Regional Traditions

[ZephyrHawk]

Loving these responses. Here's a few more from the mitten state:

Michigan Left - When you're on a road intersecting a divided boulevard and you want to go left, but you have to go right, get in the left lane, and use a u-turn lane to get into the left traveling road.

8 Mile - Many of you probably only know it as the title of a movie/song. Some of you may know it's an actual physical location in Detroit. However, it's also a state of mind. In SE Michigan it's considered the dividing line of where Detroit, and thus some of the less respectable parts of the area, begin. When you refer to 8 Mile to a Michigander it immediately conjurs up ideas of good/bad, haves/have-nots, etc. A lot of parents don't let their teens drive south of 8 Mile without adults to chaperone.

Octopi - They're not just for sushi. They're for tossing onto the ice during the Stanley Cup.

 

[donac]

Both my dh and I grew up in north jersey and we now live in central jersey. Ds is in south jersey near philly. Lots of differences here

Sprinkles versus jimmies
subs versus hoagies
jetsor giants versus eagles
mets or yankees versus phillies

My ds loves to argue with his gf about some of the differences in language. We have to get used to since he is probably going to be living down there when he graduates from grad school.

He and his gf solved the baseball problem by going to a phillies/met and she wore a phillies hat when she came with us to DW.

 

[antmaril]

Loving these responses. Here's a few more from the mitten state:

Michigan Left - When you're on a road intersecting a divided boulevard and you want to go left, but you have to go right, get in the left lane, and use a u-turn lane to get into the left traveling road.

8 Mile - Many of you probably only know it as the title of a movie/song. Some of you may know it's an actual physical location in Detroit. However, it's also a state of mind. In SE Michigan it's considered the dividing line of where Detroit, and thus some of the less respectable parts of the area, begin. When you refer to 8 Mile to a Michigander it immediately conjurs up ideas of good/bad, haves/have-nots, etc. A lot of parents don't let their teens drive south of 8 Mile without adults to chaperone.

Octopi - They're not just for sushi. They're for tossing onto the ice during the Stanley Cup.

Yep!

I am a native Michigander. Born in Detroit, raised in St. Clair Shores. This thread has been fun.

 

[AmericangirlinFrance]

I never noticed or thought of a few of these things until I moved here to NY.

(I grew up in FL outside of Tampa for reference)

*The Mr. and Miss thing...My kids call every adult they know "Miss So and So or Mr. So and So". It's usually the first name so it's not so formal. Like, they call DH's cousin's wife Miss Lauren.

*How to correctly order a pizza. They don't do small, medium, and large here. It's 8 cut, 12 cut....

*I feel like people here have personal space issues. There have been many times that I am browsing a clothing rack and someone is RIGHT THERE next to me.

Well, all the New Yorkers that do this have moved to south Florida and they still do it here, too. We have so many snowbirds and retirees from New York/NJ/New England, this area is often referred to as the "southernmost borough of New York." There was a lady behind me at the post office, OBVIOUSLY from that part of the country due to her loud accent, who was standing what must have felt like a millimeter behind me!

I am originally from the south, and I must agree with the previous BBQ comments. "Barbecue" is a noun and it's something you eat, i.e., "We are having barbecue for dinner tonight." Generally it is not a verb, such as "We are going to barbecue for dinner tonight." You grill out or cook out. And when you're grilling out or cooking out, you're cooking hamburgers or hotdogs (or maybe steaks or something), NOT barbecue (which is pulled pork). An event where you go to eat hamburgers or hot dogs that someone has cooked on a grill outside is a "cook out," NOT a "barbecue."

I was in Pennsylvania once and had plans with friends to "have barbecue" one night. I was so excited because I love pulled pork. I was terribly disappointed to get there and see they were grilling out hamburgers! What!

Most southerners tend to be more friendly and talkative in public places. Like at the grocery store - people are a little more courteous. Down here (basically NY/NJ at the beach), people are generally pretty rude and unfriendly in public places.

 

[7165red]

I'm from a small italian neighborhood in Queens.

-We kiss everyone on the cheek when we meet new people or greet friends and family. Other than in the working atmosphere I've never shaken hands when meeting someone new. I went on a date with a guy from Kansas a few months ago and kissed him Hello on the cheek and he didn't know what to do. I now realize most people don't do this lol.

-Sunday dinners are very important and a way for the family to get together. It's always pasta, some meat and salad. Usually pastries to follow.

-We don't call it 'Italian food'. Eggplant parm and spaghetti is just every day food to us.

-We pronounce calamari as gah-Le-mauhd. Marinara is maht-tin-natta. Ricotta is ri-gawth. Everyone knows what you mean when you pronounce it that way. If you say it the way it is usually pronounced we assume you are either not italian or not from NY. It's not the same in Manhattan, if we're dining there we say it the regular way not to confuse waiters.

