107 Regional Slang Words - mental_floss on YouTube (Ep. 25)

Slang words can come from a region, state, or even one specific place. This episode of The List Show breaks down regionalisms and regional slang from all over.
The List Show is a weekly show where knowledge junkies get their fix of trivia-tastic information. This week, John looks at 107 words specific to certain regions such as Indiana's "pitch-in dinner", England's "loo", and Ireland's "to rabbit on."
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[@LoomisPowderdogs]

ill help all you out - 3:30 - its a fucking rubber band

[@Beecheylu]

LoomisPowderdogs elastic band

[@jessicaonymous4352]

I'm from PA and I've never heard gum band

[@gingersnap_2175]

I'm from the south and we don't say "traffic circle" we say "round-about"

[@101SAVIOR]

Does anyone else feel just awesome whenever he mentions where you live? like yeah i live there wand yeah we call it that

[@clubkaufman]

haha I felt that same thing. Although, I have noticed I sometimes disagree with him, but I understand people are different and he is going with the majority of the time type situations...

[@101SAVIOR]

Don Ludtke yup

[@TheReddeadchris]

yea cause this is the only series on youtube that say West Virginia

[@101SAVIOR]

chris martin Except for stand up comedians mocking it lol

[@itscassexy]

In Utah, we call "traffic circles" round-abouts. Does anyone else call them that?

[@PascoeStreet]

+Cassidy Blackham We do in Australia!

[@nurulizzati5507]

we do in malaysia

[@aprikiwi]

+Cassidy Blackham we do in Wisconsin

[@wiscause]

+apricot kiwi no we don't

[@wolski2609]

We do in Alaska

[@FLlTTER]

I'm from MA and we say grinder sometimes, but mostly we say "sub". Also, we say bubbler; and "wicked" is a REALLY common word. I can also confirm that we say rotary, frappe, blinkers, leaf peeper, cellar, and firefly (never heard anyone say lightning bug). We also say bucket rather than pail.

[@amuszynski268]

Mostly the same in RI too.

[@219kenzie]

With most people I know a Frappe is a bit different from a milkshake though. Anyone else? No?

[@tompaquette9429]

Yes, I have lived most of my life in Southern NH and a couple of years on the South Shore. Everything you say is accurate.

[@film9491]

@@219kenzie frappe has ice cream (what the rest of the country calls milkshake) milkshakes in New England are flavored frothed milk

[@robeno515]

New Englanders do not want to be different. We just want the rest of you to stop being wrong.

[@EulogyPlaigerism]

Exactly we're just being wicked good speakers

[@Piterdeveirs333]

+Rob Eno How can the rest of us be wrong when we are so clearly right

[@Piterdeveirs333]

+Insurgent Colonel Lemarkhan you aren't to familiar with history, are you?

[@DizzyBagel]

Virginia bruh dats where its at

[@Rocketninja200]

+Rob Eno The most hilarious thing I've seen is the distress of New Englanders when they find out their behavior is unacceptable in Europe. The result in Europe is the same as in the South. "We're not rude, we're just fast paced". Surrrrre...

[@KateRunsIntoWalls]

Tim bits are called Tim Bits because they are from Tim Hortons.

[@nicolethompson2399]

And what about when they are from Walmart? What do yall call them then?

[@Tacothewatercat]

@@nicolethompson2399 Donut holes. Timbit is the brand name from Tim Hortons.

[@bd3321]

Philadelphia: Wooder. Rest of USA: Water

[@samsprout3713]

Boston can see a wada if their accent is heavy enough

[@EPICGINGER952]

"Wooder" is also found in some of Delaware and southern Jersey

[@doombringer6669]

In maine it tends to be wadah

[@DeezNutz-qb2uf]

Wuhter is how most southerners where I live pronounce it.

[@BeccaMoses]

I have a friend from Long Island who says wooder but i think that’s just her

[@michaelhibberd9740]

Blinker is common for turn signal in the south and Midwest as well.

[@bojohnson5675]

Michael Hibberd yes, from MN and always call it Blinker

[@sticks4632]

Im a floridian and it one of the only souther slang we share with yall

[@elsalemony8445]

In the UK we call it an 'indicator'... never heard someone call it anything else except for in films or KZbin. oof.

[@General_Tso762]

Also in the northwest lol

[@CichlidStyleForums]

A good vid I saw was a guy saying: "in Australia we call this light an indicator, because it indicates what direction you want to go" Then "In the U.S., we call this a blinker, because lights go 'blink'.

[@EulogyPlaigerism]

In Rhode Island and probably other New England states "doughnut holes" are munchkins which is what you'll buy at Dunkin doughnuts

[@Deven_McKee]

Very true. We always call them munchkins no matter where they're from.

