Regional sayings

[Sharnita]

Out of curiosity, do people say bag, sack or something else?

In reference to what precisely?  To me, a 'bag' is a general word for any soft-shaped carrying device, regardless of how carried or worn. Sack is very specific - large, shapeless, may or may not have a closing device at the open end, but other than perhaps draw-string strings, has no handles and is grasped around the neck. There is no interior structure such as pockets or dividers.

To me those are both bags. 

[baglady]

To me, all bags are bags, with the possible exception of Santa's sack. But I once had a cashier (transplant from Texas) offer me a "sack" for my purchases. From what I can deduce, in some places "sack" is the term for a brown paper bag or the equivalent -- as in "sack lunch."

I also call that thing with the handles that holds my wallet, keys, etc. my bag, because to me (and YMMV!) "purse" sounds prissy, "pocketbook" sounds old-ladyish, and "handbag" sounds like retail-speak ("All handbags on sale!").

[snowdragon]

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".

In NY we play pididdle with License Plates during the day and headlights at night. 

here Alaska or Hawaii wins automatically, I've always wondered what wins in Canada.

[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".

In NY we play pididdle with License Plates during the day and headlights at night. 

here Alaska or Hawaii wins automatically, I've always wondered what wins in Canada.

I've never done it with license plates, though that could be fun.




On the topic of "bag" and "sack", I got made fun of by more than one person for calling my "backpack" a "bookbag".  When I inquired as to why that was wrong, I was told that a bookbag was something you carried as a kid, and now it's a backpack.  (This happened in high school in Colorado). Can anyone explain this to me by chance? I still call it a bookbag.

[WillyNilly]

Everyone I know calls backpacks and bookbags interchangeably, with a few people saying knapsack (that one I never understood the root of, but its a normal enough word here). I had a friend from the Quad cities (Illinios) who called it a rucksack, never heard anyone else say that!

In general anything can be a bag: a grocery bag, a backpack isa bag, a purse is a bag, a garbage bag is a bag, a tote is a bag, etc. But a "sack", unless part of a compound word, in my experience is a shapeless bag like Santa's sack or a potato sack, or using a pillowcase as a Halloween sack.

[camlan]

On the topic of "bag" and "sack", I got made fun of by more than one person for calling my "backpack" a "bookbag".  When I inquired as to why that was wrong, I was told that a bookbag was something you carried as a kid, and now it's a backpack.  (This happened in high school in Colorado). Can anyone explain this to me by chance? I still call it a bookbag.

Way back in the 60s, we carried bookbags to school. They looked similar to this:



Yeah, it does look like a briefcase, but these were not expensive leather book bags. They were made of vinyl and sold specifically as book bags for school. It was a hassle if yours fell apart in the middle of the school year, as most stores only carried them in the late summer/early fall when people were back-to-school shopping.

So your back pack is a back pack by design. It is a book bag because that is how you use it. Just looking at a back pack, I'd call it a back pack, no matter how it is used. But I'm starting to hear more people refer to them as book bags, at least when talking to the kids who are using them.

I think in your case, the change in terminology has to do with trying to sound older and more mature. Little kids carry book bags. Teenagers have back packs. Even if they are the same thing, the connotation of the words is different. To the people who were correcting you, "book bag" sounded more childish and out of place coming from a teenager in high school. 

[Piratelvr1121]

When I think of sayings for "they died" all I can think of usually are the sayings used in the Dead Parrot Sketch. 

In Maryland, people don't really say "I'm going to Ocean City" but rather "We're goin' downee ocean!"

In this town, if you live in a duplex, people say you live in "half a double". 

[Thipu1]

Here in NYC, almost anything that isn't a box is a bag.  This includes both the little brown paper thing that holds a bagel and the big thing with wheels that holds everything needed for a two-week vacation. 

Purses are also bags.  Oddly enough though, backpacks and waist wallets go by their proper names. 

[jmarvellous]

Here in NYC, almost anything that isn't a box is a bag.  This includes both the little brown paper thing that holds a bagel and the big thing with wheels that holds everything needed for a two-week vacation. 

Purses are also bags.  Oddly enough though, backpacks and waist wallets go by their proper names.

Never heard that term. A fanny pack?

I use specific terms -- I have, in my closet, a messenger bag, a tote bag, a beach bag, a bunch of purses, a clutch, a backpack (never said bookbag etc.), and a wallet.

[Thipu1]

Here in NYC, almost anything that isn't a box is a bag.  This includes both the little brown paper thing that holds a bagel and the big thing with wheels that holds everything needed for a two-week vacation. 

Purses are also bags.  Oddly enough though, backpacks and waist wallets go by their proper names.

Never heard that term. A fanny pack?

Yes.  Waist wallets are fanny packs.  We've learned that's a more internationally acceptable term. 

I use specific terms -- I have, in my closet, a messenger bag, a tote bag, a beach bag, a bunch of purses, a clutch, a backpack (never said bookbag etc.), and a wallet.

[Hmmmmm]

On the bag versus sack.  I've never thought about how I'm completely confused on these two words and not even sure why I use them the way I do. 

If I'm describing the item as a paper product, I refer to it as a sack.  I think I also think of grocery bag's as sacks.  Growing up the person putting your groceries in the bags were called sackers, not baggers, and they were sacking your groceries.  I now refer to them bagging my grocerings.   I never use the term grocey sack.  It is always grocery bag.  I'll tell my kids to go get a paper sack to put their lunch in, but once it is filled I'll remind them to put their lunch bag in their backpack.

My purse is the handbag that I carry my personal items in.  I'll say "DD, bring me my brown purse."  But if DD and I are about to leave, I'll say "Let me grab my bag first."  I would also never say "I need a new black shoulder purse."  I'd say "I need a new black shoulder bag." though I'm refering to the same thing I would later tell my daughter to go get my black purse. 

My suitcase is my suitcase, but I'll also occasionally refer to it as a bag.  "How many bags of luggage are you going to take?"  or "Let me check my bag."

I think I do this with lots of words. 

[camlan]

I don't think I've ever used the word "sack" except for the potato sacks that you would use in a race. Everything's a bag. Including Santa's bag filled with toys. Never heard it called Santa's sack until this thread.

I'm from New England, if that makes a difference.

[katycoo]

Here in NYC, almost anything that isn't a box is a bag.  This includes both the little brown paper thing that holds a bagel and the big thing with wheels that holds everything needed for a two-week vacation. 

Purses are also bags.  Oddly enough though, backpacks and waist wallets go by their proper names.

Never heard that term. A fanny pack?

Yes.  Waist wallets are fanny packs.  We've learned that's a more internationally acceptable term. 

I can't speak beyond Australia, but "Fanny Pack", which while internationally understood, is less acceptable here.  "Fanny" in Australia is a euphemism for vagina.  We call them "Bum Bags".

[oz diva]

Exactly, it's rather tricky to fall on your fanny in Australia

[Leafy]

Harking back to the driving references do young men in other areas do "bog laps". I'm not sure if this is just a West Australian thing or the whole of Australia. Basically it means guys in cars (sometimes hotted up, sometimes not) do loops on a certain stretch of road, just circling around, up and down, usually only going a distance of a few hundred metres (yards). Often this is in front of clubs or cafes and when you see them you say "Look at those idiots doing bog laps".