I'm trying to think of more.

Is it gravy or sauce?

 

[sasywtch]

Northern CA
High school sports are big for the parents involved but usually not a Friday night thing for others. College sports? eeehh (having moved to OK for 6 years I was shocked people were sitting around tv's at the fair for a college game).

**the exception might be if you are from a small farming town, the football game is an outing.

Coke=what type of coke do you have?
Bars and not longjohns (donuts)
We buy presents and take them to the wedding reception and do not do cover the plate.

BBQ is grilling

 

[mamacatnv]

I'm a native California married to a New Englander, who lived in Reno, NV for 19 years and 10 months ago moved to Central Texas:

Texas,
Besides the ones already mentioned:
The manners - I love love love the manners!
Homecoming "Mums". We all went to Homecoming just so we could see these "Mum's" DD was talking about since none of us had a clue. After seeing the things I'm still not sure of the why, but okay, note to self, we will order Miss. DD a Mum for her next homecoming. Side note, the entire town went to Homecoming.......that was new too
The pride in God, State, Community and Country - Love it!
The Texas star is everywhere, on just about every house, on every over/underpass, street sign etc.......
Texans are proud to be Texans
The obsession with sausage - smoked, cooked, hot, cold doesn't seem to matter these folks love their sausage.
Tubin is a sport, Football is a religion


West Coast:
A Coke is a Coke, the one in the red can with a swirl on it. If you want orange soda or sprite or Mountain Dew, you had better speak up and say what you want. Soda is the more common phrase

Just because I lived in Nevada does not mean we spent our free time gambling and No, I can't tell you the best way to beat the machines. My best advice has always been "put your money in the bank, its far safer"

 

[Becky2005]

There are only a couple I can think of & I haven't read through the whole list.

First off -- "you guys" pretty much means a group of people

And then just learned this past year after doing college visits & then looking up the "you know you are from the Midwest when" things...

We answer "How far is that?" -- In TIME not distance. I never really thought about it but made perfect sense why I got strange looks when we were in MA & was asked how far away we lived from Chicago? My answer "About an hour west of it" -- this look then I corrected myself with "or about 40 miles". Luckily, I happened to know the mileage more or less because a lot of places I have no clue -- I can tell you how long it takes to get there but real mileage -- who knows!!

And the ever popular -- Where is your coat at? Where are your shoes at?

The rest I can think of, I think are things already common that people know are differences.

 

[Colleen27]

How can you start a thread about Michigan quirks and not mention "pop"? I'll never forget the first time I asked what kind of pop a restaurant in North Carolina had... the waitress looked genuinely clueless.

And Vernors - you can only imagine my horror when, as a 10yo stuck in suburban Boston for a wedding in the brutal heat of summer, I discovered that not only do they not know what a "Boston cooler" is in Boston, they couldn't even procure the necessary ingredients! My aunt used to pack her trunk half-full of cases of Vernors to take home every time she came back to Detroit for a visit.

Then there are Coney dogs, which have nothing to do with Coney Island whatsoever. Another shocking travel moment for me as a kid - you can't get a proper Coney dog in New York (or couldn't anyway, circa 1988).

And finally, using our hand for a map. I've actually confused people with that one. They ask where we're from relative to Detroit and I hold up my hand to show them. Apparently some people of the southern and western varieties never looked at a map and noticed the resemblance between our state and a mitten.

This has been a fun thread, lots of Michiganders lurking about! I'm Detroit born, St Clair Shores raised, currently living among the family-friendly cornfields at the base of the Thumb, and can't wait to move back to the "D" once the kids are grown.

 

[Becky2005]

Something I have discovered about accents: You can think that you have outgrown it or lost it altogether. ..

This is true! I still think it is funny the story my mom tells about moving to Northern Illinois (and for those that don't know Illinois nearly a split state -- it does tend to get weird because you have the Southern influence in the Southern part of the state & the Northern influence in the North - it's weird). My mom has lived in Illinois all her life but grew up in Anna, which is in the Southern part. She moved up here when she was 18 for a job....even after I was born and in my teen years, she would tell us how people would ask us where she was from -- to which she would give them a look. They would tell her she had an accent. I do notice it with my aunts a bit more (i.e. they call pop - soda & they use a lot of the more Southern terms for things but that may be because my Grandmother was originally from Kentucky).

 

[LiveYourLife]

Y'all are just plain weird

 

[Crystal Brewer]

Simply Southern yet raised in Mo & traveled ALOT!! Luv being ask where I'm from as most guess incorrectly My fave was in Wi the gentleman thought I sounded "Cajun" I refer to ppl with Mrs&Mr or Sir&Ma'm. I say which flavor of "soda" I want. I DO NOT say yonder! I say y'all tho in certain company it's certainly you all. My voice volume is high tho can be leveled. I try not to conform to any region tho the south stole my heart therefore its here I shall reside! PS don't know any region that lrg % respects "personal space" whether in your business or "bless your heart" lol

 

[Simba's Mom]

I love these threads.

