A couple of days ago we stopped by some friends house for a few minutes. They had just returned from a short trip to Maine. During our conversation, they mentioned being amused by some of the terms and phrases used by the natives in Maine.
I’ve touched on this subject a couple of times in the past, but after our visit, I got to thinking about some of the phrases and words that I used when I left Oklahoma that made people look at me funny and sometimes, I’m sure, question my sanity.
One of the terms I remember my dad using was “tarnation” as in “what the tarnation were you thinking?” (I think it’s another way of saying, “what the heck.”)
When we had lots of rain (like we’ve had around here lately) we’d say “that was a real gully warsher. Note that the “washer” is spelled with an “r” — that’s the way you pronounce washer in Oklahoma…with an “r.” When I moved to Washington, my parents told everyone that I was living in “Warshington.”
Another word that I don’t remember hearing since I left Oklahoma is “pallet.” When I was little, my mother would often make me a “pallet” on the floor to take my naps. I think a pallet is kind of like a pile of blankets, or at least something soft to lay on.
If we were just wasting time when I was growing up, we were just “piddling.” I’ve rarely, if ever, heard it used since leaving home. When I was growing up, we put our groceries, or other things we bought in a “sack” — I don’t remember the word bag ever being used.
I remember one of my grandmothers referred to a storm cellar (something that most people had back then) as a “fraidy hole.”
I think a lot of our “terms” were just bad language — I remember we always used to say things like, “j’eet chet?” (Did you eat yet?) just to annoy our teachers.
Anyhow, I reckon most, if not all states, have their own unique words and phrases. I reckon….
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