NESP Forum

65% General American English

20% Yankee

10% Upper Midwestern

0% Dixie

0% Midwestern
that was fun!

My Gramma has always said "poim" for poem. Not sure where she got that from! Anyone else heard that? Maybe because her parents were Irish?

I think that would be the Irish in her. My great grandmother used to talk like that and she was the 1st generation born her.

In portland we call "subs" "Italians" no one gets it when I ask for one out of state. I had a guy say to me once I'm italian want me? He was cute so I said sure but give me my sandwich first.

40% General American English

40% Yankee (and damn proud of it! )

10% Upper Midwestern

5% Dixie

0% Midwestern



We had this same discussion on Gray Charles long ago. Many were talking about goo goo clusters and moon pies and I had no idea what they were so I guessed "pet names for your private parts" and got a lot of comments!

I lived 30 years in MA and 5 years in Michigan. I grew up calling it a cellar and changed to basement when owning my first home in MI....they all call it "pop" there too and asked my kids if they wanted a "sucker" at the grocery check-out. To this day I never use those two terms!

My grandmother used to call soda "tonic" and I grew up near the CT border and always called them "grinders" until I got to college (near Boston) where they were "subs".

I call them "jimmies" which is very odd to my MI raised husband whose name is Jim and calls them sprinkles.
I was also raised with "bubbler" not water or drinking fountain.

for some reason I always have said "poim". My mother probably always said it that way and we are part Irish...

I learned "bubbler" from my (Eastern) Indian roommate in college!

Also don't know how I picked it up, but I say "jimmies" while the rest of my family says "sprinkles". Probably because that's what they were labeled on the container of them in the cupboard.

My grandmother calls it that too. I laugh everytime I hear it.

Well I learned something new - Chocolate or Rainbow shots...interesting. I call them jimmies on ice cream. When I decorate a cake, they are sprinkles. Go figure.

Something my friends at college picked up on was my saying "wellsuh" in conversation. I don't know why I say it, I just do. My mother says it and my sister says it...so I guess it's just a family thing.

Taybea - neat idea
mari - loved your quiz

45% General American English
35% Yankee
10% Dixie
5% Upper Midwestern
0% Midwestern

Chuckled over the Aunt vs Ant - - it's an easy way to spot the folks that are "from away" in this area
As my uncle once told a transplant joining the family - My better half is not a damn insect !

Cellar and Basement should have a Both option for this area.
We have an old farmhouse with a cellar.
But my son lives in a house with a walk in basement.
Most of the time a business has a basement - - unless of course the repairman has to go down in the cellar to work on the furnace.

Haven't heard anyone use the Devil beating his wife for years but certainly grew up with it.

A lot of the Connecticut slang is familiar because we lived there for a couple of years - none of it stuck though.

Agree on cellar vs. basement... we have both, connected, the "cellar" is the original part with stone walls that leak, and the "basement" is the new, finished part with cinderblock walls and carpet. We dug out our basement by hand. While the house was already on it.