We flipped a witch about four times before I said "Maybe 'Feeder' means 'frontage.'"

[Mental Magpie]

I say "sauna" "sah-nah."

I commonly hear:

"I'm fixin' to ..." (As in "I will soon do ...")

"Those y'alls'?" (As in "Are those things yours (plural or singular)?") "Y'all" is so common I barely register it anymore, but "y'alls" as extra-plural or possessive is weird to me, still.

What we called the "feeder" in Houston is called an "access road" or "frontage road" elsewhere -- the road that goes along the side of a highway for on-and-off access.

Some people around here "hang a left" whereas I "turn left."

I say, "Oh my goodness!" or "Oh my gosh!" and people look at me funny, like I'm a prude or a *gasp* northerner. It seems to be "Oh my G-d" or nothing.

Dark Boyfriend loves to make possessive y'all. I'm slowly getting used to it but it always sounded so weird at first.

I both "turn" and "hang a" left.

A pididdle (sp?) is a car with one headlight out. Learned that in PA; nobody I met had heard it called that in CO.


My Hawaiin "family" calls flip flops (also known as thongs "slippers".

[Sharnita]

In Michigan I have heard of a  pididdle and I have heard flip lops called thongs but only when they go etween the toes.