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:
“A friend and I flew south with our children. During the week we spent together I took off my shoes, let down my hair, took apart my psyche, cleaned the pieces, and put them together again in much improved condition. I feel like a car that’s just had a tune-up. Only another woman could have acted as the mechanic.”
—Anna Quindlen (20th century)
“We in the South were ready for reconciliation, to be accepted as equals, to rejoin the mainstream of American political life. This yearning for what might be called political redemption was a significant factor in my successful campaign.”
—Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter, Jr.)