Regional Vocabularies of American English - The South

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:

    “The South Wind is a baker.”
    —Vachel Lindsay (1879–1931)

    “I need not tell you of the inadequacy of the American shipping marine on the Pacific Coast.... For this reason it seems to me that there is no subject to which Congress can better devote its attention in the coming session than the passage of a bill which shall encourage our merchant marine in such a way as to establish American lines directly between New York and the eastern ports and South American ports, and both our Pacific Coast ports and the Orient and the Philippines.”
    —William Howard Taft (1857–1930)