New York Times dialect quiz

That was fun. And yeah, it pegged me as either NY, Yonkers or Jersey so obviously it's 100% accurate

Still, "The devil is beating his wife"? Does anyone actually say that?



http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/12/20/sunday-review/dialect-quiz-map.html

In SE Kentucky, it is a saying. Not common but I've heard it.

Figures that the US would start inventing imaginary characters for the devil to be cruel to. But I guess you can't expect much else from a largely Christian country.

Had Rochester, Buffalo, and Boston. I'm Central NY, so it fits.

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:
And yeah, it pegged me as either NY, Yonkers or Jersey so obviously it's 100% accurate

Hmm. I got NY, Yonkers or New Orleans...

Yep, the last 32 years I've spent in Texas definitely show. Although, I know some of my answers have to be influenced by Michigan (spent my first 7 years there, rest of family is from there).

I got Spokane and Seattle.

St Louis, Santa Rosa or Madison !
You guys have some very strange words (potato bug ! )

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:
New York Times dialect quiz

That was fun. And yeah, it pegged me as either NY, Yonkers or Jersey so obviously it's 100% accurate

Still, "The devil is beating his wife"? Does anyone actually say that?



http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/12/20/sunday-review/dialect-quiz-map.html

I had an (ex)fiancee who did, but she was pure unadulterated cray cray. She was half irish trailer trash/half Comanche raised by Mexican Americans. So the phrase seems to cross boundaries.

Apparently I confused the quiz. EDIT: Seattle, Fort Lauderdale, and Boston. Apparently, I'm from everywhere XD

I blame the United States Army.

Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Newark. I was born in Virginia, but grew up in the Philly burbs. Guess I pucked up some of my old man's Jersey vocabulary somewhere along the way.

Saint Louis, Reno, and Modesto.

It put me in Virginia, which is where I was born and have lived all but the seven years I spent in Las Vegas.

Anaheim, Irvine or Corona. Pretty much spot on. I guess the real clincher is the word "Firefly" and "Freeway". Is the word "Firefly" really only a west coast thing?

Reno, NV. Wichita, KS. Lexington, KY.

Basically, my lifestyle of moving all over the country throughout most of my life means I have a shared dialect of the entire country.

I got a split between NY and Los Angeles. Given I am London born and bred it is rather interesting.

I was amused to see the expression "a fox's wedding" for rain while the sun is shining. It is a Japanese expression.

 Kilkrazy wrote:
I was amused to see the expression "a fox's wedding" for rain while the sun is shining. It is a Japanese expression.

I noticed that as well. I imagine it might have spread into the English on the West Coast. Japanese Americans have been very culturally significant in California (and Oregon).

 TheCustomLime wrote:
Anaheim, Irvine or Corona. Pretty much spot on. I guess the real clincher is the word "Firefly" and "Freeway". Is the word "Firefly" really only a west coast thing?

Firefly is definitely not just a west coast thing. I got Dayton, Akron, and Fort Wayne and I use Firefly and Lightning Bug interchangeably.

Not even close to me. Granted, Atlanta is a pretty big cultural mix, so it might be hard to pin down.

 Hordini wrote:

 TheCustomLime wrote:
Anaheim, Irvine or Corona. Pretty much spot on. I guess the real clincher is the word "Firefly" and "Freeway". Is the word "Firefly" really only a west coast thing?

Firefly is definitely not just a west coast thing. I got Dayton, Akron, and Fort Wayne and I use Firefly and Lightning Bug interchangeably.

We use it over her in NY too.

The most intense red spot was a bit to the right or Rochester.

So, I mean, wrong country, but pretty close to where I live in real life. I have picked up a lot of words from Americans online though.

It definitely pegged me as a westerner. It didn't narrow me down much further than that. The three cities were Salt Lake City, Fresno, and Portland. I spent my early childhood in Ogden and my teens in Seattle so I guess it's close enough.

I didn't know "potato bug" was such a regional thing. And does Texas really not consider drive through liquor stores a bad idea?

 Breotan wrote:
And does Texas really not consider drive through liquor stores a bad idea?

There aren't as many around as there used to be. More and more counties/townships are allowing the sale of beer compared to 20 years ago, so you can buy your beer at almost every gas station and grocery store. Kinda hard for the independent beer store to survive unless they also sell hard liquor (and the big chains like Specs and Goody Goody are basically getting a lock on that, too).