[@nischzaklsmusicals2579]

i eat dunkin donuts! THEY ARE SO GOOD

[@tommys.mcfadden7492]

talking about the donut that's round with hole in the center that's a donut hole

[@alerios5110]

Lol doughnut holes makes sense

[@ifiwereaspoonful]

In Australia that piece of grass between the road and the side walk we call a Nature Strip. Also, most of us here call a side walk a Foot Path. Very interesting episode! Thank you!

[@Tekrothebountyhunter]

I'm from Florida, and funny enough, me and my Grandmother get cart and buggy mixed up. I refer to a shopping cart as a "cart" and those electric shopping mobility scooters as a "buggy." My Grandma calls the shopping carts "buggies" and the scooters "carts." This results in a lot of confusion whenever we go shopping together.

[@frozenfeet4534]

2:44 In New England, traffic circles are also commonly known as 'roundabouts'.

[@TheLinkinFest]

Same with England

[@frozenfeet4534]

TheLinkinFest New England is literally a copy of England. So many towns are named after English cities it makes me cry. Even the weather is almost exactly the same. No wonder it's called 'New England'.

[@DAN.eight6]

Garen Crownguard yes but do you call a sidewalk a pavement in new england? is a diaper a nappy? is a cookie a biscuit? is a chip a crisp? lol

[@frozenfeet4534]

dan dandan yes, we often call a sidewalk a pavement, and pringles are called crisps. :D what do you guys call americam biscuits tho? o-o

[@DAN.eight6]

like an oreo? its a biscuit here. or more specifically a sandwich biscuit.

[@emily.g.929]

In Ohio a "traffic circle" is called a roundabout lol.

[@DeezNutz-qb2uf]

Ive never heard it called otherwise in the USA

[@cesyneighistaut3451]

In New England rotary is put on the signs.

[@diagnosedtopg7657]

Same in illinois

[@MiskyWilkshake]

I've lived most of my life in Australia and have never heard the terms 'boomer', 'flyer' or 'having a yarn' in casual conversation. We do however use 'soft drink', 'bubbler', 'rabbiting on', 'loo', 'blinker' (though we usually go by 'indicator'), 'icing sugar', and 'flat'.

[@ObsceneParadise]

As a fellow Australian I can agree, I've never heard "rabbiting on" though, and my family calls a toilet a "dunny". However, no-one living within a 2-hour travel radius of a capital city uses the phrase "having a yarn" and means it. Also, we never used the word "shrimp". They're prawns. Crocodile Dundee taught you all wrong, folks.

[@k8lynmae]

ObsceneParadise the shrimp reference was from a tourism ad

[@tsgillespiejr]

You said "carry-in dinner" and it sounded like "carrion dinner." To which I say no thank you.

[@rowynnecrowley1689]

Hey, as long as cooked properly, (and not contaminated) I'll eat it. I love dead animals on my plate.

[@bungmanagforty7959]

Dear John Green: You did a whole 7m,30sec video on Slang Words and never, not even once, mentioned Newfoundland where the dialect is so fraught with Slang that other Canadians struggle to understand even the simplest of Phrases. For shame!

[@emma-ym6fx]

He'd be there all day if he included Newfoundland slang. Oh my, but I suppose that would make for quite the video though, eh? (Well that was stereotypically Canadian of me.)

[@agirlcalledrinn]

Dear critics, I almost hate to break it to you, but no matter how small your country is, there are several distinct dialects as well as a variation of slang that may or may not be used in your town or city, or even region. What you believe is "never said" often is "said a lot," just not where you live, and you shouldn't discredit it because only "rural" or "old people" say it-they're still people and they make up a significant portion of your population in both cases, whether you like it or not. But, all of these are very common and well known slang/word variations to the field of linguistics, and there is plenty of current data to back them up.

[@Damnhippies546]

Garage sales are called yard sales by everyone i know here in MD

[@rowynnecrowley1689]

Well, that's just dumb. If it's not in your garage, it is not a garage sale.

[@sticks4632]

In florida we use them interchangeably

[@briansmith8898]

Yep. Interesting fact: in England, they are called "Boot Sales" because the idea is that the items are sold from the trunk of your car.

[@BlackieSootfur]

"WHEN I HAVER I'M GONNA BE THE ONE HAVERING TO YOU" I ALWAYS WONDERED WHAT IT MEANT

[@impguardwarhamer]

can i just say that England has a crazy amount of different accents and slang across the country, especially for its size. That means that saying 'the English use this word for this' is not exactly correct. Mind you, i'd say that %90 of the things u said British people say i understood.

[@jillka]

I'm from Boston & I honestly had no idea some of these words were regional, like rotary. Wicked cool to learn about. Most of these are so true, though some things categorized as "New England" aren't everywhere.

[@alliethomas6464]

As a person who's lived in WI their whole life, I can say I've never heard of someone calling a stream a "branch." But we do indeed say bubbler.

[@leonessity]

A bubbler in Canada... is a bong for smoking pot thru! lol

[@Sodisna]

Southern's call a shopping cart a "buggy" sometimes? More like, always.

