The South
See also: Southern American English- alligator pear - avocado
- banquette (southern Louisiana) - sidewalk, foot-path
- billfold (widespread, but infrequent Northeast, Pacific Northwest) - a man's wallet
- cap (also Midlands) - sir (prob. from "captain")
- chill bumps (also Midlands) - goose bumps
- chunk - toss or throw an object
- coke - any brand of soft drink
- commode (also Midlands) - bathroom; restroom; particularly the toilet itself
- crocus sack (Atlantic), croker sack (Gulf) - burlap bag
- cut on/off - to turn on/off
- directly - in a minute; soon; momentarily
- dirty rice (esp. Louisiana) - Cajun rice dish consisting of rice, spices, and meat
- fais-dodo (southern Louisiana) - a party
- fix - to get ready, to be on the verge of doing; (widespread but esp. South) to prepare food
- house shoes - bedroom slippers
- lagniappe (Gulf, esp. Louisiana) - a little bit of something extra
- locker (esp. Louisiana) - closet
- make (age) (Gulf, esp. Louisiana) - have a birthday; "He's making 16 tomorrow."
- neutral ground (Louisiana, Mississippi) - median strip
- po' boy (scattered, but esp. South) - a long sandwich, typically made with fried oysters, clams, or shrimp
- put up - put away, put back in its place
- yankee - northerner; also damn yankee, damned yankee
- yonder (esp. rural) - over there, or a long distance away; also over yonder
Read more about this topic: Regional Vocabularies Of American English
Famous quotes containing the word south:
“I don’t have any doubts that there will be a place for progressive white people in this country in the future. I think the paranoia common among white people is very unfounded. I have always organized my life so that I could focus on political work. That’s all I want to do, and that’s all that makes me happy.”
—Hettie V., South African white anti-apartheid activist and feminist. As quoted in Lives of Courage, ch. 21, by Diana E. H. Russell (1989)
“History in the making is a very uncertain thing. It might be better to wait till the South American republic has got through with its twenty-fifth revolution before reading much about it. When it is over, some one whose business it is, will be sure to give you in a digested form all that it concerns you to know, and save you trouble, confusion, and time. If you will follow this plan, you will be surprised to find how new and fresh your interest in what you read will become.”
—Anna C. Brackett (1836–1911)