List: Things They Don't Say
Tue, November 23, 2010 at 07:10PM 
Technically DFW is east Texas, although per the map it's northeast Texas if you want to get snippy about it.
Having lived in both western Pennsylvania and east Texas (they don't say "west Pennsylvania" or "eastern Texas") for many years, I'm qualified to write this list. It's inspired by List It Tuesday at Artsyville. This week, Aimee's list of morning moods is hilarious - we volleyed a few ideas for improving preschool sign-in sheets on Twitter this week. Can you imagine if you had to complete a form when you got to work, stating your mood? And in meetings, would there be a mood board, so everyone would know if Jack was "dejected" or "ruler of the world"? How would "obsequious" communicate with "alarmed" or "sugar high" and would there be mood consultants?
But back to the list(s). The original is in a super-mini 3.5x5" watercolor moleskine, digitally altered to look weathered. So pretend it's on an old sheet of paper... Here are a few munchkin mandalas drawn in this journal.
Things They Don't Say in Texas include jimmies (sprinkles put on iced cream or frozen yogurt), jaggers (thorns on plants), sliding board (slide), kvetch (complain), wicked (awesome).
Things They Don't Say in Pennsylvania include sack lunch (lunch in paper bag), yankee (a term used in a derogatory or explanatory fashion), bless her heart (or bless his heart, or their cute little hearts, or pointy heads), north-east-south-west (the words are used in highway directions like I-395E, but not in directions you'd give a friend; instead, they use points of reference, which is especially funny when the store or gas station or whatever is no longer there. "Turn left where the Dairy Queen used to be.")
Carry on.
{AEDM #23 2010}
Reader Comments (12)
Loved your list! I am from Texas and have used every single thing on that side of the page....and while I knew what some of those on the other side meant, the others I had never even heard!
Hahahahaa...this cracked me up. I'm from Louisiana and have lived in the northern NJ area for over 10 years. The bless her heart cracks me up because I've tried to explain to my Northern friends how to tell when they're saying it in the "good" way or the "bad" way. lol
When I go back to Louisiana and say "you guys" instead of "y'all" my friends give me such a hard time.
I like that last one. "Turn where the Dairy Queen used to be."
I have noticed similar differences in Virginia where I am from and Michigan where I live now.
Hilarious! It would be interesting to read lists of "things they do say", for comparison laughs!
love the way you altered your list!
Hint: Just read the lists in reverse, you'll find that the stuff they "don't" say in PA is what the do say in TX and vice versa.
"Turn where the DQ used to be is actually a real life example... DQ hasn't been on a that corner for 30 years!
Tammy
Your list is a riot! I am origionally from south eastern PA...Lancaster....don't even get me started on Pennsylvania Dutchisms.
ah, yes, i was raised and lived 40 years up north, but i was born in the south, raised by southerners, and unbelievably am back down south again, so I can totally relate to these lists!
I grew up in east central Illinois and now live in northern Virginia. I usually say soda, though pop was a more common term there. I say sack lunch, kitty corner (not catty corner), y'all and all y'all, frontage road, howdy, kibbitz, kvetch, and tex-mex. (Howdy and y'all make me a bit of an anomaly in my family, though.) I don't say jimmies (they're sprinkles) or jaggers (they're thorns or briars or brambles). I'm not sure what reddup, nebby, and gumband even mean.
I'm all over this list, having been raised in NY and moving to West Virginia for 8 years. Actually, the "southern-isms" now make much more sense to me. I would add: 4-lane (any highway) and "hard road" - any paved road.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!
Having lived in the mid-west, far west, and Texas I enjoy comparing colloquialisms. Having spent more time in texas than the other places I'm guilty of saying things like "I'm fixin' to go to the store." I would also add "usta could" and "shouldn't oughta" to the Texas list;)
Bobbi, Great additions. I also hear "might could" a good deal.
Melydia, "Reddup" means clean up. Nebby means nosy. Gumband means rubber band. Just in case you were overwhelmingly curious.
Trece, Haven't heard "4-lane" or "hard road" here in north-east Texas. But when they report traffic on radio they say, "there's an accident right there at 635 and the tollway" and I don't get the unnecessary "right there."
Tammy