[@BelleKidd]

In Australia its a 'trolley', go figure

[@CCZhanga]

canadaians call it buggy too

[@jordansmith9176]

I say 'shopping cart' and I live in Arkansas. I do know old folks who say buggy, though.

[@KatlyneMakeUp]

Yes, it is always. Arkansas isn't considered the south. It's the Midwest. South is: south Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Georgia. We refuse to acknowledge Florida as the south. They're a mixture of the west and northern stereotypes. We pretend it doesn't exist when someone generalizes the south.

[@KaitlynChey]

Yes and if you say "shopping cart" people look at you funny lol

[@hannahd1553]

BLINKER IS SLANG TOO!? AND CELLAR!?? MY ENTIRE LIFE IS A LIE! I THOUGHT IT WASN'T SLANG!

[@Messed-up-logic]

Hannah D it's not slang. Everyone else is just wrong

[@stevenmazzacua2161]

Any East coast, midwest slang is always right, we were there first. West coasters are always wrong.

[@DKTheArcadeRat]

In Philadelphia every noun can be replaced by "jawn"

[@dcfromthev]

john?

[@alexweber9899]

Learned this from an old boss from Philly after I thought he was calling me “John” all summer

[@schewitt]

In England "What's the craic" isn't really used at all - It's more commonly used in Northern Ireland and in the Republic of Ireland. Sometimes in Scotland. (I'm from N.I and the English people who come here for university are all clueless about the slang most of the time.)

[@LevannaLeFaye]

Yeah, and in Northern Ireland a can of Dr. Pepper would be referred to as a "Fizzy Drink".

[@schewitt]

Aye. Dr Pepper isn't even that common over here. They're either "fizzy drinks" or "soft drinks". We don't say soda. Cause Soda is a type of bread.

[@channelview8854]

Here's one that is a bit obscure. The staples used to hold fence wire on a post are called "steeples" in Southwest Oklahoma. And the creeks here aren't ever called streams because there is only water flowing in them about a month out of the year. Now the water may be a 15 feet deep raging torrent some of those days, but they are usually dry.

[@rinisonline4312]

did they ever have their staff pork chop party?

[@karlihigley1948]

+

[@ZVPieGuy]

+

[@bossfan49]

I never heard any of the other presenters mention a pork chop party...only John. I think he is the only one that wanted it. He's also the only one that calls the studio a "salon". Every chance he gets.

[@FreedomPoint]

A few more word facts relating to the UK, if anyone's interested: "Baltic" meaning "very cold" is also used in parts of, if not all of England. "Craic" is the Irish spelling of the original English (possible specifically Cumbrian) word spelt "crack". A "rotary" in the UK is called a "roundabout". To "knock" something, meaning "criticise" is also the same in the UK (e.g. "Don't knock it till you've tried it"). What's called a "faucet" in the US is called a "tap" in most other English-speaking countries. "Shopping carts" are "trolleys" in the UK. "Loo" for "toilet" I always associated more with Southern England, although it can be heard in other parts of the UK. The US "turn signal" is called an "indicator" in the UK, and I think South Africa too. "Icing sugar" is used in the UK as well. "Flat" meaning "apartment" in the UK isn't actually slang, it's a standard word derived from Scots and Old English meaning "dwelling".

[@leonessity]

What about highways and byways? Are those terms used in the UK?

[@FreedomPoint]

@@leonessity No, we have motorways, not highways. I'm not too sure what byways are, but maybe our equivalents are B-roads.

[@Silkendrum]

You'll hear "mango" a lot in central Pennsylvania for sweet green pepper. I think it came from the original German settlers. You'll hear it places where there's a Pennsylvania Dutch (actually Deutsch/German) influence.

[@marilyntaylor9885]

Southern Indiana calls them mangoes too

[@Silkendrum]

@@marilyntaylor9885 - I believe there are Amish communities in southern Indiana. Maybe that's whom it came from?

[@mandygeorge7504]

"I'm starting to think, New Englanders, that you just want to be different." HIDE HE FIGURED US OUT

[@ekuLpsaaH]

Wait, most of the US calls it a traffic circle? What?!

[@GotSnowedIn]

I've always referred to them as Round-abouts. **

[@ekuLpsaaH]

GotSnowedIn Yeah where I live everyone either calls it a rotary or a round-about, I've never heard anyone say traffic circle.

[@Cydonia2020]

Here in my central Louisiana town, we have one that is a 1/4 mile in diameter and everyone calls it the traffic circle (even though it’s square with rounded corners. I’m not from here, so you can’t blame me).

[@ChubbyPillbug]

No one in boston calls soda "tonic" but we DO say "wicked" a lot.

[@33Emi33]

I feel like thats more of an old-timey word. I can see some of my grandparents generation calling it that but no one younger really

[@mudaquilthegreat6396]

I live in the Midwest and I have never heard a green bell pepper being called a Mango.

