Americans Are Sharing The Phrases That Automatically Reveal Which State Someone Is From, And I Reckon It's Pretty Accurate
As a New Jersey native, I often get confused looks when I try to defend why it's called "Taylor ham" or when I constantly use the phrase "down the shore" throughout the summer. Basically, as Americans, we adopt phrases and mannerisms from whichever state we grew up in that may confuse others. So when redditor PolylingualAnilingus asked the r/AskAnAmerican subreddit to share the unique sayings they use that immediately signal where they're from, people sure had a lot to share. Here are a few from across the US.
1."Yinz': Pittsburgh for 'you all.'"
"I had a roommate in college who said this, and it sounded so freakin’ weird to my Arizona ears."
2."A Michigander can be identified by asking where they’re from. They’ll use their left index finger to point at their right palm. There’s only 300,000 Yoopers, and they’re as elusive as a Sasquatch; you’ll never meet one."
"I went to school in the UP [Upper Peninsula]. You hold up the right-hand mitten, then set your left hand sorta scrunched at right angles with the tips of the middle fingers touching (Mackinaw) and the thumb sticking up and out (Keweenaw peninsula in Lake Superior), and wiggle it while you say that.
Then drop your right hand to point as you explain how far from the nearest stop light and out in the wilderness your location was."
3."If the phrase 'the mountain is out today' makes sense, then you are probably from the Pacific Northwest."
"I live in Texas now and say this to my stepdaughter. She always replies, 'What does that even mean?'"
4."In Hawaii, we use 'da kine' for something we can't think of the word for: 'Eh, you brought da kine?' means 'Did you bring the whatchamacallit?' 'Dat's da kine, ah?' means 'That's what's-his-face, right?' Also, 'da kine' can also be used in place of a word you don't want to say out loud, usually in front of your parents/teachers: 'You get da kine? My sista wen cockaroach mines, so I no more' means 'Do you have any weed? My sister stole my stash, so I'm all out.'"
"I only lived in Hawaii for three years, but definitely the most altered English in the US. It took me a little to pick up on a lot of what my classmates were saying."
5."'Bubbler' in place of water fountain means you're likely talking to someone from Wisconsin or Massachusetts. Although the person from Massachusetts would likely say 'bubbla.'"
"We do, in fact, say 'bubbla.' It was news to me that people asked to go to the drinking fountain in school. We'd say, 'Can I go to the bubblah?'"
6."'Gray duck' instead of 'goose' in the game 'duck, duck, goose' is a dead giveaway of a Minnesotan."
7."If someone waits 'on' a line rather than 'in' a line, they are from New York City/NYC metro."
"I never even knew this was regional until my wife (from Kentucky) mentioned it was weird that my whole Long Island and Brooklyn family and I wait 'on line.'"
8."This is a bit of a deep cut, but tap 'er light marks one as from Butte, Montana. I guess it's a reminder to pack mining explosives carefully into a drilled hole, and figuratively means something like 'good luck' or 'take care.'"
9."Saying 'bueno bye' in New Mexico."
10."Utah is famous for avoiding curses: heck, dang, crap, frick, and shoot."
"I spent a summer in Utah working, and it was quite an experience. They are very serious about not taking the Lord's name in vain. In most of the US, 'Oh my god' is pretty mild, but not in Utah. It's the only place I've ever heard 'Oh my heck!' and if they were really worked up, you might hear, 'Well, my hell!'"
11."If someone inserts 'the' in front of a freeway number (i.e., 'Take the 405 to the 5'), I know they're from Southern California."
12."'Fixin' to.'"
"My wife's grandparents were from Illinois and thought me saying I was 'fixing to head back to the dorm' was hilarious."
"I'm from California, but my people are from the South, so I grew up saying it and never thought about it. Until one time in high school, a friend pointed it out, and I got self-conscious. I remember her saying, 'No, it's cute. You're always fixing stuff!'"
13."'Wicked.'"
"Came here to say this. A clear indicator of New England, especially toward Boston and Providence."
14."If you drink 'pop' instead of soda, you are from the Midwest."
"I was in DC, and someone asked a vendor for pop. The vendor and my group from Maryland were baffled, asking if they meant popcorn or maybe bubblegum. It took so long for them to start naming Coca-Cola/Pepsi/etc."
15."'Making groceries' means grocery shopping in south Louisiana."
16."Midwesterners tend to interject with the word 'ope' when something unexpected happens."
"Funny story: I was an ESL teacher for a few years and had one student who kept asking me why I said 'open' and would get so mad when I told him I never said 'open' as he insisted that I did. It embarrassingly took me about three class periods to realize my Midwestern was slipping out, and I had been saying 'ope' every time he made a mistake."
17."I grew up in Chicago and only recently learned that we're the only ones who say 'gym shoes'; everyone else says sneakers or tennis shoes. I just thought tons of people on TV played tennis!"
18."Using the grammar construct 'my car needs fixed' or 'my lawn needs mowed' instead of 'my car needs to be fixed' is an Ohio thing, though it seems to have bled out into other bits of the Midwest."
"I had no idea that was an Ohio thing! When I learned there should have been a 'to be' in there, I felt so dumb. It didn’t cross my mind that it might be a regional thing."
19."If you say to someone, 'The stars at night are big and bright,' and that person claps four times in rapid succession, you will know they are from Texas."
20."If they say they're going to 'put something up' instead of 'put something away,' they're probably from the South."
"Midwestern born who teaches in the South, and I adopted this one against my will."
21."'Devil strip' for that bit of grass between the sidewalk and the road is an Akron thing. Because it isn’t yours, but the city makes you mow it so the devil can take it."
22."If they call every carbonated drink a Coke, even if it isn’t Coca-Cola, they are from the South."
"South Texas here. I moved to California as a kid and was very confused when I asked for a Coke, and someone handed me a Coca-Cola instead of asking me what kind."
23."If someone says 'bodega' when referring to a corner store, they're automatically from New York City. Also, they'll use 'yerrr' as a greeting."
24."Asking someone to do something and them saying 'I don't care to' means that they do not mind doing the thing and will do it. Fucking people from Tennessee, that shit is confusing as hell and not grammatically correct."
"East Tennessee, absolutely. It threw my wife off (a Maryland native) when she moved down here. It was a phrase I had heard forever and always knew exactly what was meant. Almost like, 'I might could do that.'"
25."In New Jersey, we go 'down the shore' instead of going to the beach."
Are there any sayings or mannerisms that are particular to your state? Let us hear it in the comments, or fill out this anonymous form!
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