In the Boston area, we have Jimmies. (Chocolate sprinkles on ice cream.)

We have the "T", which is the public transportation system.

Red Sox Nation extends to all of New England and beyond. You just have to be a Red Sox fan. "Love That Dirty Water (Boston You're My Home)!" We also play Sweet Caroline at games and everyone sings. ("Buh, buh, buh!")

"Spuckies" are a type of submarine sandwich.

We also like "Chowdah". Oh, and speaking of accents:


Nor can it ever really be correctly portrayed in movies by non-natives, with few exceptions.

Driving in Boston is legendary.

To name a few.

When I lived in the Boston area, we got a drink of water from a bubbler. I remember my sundaes with chocolate jimmies at Friendly's. And just a warning about that Boston accent-I've lived in Texas for 20 years, but that accent's still hanging around.

 

[sasywtch]

Another one I thought of that was different was our highways or interstates are freeways or the I and we don't have toll roads because we all drive fast anyway.

Another difference I remember is in OK and other states as it was mentioned before: funeral processions. People in OK stop and pull over. Here you may but I don't see it often.

 

[tvguy]

Northern CA
High school sports are big for the parents involved but usually not a Friday night thing for others. College sports? eeehh (having moved to OK for 6 years I was shocked people were sitting around tv's at the fair for a college game).

High School football is bigger than church in Texas. The town my FIL lives in has one high school. The football stadium seats 9,600. The total number of students in the entire high school, 1,350.

 

[LiveYourLife]

To Family/Friends:

Me (the native Floridian): Why don't you come over to our house after the movie?

My Husband (the Northern New Jersian): Why don't you come by us after the movie?

Come by us? What the heck does that even mean??? Lol!!! You can come by us, but not in our home. Just by us, a little bit.

Also, I put my clothes in the drawer. He puts his in the draw.

 

[njmom47]

Around here, Dunkin Donuts rules...Krispy Kreme came and went!
We eat subs. And I totally agree with the Italian pronunciations a PP had posted!
We have jughandles (keep right to turn left), we still have traffic circles (although some of them have been changed to roundabouts...different right of way for each).
Soda....and you do need to specifiy if you want Dr Pepper or rootbeer.
We say "kowfee" and "wadder". We have pork roll and Taysteecakes, which we've had to mail to family who've moved.
I did hear myself on the radio once, and I was surprised to hear I had that sorta Pennsylvania-Maryland thing with the "o" going on. Never thought I had an accent!

I used to hang out with a girl from Western PA who always said "you-ins"..anyone else ever hear that?

ETA: My boss lived in Northern NJ for a long time and says "I told the grandkids they could come by Grandma's house" and I always think inside my head "You don't let them come in the house?" so it must be a NNJ thing.

 

[shoney]

Pizza is just "pizza". We don't say "cheese pizza". That would be similar to saying a "cheeseburger with cheese".
I order pizza last night..."one large pie, please"

Bagels aren't toasted unless they are a day old.

Coffee is served with milk or half and half. You never hear the term "cream" with your coffee.

I am 40 years old and I've never been to a high school sporting event!

Manhattan is referred to as "the city". Where do you work? "the city" Where are you going on saturday? "the city"

We drive in the left lane. It is not just for passing.

Not everyone says "Lawnnng Guyland"!

 

[CammelleandBre]

Well, here in Cincinnati, we have "Cincinnati-style" chili. You cook up your hamburger until it's in tiny pieces, then add spices like cinnamon and nutmeg (and sometimes cocoa). Then you serve it over spaghetti with cheese (a three-way), and onion (a four-way) and/or beans (a five way). We have "chili parlors" like Skyline and Gold Star, among others.

We also get together for Oktoberfest Zinzinnati, which is the largest Oktoberfest celebration in the country. We drink lots of German beer, eat brats and kraut, and do the chicken dance.

Please don't forget Larosa's or Graeters ( aka the best ice cream ever), or the Taste of Cincinnati every Memorial weekend.

 

[Becky2005]

I think IL has toll roads because it's the way our state makes money! I'm pretty sure it has nothing to do with driving fast (especially in rush hour when you can literally STOP in the line of cars on the Tollway) -- except for a couple newer ones that I'm pretty sure have no real speed limits since I've been going 75 and passed like I was sitting still (my minivan doesn't go much past 75 without thinking it's going to fall apart!!!). There is a random sign that says 65 every once in a while but I think they are invisible.