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.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve 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\u2019m sure, question my sanity.<\/p>\n
One of the terms I remember my dad using was \u201ctarnation\u201d as in \u201cwhat the tarnation were you thinking?\u201d (I think it\u2019s another way of saying, \u201cwhat the heck.\u201d)
\nWhen we had lots of rain (like we\u2019ve had around here lately) we\u2019d say \u201cthat was a real gully warsher. Note that the \u201cwasher\u201d is spelled with an \u201cr\u201d \u2014 that\u2019s the way you pronounce washer in Oklahoma…with an \u201cr.\u201d When I moved to Washington, my parents told everyone that I was living in \u201cWarshington.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another word that I don\u2019t remember hearing since I left Oklahoma is \u201cpallet.\u201d When I was little, my mother would often make me a \u201cpallet\u201d 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.
\nIf we were just wasting time when I was growing up, we were just \u201cpiddling.\u201d I\u2019ve 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 \u201csack\u201d \u2014 I don\u2019t remember the word bag ever being used.<\/p>\n
I remember one of my grandmothers referred to a storm cellar (something that most people had back then) as a \u201cfraidy hole.\u201d
\nI think a lot of our \u201cterms\u201d were just bad language \u2014 I remember we always used to say things like, \u201cj\u2019eet chet?\u201d (Did you eat yet?) just to annoy our teachers.
\nAnyhow, I reckon most, if not all states, have their own unique words and phrases. I reckon….
\n\u2014 30 \u2014<\/p>\n
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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 … Continue reading