[@alpacagirl18]

In Canada, a doughnut hole is called a doughnut hole UNLESS it was made in Tim Horton's, a very popular establishment in Canada. Also, we spell it "doughnut".

[@julialapena6617]

Exactly. Timbits are a brand-specific name made up by Tim Horton's, however, all doughnut holes seem to commonly be referred to as timbits here, whether they're from tim horton's or not.

[@alpacagirl18]

+Julia Lapena You do have a point. Furthermore, there aren't many places other than Tim Horton's where you can get doughnut holes, at least where I live in Canada.

[@joshjacques1701]

+Morgan F.K. Timbits are made form a specialised cutter at Tim Horton's, they aint no doughnut holes!

[@BeccaMoses]

We do that in New England with the Dunkin Donuts version - they’re all munchkins

[@matthewbrooder9414]

Hey hey hey, Canada isn’t the only one with Tim Hortons! We have em in Buffalo too!

[@juliaberardini6332]

Wait... Doesn't everybody call them fireflies? Maybe it's gets more consistent when you go more to the north. In Canada it's just called firefly, and I don't think I've ever heard the term lightning bug, ever.

[@kvo405]

I grew up calling them lightning bugs, but have mostly switched to fireflys so people know wtf I am talking about.

[@elizabethc.306]

I have never called them fireflies. They have always been lightning bugs to me

[@kylaevelyn1800]

Canadian for the win! I never would've known what lightning bugs were until I had an american friend refer to them as such

[@TinyLeaper]

I've never heard them called lightning bugs, I've always said fireflies and I'm from Florida

[@Melissa-wx4lu]

From Arizona and we all use the term firefly, even though we don't have them here.

[@FranticCashew]

"Jimmies" is only used to refer to chocolate sprinkles in Boston. Rainbow sprinkles are still sprinkles.

[@GoredonTheDestroyer]

Well, that really rustled my jimmies.

[@Richie_P]

I've heard a "traffic circle" called a "roundabout" everywhere I've been. Even my UK English-speaking navigation app calls it a roundabout. Also, I don't think "flat" just a British thing. Here in the US, I hear "flat" and "loft" used interchangeably, both referring to a certain kind of apartment: usually somewhat ritzy, always in an urban center, often in a high-rise building.

[@mattbabineau197]

Bonnet and boot. That's adorable.

[@emceeboogieboots1608]

Now we have Tesla's here I guess what user to be the bonnet will be the "Froot" 🤔🇦🇺

[@ThePenguinExpress]

I live in pennsylvania, and I did NOT know that only a tiny part of the US uses the word "Hoagies". I always use that word. PS I never heard anyone use gum band

[@Handicrafti]

I'm also from PA and have never heard the term gum band. Garage sales are also usually yard sales. We hear hoagie most of the time because they were invented in PA on Hog Island near Philly and were originally called hoggies, which changed into hoagies or so the story goes.

[@louiediforte5558]

I am from Pa and that is not called a gum band lol

[@beatlesgirl95]

It's called a 'gumband' in western PA. I never heard it in NEPA, where I'm from.

[@evildasha]

When I was growing up (in rural Texas), we always called those sandwiches "po'boys". When I got a little older and moved to Houston, most people called it a hoagie or a sub. I was a bit disappointed that po'boy wasn't mentioned, because I've never heard it referred with that term except in certain parts of the South.

[@KariKidd]

In florida we call it a Sub sandwich

[@tylerarmbruster7985]

Being raised in the south, I can accurately say that no one calls a beanie a toboggan, as I have never heard that in my entire life.

[@normagedd0n]

My dad, who is from east Tennessee, does!

[@tylerarmbruster7985]

Well then it might be a Tennessee thing, 'cause no one in Georgia or Florida says that haha.

[@AndrewMcKillip339]

Same here. I'm from Wisconsin but I've never heard anyone call a water fountain a bubbler. But I'm sure a lot of people do

[@zachariasquicksilver3664]

Guy Name We do down under.

[@cwebster6681]

Tyler Armbruster actually I have several family members who live in Florida Mississippi Tennessee and Alabama, ALL call it a toboggan

[@demonsrun425]

PIG IN A POKE. *overwhelmed by Supernatural*

[@nyanryan6087]

That's the first thing I thought when he said it xD

[@evaclaire1930]

As a New Englander, I have never heard the word grinder. I like that there are so many Boston-specific ones. We are wicked weird.

[@rossb654]

I think everyone except Americans call icing sugar icing sugar. In the UK we sure do.

[@ann-kd7cz]

We commonly call it confectioner's sugar or powdered sugar here in the US.

[@billbixly4332]

It's called icing sugar because its the type of sugar used to make ... cake icing.

[@rossb654]

bill bixly Exactly! I dunno why Americans make it more difficult for themselves :p

[@coastersplus]

rossb654 Because 'MURICA.