Well it crashed for me twice in a row....

probably not surprising since I'm not from the US and looking at the maps generated for each question seem to use terms from right across the whole thing

San Jose, Honolulu or Boston.

I think my Englishness confused it.

I've taken this before, and "sneakers" is always the big thing. I didn't realize it was only a north-east thing.

 Tannhauser42 wrote:

 Breotan wrote:
And does Texas really not consider drive through liquor stores a bad idea?

There aren't as many around as there used to be. More and more counties/townships are allowing the sale of beer compared to 20 years ago, so you can buy your beer at almost every gas station and grocery store. Kinda hard for the independent beer store to survive unless they also sell hard liquor (and the big chains like Specs and Goody Goody are basically getting a lock on that, too).

So you guys don't really have drunk driving laws?

 Kilkrazy wrote:
I got a split between NY and Los Angeles. Given I am London born and bred it is rather interesting.

I was amused to see the expression "a fox's wedding" for rain while the sun is shining. It is a Japanese expression.

One of the other options, monkeys are getting married, I've heard. But only in Trinidad. Is it British? Spanish?


Automatically Appended Next Post:
I will however have to work 'the devil is beating his wife' into conversation someday. And if anyone screams misogyny, my answer is it's the ₹&@/ing devil of course he beats his wife!

 LordofHats wrote:

 Kilkrazy wrote:
I was amused to see the expression "a fox's wedding" for rain while the sun is shining. It is a Japanese expression.

I noticed that as well. I imagine it might have spread into the English on the West Coast. Japanese Americans have been very culturally significant in California (and Oregon).

Except that in Oregon, where I grew up, literally everyone I've ever talked to calls them sunshowers (ohh... and liquid sunshine is it's own thing... if you think it means rain while the sun is out, you're a heathen )

 Ensis Ferrae wrote:

 LordofHats wrote:

 Kilkrazy wrote:
I was amused to see the expression "a fox's wedding" for rain while the sun is shining. It is a Japanese expression.

I noticed that as well. I imagine it might have spread into the English on the West Coast. Japanese Americans have been very culturally significant in California (and Oregon).

Except that in Oregon, where I grew up, literally everyone I've ever talked to calls them sunshowers (ohh... and liquid sunshine is it's own thing... if you think it means rain while the sun is out, you're a heathen )

I didn't say people in Oregon can only refer to sunshowers one way.

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:
Automatically Appended Next Post:
I will however have to work 'the devil is beating his wife' into conversation someday. And if anyone screams misogyny, my answer is it's the ₹&@/ing devil of course he beats his wife!

Then you're just trading one kind of prejudice for another though.

I got Corona, Rancho Cucamonga, and Salt Lake City. I grew up in San diego. So I guess its good.

Weird. 3 cities it pegged me for were Oklahoma City, Lincoln Nebraska, and Des Moines. Which is quite odd, as I’ve never lived that far west, and all my family is from the north east.

The heat map did put a strong red spot on the upstate NY area, so it’s not a complete miss. The fact that I live in Louisville from when I was 10-20ish probably tossed a wrench in it’s works.

Mobile, Montgomery, and Birmingham Alabama.


Pretty close to being accurate. Most natives in rural Southeastern North Carolina (around the Piedmont and Coastal Plains) still haven't lost that old Southern dialect.

 Pouncey wrote:

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:
Automatically Appended Next Post:
I will however have to work 'the devil is beating his wife' into conversation someday. And if anyone screams misogyny, my answer is it's the ₹&@/ing devil of course he beats his wife!

Then you're just trading one kind of prejudice for another though.

Anti Devil prejudice?

Is that a thing we worry about now?

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:

 Pouncey wrote:

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:
Automatically Appended Next Post:
I will however have to work 'the devil is beating his wife' into conversation someday. And if anyone screams misogyny, my answer is it's the ₹&@/ing devil of course he beats his wife!

Then you're just trading one kind of prejudice for another though.

Anti Devil prejudice?

Is that a thing we worry about now?

Tolerance means accepting anything and everything no matter how disgusting it is.

Or so I'm lead to believe.

But I don't think we should let devil prejudice distract us from the real victim of society;



The super devil.

Boy I really live in a bubble, don't I?

