Does your family use different words for things?

[Disney and the Dude]

My mom always called milk "moo juice".
My dad used to call soy sauce "bug juice". I used that term once and I thought my then 4 year old was going to come unglued.

My dad always called Crystal Light (or any of the water mixers) Bug Juice! Made me smile thinking about that.

 

[RUDisney]

When my mother wore her house coat, she was wearing a light-weight cotton knee length cover-up over her nightgown. Her house dress was a non-fancy dress for everyday wear at home, while doing housework. She'd change into a regular dress before my dad came home from work or if she were to go out to the grocery store or somewhere.

Leebee, you brought back such nice memories of my Gramma. She wore a house dress every day, but didn't change for dinner. She wore it in the house, to the store, to visit other family members, but it was a house dress.

As she got older, she didn't want to wear anything but the same style house dress that she had worn for years and years. It was very difficult for my Mom to find them for her. They were light-weight cotton and had 2 pockets in front, at the waist. She needed somewhere to put her change purse, ya know. She called it her pocket book.

My one regret about her is that she passed away 4 years before we adopted our kids. She would have enjoyed practicing Russian with me before we left to adopt them and she SO would have enjoyed speaking to them in Russian before they could speak English.

 

[Keetchino]

I’ve seen a couple of mine pop up here.... channel changer = remote, davenport = couch/sofa, “nuke” something in the microwave.... my mother in law calls my kids’ pacifiers “nunners”, haven’t seen that one yet

 

[mrodgers]

Weird translations happen all the time. I know someone who is originally from China who refers to Wonder Woman as "Lady Bug" for some reason. Can't figure it out.

I'll just say I know a lot of people from different parts of the Chinese speaking world and they've taught me a little of the language that depends on region or even country. Like different words for orange or tomato. Some of this seems bizarre to me like the difference between a green onion/scallion (蔥 - Cōng) or an onion (洋蔥 - Yáng Cōng - meaning "foreign green onion"). Just the default word just seems so weird, but for this it shows how important the green onion is that it's the default.

Meanwhile in your text, you say green onion/scallion. There it is in your own language (I assume), 2 different words that name the same thing. Pretty ironic based on what you were stating.

 

[mrodgers]

Must've been in New England? That's what they are here.

About half a dozen names here all over the US, with a couple of derivatives. Grinder, sub, hoagie, Hero, submarine, poorboy, po'boy...

 

[prairie_girl]

Pacifiers in our family are “nu nu’s” (or new new).

That’s what my oldest daughter called the NUK pacifier. She now has a daughter of her own who also has a “nu nu”.

For us, a pacifier is called a dummy.

 

[indimom]

One of the kids didn't like orange juice with "pulch" in it. That stuck. I've used it once or twice at the store with DH and gotten off looks. Lol.

For some reason when I was a kid, my siblings and I started "crowning" our seat when we left a room. It meant no one could steal your spot while you were gone. And we all followed this unwritten rule. No idea who started it or why "crowned" was our word for it.

 

[unrequited23]

Butter puff popcorn is Uff Bahs. When my oldest was a toddler he ate nearly half a bag himself and you could tell it from his diaper. I said you have a puff butt and he cutely said "Uff Bah?"

 

[The Mayor]

Tonic for all soda
Tis Nothings or long Johns for thermal underwear
pucky lenny for a lucky penny Found on the street

 

[MamaBelle4]

We call Olive Garden "grapes".

 

[NFLDERS]

Yes! And even in different dialects!

 

[DisneyHardin]

My husband calls the lawn mower a "powmower". I think growing up, his dad called it the "power mower" that then got shortened to powmower.

 

[Allison Joy]

We call rotisserie chickens "dead chicken" in our house. And it's specific to the whole rotisserie chickens. If I had to guess, probably one of the first times we had one, my dad probably commented that it looked pretty dead (because that's the type of comment he'd make) and we got "dead chicken" from that. Another time, he was having trouble coming up with the name for a hot pad/pot holder, and called it a "landing pad" so we've got that too. *sigh* I miss my Dad.

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

I'm sure that's the correct pronunciation, but people from Philly add the extra "A."

Sounds like how my husband pronounces “athletic.” He says, ath-a-letic. I could never figure out why or where he got that extra “a.” He’s from Pottstown - about an hour outside of Philly. Maybe that explains it.

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

My family had a dinner casserole dish we called China, the name came from my father’s side of the family. It wasn’t until I grew up and moved out that I learned the rest of the world called it Shepherd’s Pie or Cottage Pie. There are varying reasons for the origin of the name but it originated in Quebec, as did my father’s family.

As far as the house coat/duster, my grandmother wore one and called it her house dress and it was not a bathrobe. She would wash and put on all of her underthings and then the house dress on top. It was what she wore at home. If she had to go out or had company coming, she would take off the house dress and put on a “regular dress”.

I guess it’s sort of our modern day version of sweat pants or work out clothes. If I need to do some house cleaning, I’ll wake up, wash, dress in work out clothes, do my chores and then change into a cute outfit if I’m going out.

 

[caitlinsmom]

My 15 year old still calls my SIL Aunt Nusan like he did when he was 2.
our grocery list usually has skof written on it which stands for some kind of fish.
we call Stop & Shop Dop & Dop because DS used to call it that.
DD’s curious George is often called Prince Monkey wear no pants. (She’s in college and he went with her)

 

[indimom]

For some reason, my mother (who normally isn't this off her game), just cannot get Airsoft in her head. She had 8 grandsons who all liked to play with their Airsoft guns at the family farm. A lot.
To this day, she calls it Soft Air. lol.
That one has stuck just because we think its hilarious.