Anyone who has traveled around the United States has noticed at least once the differences in language from one area of the country to the other. I am not talking about the accents (although these are noticeable too and sometimes pretty unique). I am talking about the different words that mean the exact same thing in different places. This past year, I have really begun to notice the variations and how sometimes you get a very strange response if you say the wrong one in a certain place.
1. Soda vs. Pop
This is probably the most noticeable difference to people because “what do you want to drink?” is an exceedingly common question. Most Northerners will say pop, while most Southerners will say soda. No matter our preferences of which is the right way to say it, neither of us is as bad as the ultimate pacifist — the ones who call this delicious carbonated beverage a soda pop.
2. Hot Dish vs. Casserole
My inner Minnesotan is creeping out with this one. When I first came to North Carolina, I was talking to a friend about a real good hot dish I had eaten and after a minute she stopped me and said, “What’s a hot dish?” For me, these two dishes are completely separate things. One has a base of rice or noodles and would be served at a Sunday brunch while the other is a tator tot covered masterpiece meant for football Sundays.
3. Firefly vs. Lightning Bug
Over the course of my life, I have only met a few people who call these shiny little bugs lightning bugs. But when I have called these few people out on it, they almost always launch into a story from their childhood about why they call them lightening bugs, which I usually reply with, “look at that firefly.”
4. Clicker vs. Remote
This one is not necessarily a word that is different based on the region you are in. It mostly differs from household to household. I say clicker, which is strange since my clicker doesn’t actually have buttons that click (it’s a touch screen). However, one of my friends says remote and if I dare to say clicker to her she will continually go “The what?” until I switch to saying remote, and only then will she hand it to me even if it takes an hour to get me to make the change.
5. Teeter Totter vs. Seesaw
When looking back, I believe that this was one of the grandest debates on the playground in elementary school. Now that I am older and thinking about it, I realize that I switch what I say depending on whom I am talking to. I say seesaw if I am talking to people who are my peers or older, but if I am babysitting, my inner child immediately comes out and I begin to say Teeter Totter in a much higher octave than before.
6. Lollipop vs. Sucker
This one is another that was a huge discussion when I was younger, mainly around Halloween time or after going to the doctor’s office. Just like soda or pop, there is a group that goes against either route and refers to them as lollies, which I have only actually heard once in my entire life. In my house they are known as suckers and only are called lollipops if the candy part is bigger than my head, which has been proven to be the second largest in my family after an argument that ended with us getting out a tape measure.
7. Sneakers vs. Tennis Shoes
As one of my friends recently pointed out, sneakers are the ones you wear everyday while tennis shoes are the ones you wear when you are doing physical activity. For me, these will always go hand and hand. I will switch between what I call them based on what sounds best that day. I’m very indecisive where my shoes are concerned. But with so many, how is a girl to remember the specific names for every single one of them?
8. Couch vs. Sofa
Most people I know call this a couch, but I do hear the occasional sofa thrown in every now and again. To me the word sofa sounds like something that when you sit in it you just sink down and are warm and comfy. A couch however is something you hurtle over as you are trying to beat your siblings to the TV when your favorite show is on, which I have done, much to the chagrin of my mom. (If you’re reading this mom, I<3U)
9. Pail vs. Bucket
Similar to sneakers and tennis shoes, I switch between the two, as does most of my family. It all depends on the situation in which we are using the thing. Pail is mainly used when we are on the beach and it is filled with sand while bucket is used when we are carrying water around outside in the summer. In any other case, it’s up in the air of what it is going to be called.
10. Billfold vs. Wallet
For me, this has never really been a real question. I normally will just say “I need to grab my purse,” and that can vary anywhere from a purse that could fit a small child in it to what is pictured below. I feel like this is word choice is different between sexes as well as ages because I rarely hear a teenage girl say she needs to get her billfold, I have however heard my grandfather say it once or twice before.
11. Kleenex vs. Tissue
I mainly use the Kleenex for this one, but on occasion, for no apparent reason, I will switch and say tissue, which will often get a laugh out of my friends because to them it is a word used by their grandparents or a stuffy person, which I am most certainly not.
12. Pancake vs. Flapjack vs. Hot Cake
I have absolutely no idea how to divide these up between ages, sexes or region. I have heard all of them said by every type of person and I feel as if this one is all up to personal preference. I have however heard two people get into a heated discussion about which was better a flapjack or a hot cake. I guess to some people it does make a difference.
13. Hair Tie vs. Scrunchie vs. Hair Band
Every girl knows what these are, but what we call them greatly differs from person to person. I call them scrunchies, my friend calls them hair bands, and my sister calls them hair ties. This is one debate that I feel will never come to a close between women. We will all just have to agree to disagree until the end of time.
After going through this list, did you think of any words that your friends say differently than you or that you say differently from everybody else you know?