"Hoagie" is more widespread than Mary/merry/marry. WAT

I a Dutch guy in Japan got;

NEW ORLEANS, JACKSONVILLE and BATON ROUGE

I got Yonkers, New York and Newark.

Is that because both are former colonies of England so the language is closer than elsewhere, or because NY has a bigger impact on other countries, especially through TV. Or maybe because a NYT quiz, it just naturallyu defaults to NY if you don't have a clear US dialect.

It was a fun quiz though, and I learned a lot of creative little terms. I had no idea there was any other name for sunshowers than sunshowers. And I didn't even know there was a name for the day before Halloween, other than October 30th. It was cool to see how language varies, especially to see so many creative expressions.

I was surprised to see slater bugs wasn't given as an option for the little bugs that crawl in to a ball when you touch them. I didn't know they had another name, now it turns out the name we have for them might just be a local thing.

 LordofHats wrote:

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:

 Pouncey wrote:

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:
Automatically Appended Next Post:
I will however have to work 'the devil is beating his wife' into conversation someday. And if anyone screams misogyny, my answer is it's the ₹&@/ing devil of course he beats his wife!

Then you're just trading one kind of prejudice for another though.

Anti Devil prejudice?

Is that a thing we worry about now?

Tolerance means accepting anything and everything no matter how disgusting it is.

Or so I'm lead to believe.

Indeed it does, and wife beating is a proud part of Devil culture which you would know if you took the time to really understand them.

This pegged me exactly to Yonkers/NYC/DC. Pretty spot on for the first 2 - I was born and lived in NYC until I was 25, and lived in Yonkers for 2.

I got Honolulu, Madison and Seattle. I was expecting New England.

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:
Indeed it does, and wife beating is a proud part of Devil culture which you would know if you took the time to really understand them.

I would appreciate it if you would not tell me how the one religion I've had in my life looks upon the concept of spousal abuse.

 sebster wrote:
or because NY has a bigger impact on other countries, especially through TV

I would guess so, As a swede that learned English through school and media I got Providence, New York and Yonkers.

Lovecraft would be proud

Minneapolis, Buffalo and Rochester.

Which considering I'm from Belfast, and have lived in Scotland for most of my adult life, might imply some influence creeping down from Canada?

And yeah, no option for Slaters? That isn't even a common expression in this area of Scotland, I had it down as being Norn Irish. Good to see it's made its way to Australia.

According to the NYT my word choice is most closely aligned with NO or Baton Rouge, or alternatively Jackson Mississippii. Of course those are two very different accents.

Interesting.

I would proffer there is also an age test. There were several words that have changed over time.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 sebster wrote:
I got Yonkers, New York and Newark.

Is that because both are former colonies of England so the language is closer than elsewhere, or because NY has a bigger impact on other countries, especially through TV. Or maybe because a NYT quiz, it just naturallyu defaults to NY if you don't have a clear US dialect.

It was a fun quiz though, and I learned a lot of creative little terms. I had no idea there was any other name for sunshowers than sunshowers. And I didn't even know there was a name for the day before Halloween, other than October 30th. It was cool to see how language varies, especially to see so many creative expressions.

I was surprised to see slater bugs wasn't given as an option for the little bugs that crawl in to a ball when you touch them. I didn't know they had another name, now it turns out the name we have for them might just be a local thing.

Whats a sunshower?

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:
New York Times dialect quiz

That was fun. And yeah, it pegged me as either NY, Yonkers or Jersey so obviously it's 100% accurate

Still, "The devil is beating his wife"? Does anyone actually say that?



http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/12/20/sunday-review/dialect-quiz-map.html

My Grandmother would say that if it was a strong thunderstorm with a lot of lightning. This was back in Louisiana. She was born during the Great Depression, to get an idea of her age. I've never heard anyone else use that one.

 Tannhauser42 wrote:

 Breotan wrote:
And does Texas really not consider drive through liquor stores a bad idea?

There aren't as many around as there used to be. More and more counties/townships are allowing the sale of beer compared to 20 years ago, so you can buy your beer at almost every gas station and grocery store. Kinda hard for the independent beer store to survive unless they also sell hard liquor (and the big chains like Specs and Goody Goody are basically getting a lock on that, too).