[@rossb654]

coastersplus Perhaps it's because you can't even spell your own continent's name correctly.

[@jaimie00]

Having recently become a Yooper myself, I'm learning all sorts of interesting words and phrases. My favorite so far is the usage of the word _troll_ to refer to people from lower Michigan (because they live South of (under) the bridge.

[@Cydonia2020]

I was a Yooper for eleven years in Marquette. Best place in the world!

[@timsullivan3005]

Oh John you caught us, us new englanders do want to be different. And the rest of you will never know how damn annoying leaf peepers are. Love from Connecticut

[@UniqueornBacon]

Leaf peepers visit the southeast a lot too (fall leaves AND mountains) but we just call them tourists and make assumptions that people from (insert license plate locations) don’t know how to drive. Tbf most Tennesseans will say that people from Georgia can’t drive for crap anyway.

[@stevenmazzacua2161]

I always heard them called Leafers too.

[@erikwexler1167]

I appreciate that you said water ice as "wooder ice" because that's actually how we say it.

[@OwnageProductions03]

Timbit. Tim. Tim Hortons. Yeah.

[@MrC0MPUT3R]

In PA we name some streams "Such-and-such Run" but we all call them creeks (but pronounced "crick" in some regions like mine)

[@Lymelady08]

+MrC0MPUT3R we call them creek and crick too in michigN

[@rowynnecrowley1689]

Was quite disappointed that that wasn't mentioned.

[@stevenmazzacua2161]

@@rowynnecrowley1689 ditto!

[@lisshumblegenius]

Born and raised in Wisconsin, never used the term "bubbler" for a drinking fountain in my life. And in the midwest streams are also called "Creeks"

[@ragepanda9141]

Definitely have always used bubbler, but agree on Creeks. Always used that.

[@Cydonia2020]

Or ‘cricks’.

[@Mari-cl2jc]

I live in CA and I must add we also say blinker when referring to the turn signal

[@jamescuttell1333]

In England we call a 'shopping cart' a trolley

[@18aidanme]

and you call Garbage or Trash, Rubbish.

[@jamescuttell1333]

18aidanme And we also call a "trash can" a bin. We also say potatoes, we sometimes say taters but as slang or as a joke.

[@paulmckee6901]

James Cuttell tatties or spud are other names for potatoes in Ireland and Scotland

[@rachelmontgomery8556]

Paul McKee Or perdies too

[@emmetlewiecki6777]

I live in New England, and donut holes are usually called "munchkins"

[@ThatKidNamedAyden]

Where I'm from, a "traffic circle" is a RoundaBout.

[@representationmetaphorique]

I would just like to clarify: I am from Boston and there is a difference between Jimmies and sprinkles. chocolate sprinkles are Jimmies. rainbow sprinkles or anything else are sprinkles.

[@samsprout3713]

in pennsyltucky streams are called criks

[@djt6012]

A common term for a stream in Australia is billabong. I'm surprised that one didn't make it into the clip.

[@BillyBob125]

Pennsyltucky? Did Pennsylvania and Kentucky merge into one state?

[@samsprout3713]

+BillyBob 125 pennsyltucky is the region of central PA that is full of the huntin' n' fishin' type a folk that have the pittsburgh accent with a little but of country. I don't have it but my dad and his friends do.

[@schmittelt]

Absolutely. I was born and raised in Turtle Crick, a suburb of Picksburgh

[@EPICGINGER952]

I mean, a lot of places call them cricks not creeks. It's not just a Pennsyltucky thing

[@KaitlynChey]

It wasn't until I was about 12 and said "toboggan" (referring to a hat) that someone got really confused. I thought toboggan meant a hat everywhere. From Tennessee btw.

[@eddieluna5107]

I refer to a hat by just "cap"

[@crazyjohnb22]

What part of Tennessee east, west or central? I'm also from tennesee

[@ashleylex1389]

Really? Where I'm from Toboggan is a synonym for sled.

[@katelynbriley3053]

crazyjohnb22 west

[@melodeysmith7794]

Same here in Australia (yes there's snow in aus)

[@adamschneider4143]

Mental Floss Can you just do, "All the weird things in Cincinnati" Such as 1) Fascination with pigs 2) Fascination with beer 3) Fascination with Chili 4) Unique slang words Like "salty" 5) The way all the towns are set up 6) Fascination with Cincinnatus 7) Lack of willingness to let go of William Henry Harrison and Tecumseh

[@film9491]

I’m from Eastern Massachusetts and when I lived in western Massachusetts I was surprised to learn that they call yard sales tag sales. Sometimes these regional expressions can be different less than 100 miles away.

[@hannahdeards9652]

This is wrong XD In Britain we refer to the toilet, as the loo only when being very, very informal and use it and class it as a slang word. You will most commonly hear the whole bathroom/restroom as the toilet, though the toilet is referred to that too.

