Regional Vocabularies of American English

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