I thought they meant literal drive throughs. I saw one in Louisiana once. You would pull up, order your booze, and pull away. In Texas if you have an open container its jail. time so I don't see that working so well here.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 kronk wrote:

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:
New York Times dialect quiz

That was fun. And yeah, it pegged me as either NY, Yonkers or Jersey so obviously it's 100% accurate

Still, "The devil is beating his wife"? Does anyone actually say that?



http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/12/20/sunday-review/dialect-quiz-map.html

My Grandmother would say that if it was a strong thunderstorm with a lot of lightning. This was back in Louisiana. She was born during the Great Depression, to get an idea of her age. I've never heard anyone else use that one.

The ex would say that when it was raining but the sun was out. I thought it meant when she would get a hair in her and decide to start chasing me around with a knife again.

 Breotan wrote:
And does Texas really not consider drive through liquor stores a bad idea?

Having spent a lot of time in Texas and Louisiana, no, not really. The Texas ones are fine. They are putting your liquor in a bag or box and handing it to you to put in your car. How is that any different from driving to the same store, walking in, getting your liquor in a bag or box, and putting it in your car? Exact same to me.

HOWEVER, there is 1 thing you can do in Louisiana that you can't in Texas. Drive up Daquiri/Margarita joints. You get it in a styrofoam cup with a plastic lid, which blew my wife's mind. "How is that legal?" They put tape over the part of the lid where the straw goes. "The tape makes it legal."


Just like this:




http://www.travelchannel.com/shows/anthony-bourdain/video/drive-through-daiquiris

 kronk wrote:

 Breotan wrote:
And does Texas really not consider drive through liquor stores a bad idea?

Having spent a lot of time in Texas and Louisiana, no, not really. The Texas ones are fine. They are putting your liquor in a bag or box and handing it to you to put in your car. How is that any different from driving to the same store, walking in, getting your liquor in a bag or box, and putting it in your car? Exact same to me.

HOWEVER, there is 1 thing you can do in Louisiana that you can't in Texas. Drive up Daquiri/Margarita joints. You get it in a styrofoam cup with a plastic lid, which blew my wife's mind. "How is that legal?" They put tape over the part of the lid where the straw goes. "The tape makes it legal."


Just like this:




http://www.travelchannel.com/shows/anthony-bourdain/video/drive-through-daiquiris

In Canada I think you have to keep alcohol in the trunk. It'd be weird to go to a drive-through liquor store when you have to get out of the car to put the booze in the trunk.

 Pouncey wrote:

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:
Indeed it does, and wife beating is a proud part of Devil culture which you would know if you took the time to really understand them.

I would appreciate it if you would not tell me how the one religion I've had in my life looks upon the concept of spousal abuse.

I would appreciate it if you would not tell me how the one religion I have had had all my life looks upon the devil.

Especially in a not so serious discussion of dialects.

In my head cannon, the Devil wears a wife beater t-shirt now.

Thanks, Kid-Kybama.

How the feth did we get to calling the devil evil is prejudicial? He's the devil XD. He's right there on the list of people we're all allowed to hate right alongside Hitler, Justin Beiber, and Uwe Bowl XD

San Jose, Fremont, Honolulu. With Detroit being on the opposite end of the scale.

Who the hell calls a wood louse a centipede?

 kronk wrote:
In my head cannon, the Devil wears a wife beater t-shirt now.

Thanks, Kid-Kybama.

Well he does.

We're talking about Steve Devil right? from Yonkers? Drives an 86 trans-Am? Beats his wife? Same guy right?

He paid his taxes on time, but he always buys drunks a drink.

Is "He never bought a drunk a drink" as saying over there?

*Waves hand vaguely Eastward*

Santa Rosa, Sacramento and Fresno. Fresno?? I'll kill you, you stupid worthless quiz!

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:

 Pouncey wrote:

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:
Indeed it does, and wife beating is a proud part of Devil culture which you would know if you took the time to really understand them.

I would appreciate it if you would not tell me how the one religion I've had in my life looks upon the concept of spousal abuse.

I would appreciate it if you would not tell me how the one religion I have had had all my life looks upon the devil.

Especially in a not so serious discussion of dialects.

No, I fully recognize that Christians hate the devil.

I just kinda, you know, expect that kind of hatred from people who consider themselves enemies of the devil. Not exactly expecting Christians to be an accurate source of information about their worst enemy.