[@efafe4972]

ur hot

[@efafe4972]

feel

[@kat0in0the0hat0]

I'm from Southern England, and we don't consider the term 'loo' that informal. Sure, you probably wouldn't use it in a job application, but I would happily talk about the 'loo' in front of my head teacher :)

[@Mollidew]

Sure, but there are regional words there too. They do research on this show by the way. It's whatever the general consensus is you will hear. We use bucket on the west coast for a large pail, lol. You know the size you might put water in to mop the floor and clean with. A pail is usually thought of as a kids thing they take to the beach to play in the sand or what someone who keeps a few cows and hand milks into. They are usually smaller than a bucket and silver. Some even plant flowers in them, lol. He didn't mention that what the water comes out of in the west we call a faucet, not either of the two words he mentioned although I have heard spicket but more commonly by transplanted people. I was born and raised in California. In some areas the spicket is the faucet on the outside of the house. Depends on where one lives. Supposedly for the British it is most often called toilet, lavatory or toilet. Here you won't see any of these words on a public one. It will always say restroom. Most in the US say bathroom and when wanting to be polite say restroom. Occasionally I have heard toilet but that is usually what you go into and not the room. We don't use bidets here unless someone specifically had one put in because they thought it was cool or more hygienic for some reason because they had seen them on trips to Europe or something like that.

[@walrusman8691]

Fact 87 about timbits is not because Canadians are just dumb, it is because the donut company Tim Hortons that dominates the industry first introduced them under the brand name Timbits so similarly to how tissues are often called kleenex despite not all coming from the same brand, all donut holes are called Timbits.

[@gordonlawrence3537]

It's like vacuum cleaners called "hoovers".

[@bgray1501]

It's similar in Pennsylvania. We call them munchkins because that's what Dunkin Donuts calls them

[@PixelOverload]

It's not even all donut holes, if it's not from Tim Horton's it's not a timbit.

[@SirChubbyBunny]

I'm from PA and I've never heard of anyone here referring to a rubber band as a gum band.

[@stephaniejar3884]

SirChubbyBunny old people say it. Usually the same ones who ask you to "redd out your room." It's basically a PA Dutch holdover.

[@paulr1917]

Also you neglected "creek" being used for what might be a small stream except it might be still or dry during the driest part of the year. I'm not sure if this is just the southeast but it's very regularly used here.

[@robinbatchelor4298]

Well, New England had some of the first colonies, so maybe everybody else is trying to be different from us.

[@NiightSky]

People, they've always been called bubblers. Don't act like you haven't heard it.

[@tjhaze204]

A bubbler is a type of pipe used with water...it makes bubbles when you smoke out of it. A WATER FOUNTAIN is what we drink water out of...

[@NiightSky]

Trevor Whelan no,no you've got it all wrong. a water fountain is outside a hotel to make it look pretty.

[@Pinatabuster]

Debra Nygren We just call those fountains.

[@seanduffy3765]

You mean a wuter fountain

[@NiightSky]

i've never seen a wuter fountain.

[@ARubberDuckEater7]

I live in Scotland but I thought people said baltic everywhere XD and in Scotland instead of spring break we say the easter holidays

[@FreewindPersonal]

we use Baltic in Ireland also

[@angelnia86]

Do you say Burn for river/creek? and what do you call soda? I'm from Ayrshire region and I was brought up calling it Ginger lol

[@ARubberDuckEater7]

yeah we usually call it ginger and I have heard some people say burn :)

[@mariamoore9363]

We say it in Ireland

[@davewalsh2717]

Wow, he even pronounced wooder ice correctly too.

[@mikkicarr5717]

I've never heard garburator and I live in Canada.... (but I do love timbits)

[@alekzandermoore4072]

Homestuck. Homestuck everywhere.

[@kaceyd66]

Really? I didn't know that it was called something other than a garburator

[@alannar.5520]

Actually, we say yard sale or garage sale in the East (but usually yard sale). I have never heard tag sale before.

[@doommagic]

Yeah, same. A tag sale sounds like an actual store sale to me as opposed to a sale of used things at someone's house.

[@Darkenedsoul]

doommagic Alanna R. i've heard the sale in your front yard referred to as tag, yard and garage sale and i'm from the north east.

[@sacrovir9249]

We call it a tag sale sometimes here in Massachusetts.

[@thepossumshow7891]

I used to hear 'tag sales' in the Berkshires.

[@amaritundra4107]

Where I live we call them rummage sales. Idk maybe we're just weird.

[@MrDeathChicken]

its called a Timbit cause they come from Tim Horton's

[@anisacowan]

Just like it's called a Loonie because there's a loon on it. Canadian slang just makes sense.

[@MarauderM00gi]

Anisa Cowan To Canadians.

[@MrDeathChicken]

i didnt even know they had a different name for timbits until was 13

[@anisacowan]

I didn't know until I was about 15

[@twistedhelixbiker]

The English just call the drinks by their name. If we want coke, we say coke, if we are drinking Sprite, we say sprite, if we want Tango, we say Tango. We just....call them what they're actually called on the can lol.

[@bradleybalsters6070]

What about potluck?

[@rowynnecrowley1689]

Potluck is what the rest of us call it.

[@PinguPhD]

So I'm Nebraskan. Our slang is from all over the fucking place.

[@ronnieradon]

Holy shit, I forgot Nebraska even existed till I saw this comment...

[@nickcarbaugh4301]

Omahan here. Its difficult to get anywhere using slang

[@PinguPhD]

I know Aksarben. Can't think of much else purely Nebraskan slang. And I'm a Lincolnite

[@nickcarbaugh4301]

TempestHomicidal I was more referring to how we get slang from all over

[@imnotsoamazinglexi]

Didn't know firefly was uncommon

[@samanthaclonch9544]

It's not really uncommon. It's usually just used interchangeably with lightning bug. For instance, here in Ohio, I use both all the time. Kind of just depends on what pops into your head or what mood you're in.

[@imnotsoamazinglexi]

I always say firefly and I've talked to someone before and said firefly and they had no idea what I was talking about

[@aliroberts8878]

I don't think it is. I'm in the South and although lightning bug is what most people say, everyone's familiar with "firefly" and wouldn't find it odd to hear it used instead of lightning bug.

[@OctJean]

"Parlor" is still the word they use for living room in England, I've got LOTS of English friends lol. Also "the garden" is the yard. When our friends were visiting the 7 year old daughter started asking if she could play "in the front yard" with my daughter, her mother would look at her and say "Don't you mean 'the front garden'? No one will understand you when we get home if you start speaking American!" 😂😂😂

[@phoebelambdon2904]

OctJean I've never heard that 😂

[@regesteel548]

I call them rubber bands

[@alexreid1173]

Question: Does anyone here say "supper" instead of "dinner"? Or am I just weird?

[@MsBecca4321]

supper is the little meal between lunch and dinner, or at least that's what I call it

[@alexreid1173]

+Rebekah Diane Hm. I've always called that "lupper", though I've never heard anyone else say that. It's weird because it's not even a regional thing. I'm sure where I picked it up from... XD

[@UnusualTastes]

+Adele Poling My family says supper a lot. I say dinner sometimes too. I'm in western Massachusetts.

[@Whale460]

+Adele Poling My family always said supper. They were farmers so lunch meant a snack, noon meal was dinner, and evening meal was supper.

[@carsonianthegreat4672]

Supper and Dinner are to separate things where I'm at. Supper is less formal.

[@MaestroBerry]

You're gonna mention wicked without mentioning hella? Where's the love for the best coast? *West

[@MarkyishFIFA]

Nicholas Berry I was hella thinking this too.

[@jordanr.2120]

Nicholas Berry But that's not regional. We say that on the east coast too.

[@jmaxag5419]

prince joopie it's from the west coast though

[@Messed-up-logic]

Nicholas Berry I'm from Boston and we use hella all the time

[@Bindy2010]

"traffic circle?" I've always heard them being called a Roundabout.

[@VTPPGLVR]

What about people who look at a car wreck while driving? In the South, most folks I know call that "rubbernecking." Anyone else hear of a different name for that?

[@SV-ed4qn]

What? I live in Texas and I never heard of that lol

[@VTPPGLVR]

Stevie Velez Maybe it's a southeastern thing.

[@CoreyGumbs]

+Deborah L. they say it here in NYC too

[@bonnieelaine8042]

+Deborah L. We say rubbernecking in Australia. I'm not sure if it's just for driving related things though, I think it can be going to look at anything bad.

[@lorraineliggera4229]

+Deborah L. California...I've always heard "rubbernecking", even on the traffic reports on the news.

[@amkinneyful]

Lol, i am from Boston and we do want to be different.

[@amkinneyful]

I didn't realise that they were not called blinkers. Oops.

[@dreamonastar14]

same

[@mstets2614]

Amelia Kinney People in Maine would think you were weird if you called your blinker a "turn signal".

[@boonestead4812]

what about chesterfields in canada we call sofas or couchs chesterfields shouldve been mentioned just saying

[@ghost_curse]

+boonestead What? We call them couches or sofas in Canada. What part of Canada are you from?

[@lorraineliggera4229]

+boonestead My mom often used the word "davenport". She was born in the 30s and grew up in Washington state.

[@boonestead4812]

+Lorraine Liggera my parents are from the 40 s and ive heard of davenport but isnt it a certain type of sofa kinda like a chaise or something not generally used for all sofas OR maybe it was a popular brand name that stuck kinda like javex =bleach or jello = gelatin just surmising

[@sarav3588]

boonestead what the he'll is a chesterfield

[@robinsonkaspar3395]

He said “eaves trough,” but I heard “Eve’s trough,” which I briefly thought was the most vulgar biblical euphemism possible. This is what happens when I listen instead of watch! And I ran into “bubblers” in Maine.