You're thinking of the zorastrians who see the universe as a war between evenly matched foes of light and dark.

Christians do not hate or fear the devil they pity him.

No worries. A lot of folks make that mistake.

 Wyrmalla wrote:
San Jose, Fremont, Honolulu. With Detroit being on the opposite end of the scale.

Who the hell calls a wood louse a centipede?

People who can't count legs.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:
You're thinking of the zorastrians who see the universe as a war between evenly matched foes of light and dark.

Christians do not hate or fear the devil they pity him.

No worries. A lot of folks make that mistake.

Y'ever hear about Revelations talking about Armageddon?

Why would the Bible talk about the planet that Angron and Ghaz invaded?

 kronk wrote:
Why would the Bible talk about the planet that Angron and Ghaz invaded?

Because the Bible predates WH40k by a very large margin?

 Pouncey wrote:

 kronk wrote:
Why would the Bible talk about the planet that Angron and Ghaz invaded?

Because the Bible predates WH40k by a very large margin?

Jesus had the best painted Khorne Bezerkers evah.

Interesting. Apparently I speak like someone from Florida. Jacksonville and Miami. Go Jaguars/Dolphins?

I got North East Texas, which North West Louisiana (Shreveport) pretty much is.

And the correct answer for a generic carbonated beverage is Coke.

 kronk wrote:
I got North East Texas, which North West Louisiana (Shreveport) pretty much is.

And the correct answer for a generic carbonated beverage is Coke.

Only if it's dark brown in color. You can't call a Sprite a Coke.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:

 kronk wrote:
I got North East Texas, which North West Louisiana (Shreveport) pretty much is.

And the correct answer for a generic carbonated beverage is Coke.

Only if it's dark brown in color. You can't call a Sprite a Coke.

Yeah, kronk. That's just silly. It seems an encyclopedic knowledge of how to woo the ladies does not extend to perfectly understanding soda pop vernacular.

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:
Still, "The devil is beating his wife"? Does anyone actually say that?

Yes. Virginians know that means it's sunny & raining...


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:

 kronk wrote:
I got North East Texas, which North West Louisiana (Shreveport) pretty much is.

And the correct answer for a generic carbonated beverage is Coke.

Only if it's dark brown in color. You can't call a Sprite a Coke.

Sure they do:
"I'd like a Coke."
"OK, what kind?"
"Sprite."

 JohnHwangDD wrote:

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:
Still, "The devil is beating his wife"? Does anyone actually say that?

Yes. Virginians know that means it's sunny & raining...


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:

 kronk wrote:
I got North East Texas, which North West Louisiana (Shreveport) pretty much is.

And the correct answer for a generic carbonated beverage is Coke.

Only if it's dark brown in color. You can't call a Sprite a Coke.

Sure they do:
"I'd like a Coke."
"OK, what kind?"
"Sprite."

The Hwangster is 100% accurate on both counts.
"What kind of coke do you want?"
"Pepsi."
"coming right up."

 Frazzled wrote:

 JohnHwangDD wrote:

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:
Still, "The devil is beating his wife"? Does anyone actually say that?

Yes. Virginians know that means it's sunny & raining...


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:

 kronk wrote:
I got North East Texas, which North West Louisiana (Shreveport) pretty much is.

And the correct answer for a generic carbonated beverage is Coke.

Only if it's dark brown in color. You can't call a Sprite a Coke.

Sure they do:
"I'd like a Coke."
"OK, what kind?"
"Sprite."

The Hwangster is 100% accurate on both counts.
"What kind of coke do you want?"
"Pepsi."
"coming right up."

"What do you want?"
"Coke."
"What kind."
"Coke."
"I know. What kind."
"Coke!"
"Do you mean Coca-cola?"
"No I want cocaine!"

Having lived all sorts of places, the quiz places me in NYC. Which is a little amusing, as that was only 5 years of my life, and it was all upstate...

I got New York, Boston and Providence.

My most distinctive answer for all three is that I pronounce Mary, marry and merry differently to each other.

My least similar and the answers which are least distinctive of those areas are Des Moines (no word for night before halloween), Little Rock (first syllable of lawyer rhymes with boy, I can't even make myself say it with the first syllable rhyming with flaw it just sounds so wrong! ) and Springfield (firefly).

 A Town Called Malus wrote:
I got New York, Boston and Providence.