[@wiscause]

Yea it's a bubbler

[@rowynnecrowley1689]

I always thought a "bubbler" was a water cooler like you find in a doctor's office and such.

[@diagnosedtopg7657]

A bubbler in Illinois is a water bong

[@nicks4802]

Mental Floss the one about the tim bits.... wrong, so very very wrong. I live in Toronto, ive eaten countless doughnuts in my day. the ONLY time its acceptable to call a doughnut a "timbit" is if you bought them at tim hortons (the Canadian equivalent of dunkin doughnuts). and the part where you go extremely wrong is where you thought we call a doughnut a timbit. THEY ARE 2 DIFFERENT THINGS! a timbit is basically the dough missing from the hole in the middle of the doughnut made into its own item. moral of the story; a doughnut and a timbit are 2 completely different things and YOU WILL get made fun of for thinking they are the same

[@DarklyVision]

Amen Brother!

[@jesterlaureate]

He said doughnut HOLE not just doughnut.

[@Anon21486]

Never saw anyone spell Dunkin Donuts, Dunkin Doughnuts. Also, I actually never heard anyone except recently call a water fountain a bubbler, This coming from someone who grew up around Boston. I have, however, heard some people call soda Tonic but I tend to call it Coke. Also, in Massachusetts, a Turnpike is a toll highway that goes from one end of the state to the other.

[@jesterlaureate]

I'm from Canada and that's how we spell doughnuts up here.

[@Anon21486]

HuntBot3000 I am pretty sure that is how it is actually spelled. However, Dunkin Donuts is a brand's name. That is why I said that.

[@FoxDren]

do not refer to English English as slang, you are the ones who corrupted the language, not us

[@adamlambertfreak100]

slang doesn't mean a bad thing it's just that it was adapted a different way and it caught on and where you are can change the way it was adapted...its not an insult, and we americans didn't corrupt the language

[@BadgerCheese94]

Oh please, like everyone in England speaks "proper"

[@togbum123]

Latin !! most of the English Language is a derived from Latin.

[@BadgerCheese94]

Travis Girling Wrong. English is Germanic. The Latin influence comes from French. Most is Germanic. You might as well say most of Spanish comes from Arabic.

[@Zwickerly2]

Actually I've heard liguists say that American English more closely resembles what English sounded like 300 years ago than British english does now. So long as you ignore the internet slang that has been recently added.

[@SeanSultan]

I've never heard traffic circle or rotary before, in Oregon everyone calls them roundabouts.

[@brittneyr2490]

Ooh I cringed at the pronunciation of "toque." Thank goodness there was a Canadian there to straighten it out.

[@pranamd1]

I don't think "soft drink" is a slang word, as much as, like, what the thing is called.

[@BeccaMoses]

Okay, I admit that New England is a special place, but jimmies are a specific type of sprinkles. They're the long waxy ones on ice cream. Sprinkles can be colored sugar and pretty shapes and all that.

[@moonspell6759]

In Canada, on a hot thirsty day, drink a two-four.....2 dozen beer.

[@simonkutchaw6849]

Or you hit up the LC/saq/licbo for a two six to go with your mix

[@gailvalley5309]

Question, y is it so hard to grasp the idea of eternity/infinity???

[@kristent225]

Calling a rubber band a "gum band" isn't for all of Pennsylvania, it's strictly in the Pittsburgh area

[@gabyfenwick3104]

we know they're called doughnut holes but tim hortons calls them timbits and that's the only chain restaurant that really sells them

[@duncanadelaide3959]

Sorry, little pedantic here, but being Arizonan I wanted to clarify, a creek/brook/stream is only called a wash if it is seasonal, which in the climate we get means flows for three weeks of the year in monsoon season and spends the rest of the year as a dry ditch. If it has water year-round it is usually referred to a creek or a river, however, there are so few of these that they are usually referred to by whatever their name is.

[@meg8951]

A lot of the things applied to me for the Philadelphia slang, but the ones for Pennsylvania I've never heard before.

[@Jabatemanjr]

Gum Band is off base, we call those rubber bands as far as im aware.

[@nicki446]

I had absolutely no idea that using 'holiday' as a synonym for vacation is a weird thing. Ditto for 'icing sugar', 'knocking' something, 'bucket', 'trolley' and 'having a yarn'. The more you know...

[@hate6crew6death6roll]

Baltic is used all over uk, also crack (craic) means basically 'whats happening with you' whats the craic == whats up A flat is not usually interchangeable with apartment, normally a flat is a less expensive apartment though it means the same thing you'd not refer to a council home in a block as an apartment even if it was, it would be a flat

[@ROBERT_L.]

In Louisiana, the Living Room is called the "Front Room" (regardless of its location in the house) and regardless of its color, call Traffic Signals, "Red Lights" - In South Africa, they call the traffic signals, "Robots".