My most distinctive answer for all three is that I pronounce Mary, marry and merry differently to each other.

Out of int erst, how do you pronounce them? Because they are all the same to me.

 Co'tor Shas wrote:

 A Town Called Malus wrote:
I got New York, Boston and Providence.

My most distinctive answer for all three is that I pronounce Mary, marry and merry differently to each other.

Out of int erst, how do you pronounce them? Because they are all the same to me.

You'd fit in well in the north of England. Had a friend at Uni from Yorkshire and she said them all the same, too

Mary is mare, as in the word for a female horse, with "ee" added afterwards, it rhymes with hairy or canary. Marry rhymes with Harry, parry or carry. And merry rhymes with Jerry, berry etc.

 A Town Called Malus wrote:

 Co'tor Shas wrote:

 A Town Called Malus wrote:
I got New York, Boston and Providence.

My most distinctive answer for all three is that I pronounce Mary, marry and merry differently to each other.

Out of int erst, how do you pronounce them? Because they are all the same to me.

You'd fit in well in the north of England. Had a friend at Uni from Yorkshire and she said them all the same, too

Mary is mare, as in the word for a female horse, with "ee" added afterwards, it rhymes with hairy or canary. Marry rhymes with Harry, parry or carry. And merry rhymes with Jerry, berry etc.

Well that doesn't help, I pronounce those all the same!

 Frazzled wrote:
Whats a sunshower?

It's a shower of rain when the sun is out. Shower. Sun. Sunshower

 Co'tor Shas wrote:

 A Town Called Malus wrote:

 Co'tor Shas wrote:

 A Town Called Malus wrote:
I got New York, Boston and Providence.

My most distinctive answer for all three is that I pronounce Mary, marry and merry differently to each other.

Out of int erst, how do you pronounce them? Because they are all the same to me.

You'd fit in well in the north of England. Had a friend at Uni from Yorkshire and she said them all the same, too

Mary is mare, as in the word for a female horse, with "ee" added afterwards, it rhymes with hairy or canary. Marry rhymes with Harry, parry or carry. And merry rhymes with Jerry, berry etc.

Well that doesn't help, I pronounce those all the same!

Oh dear

Ummm, what about taking the fairy Mary down to the dairy where she has to choose to marry Larry, Gary or Barry and then a very merry Terry gets with Perry down in Derry?

 A Town Called Malus wrote:

 Co'tor Shas wrote:

 A Town Called Malus wrote:

 Co'tor Shas wrote:

 A Town Called Malus wrote:
I got New York, Boston and Providence.

My most distinctive answer for all three is that I pronounce Mary, marry and merry differently to each other.

Out of int erst, how do you pronounce them? Because they are all the same to me.

You'd fit in well in the north of England. Had a friend at Uni from Yorkshire and she said them all the same, too

Mary is mare, as in the word for a female horse, with "ee" added afterwards, it rhymes with hairy or canary. Marry rhymes with Harry, parry or carry. And merry rhymes with Jerry, berry etc.

Well that doesn't help, I pronounce those all the same!

Oh dear

Ummm, what about taking the fairy Mary down to the dairy where she has to choose to marry Larry, Gary or Barry and then a very merry Terry gets with Perry down in Derry?

Yup, all the same. lots of Air-ee

Also all the same.

 Co'tor Shas wrote:

 A Town Called Malus wrote:

 Co'tor Shas wrote:

 A Town Called Malus wrote:

 Co'tor Shas wrote:

 A Town Called Malus wrote:
I got New York, Boston and Providence.

My most distinctive answer for all three is that I pronounce Mary, marry and merry differently to each other.

Out of int erst, how do you pronounce them? Because they are all the same to me.

You'd fit in well in the north of England. Had a friend at Uni from Yorkshire and she said them all the same, too

Mary is mare, as in the word for a female horse, with "ee" added afterwards, it rhymes with hairy or canary. Marry rhymes with Harry, parry or carry. And merry rhymes with Jerry, berry etc.

Well that doesn't help, I pronounce those all the same!

Oh dear

Ummm, what about taking the fairy Mary down to the dairy where she has to choose to marry Larry, Gary or Barry and then a very merry Terry gets with Perry down in Derry?

Yup, all the same. lots of Air-ee

Haha, wow

Well, we at least worked out that we say Mary the same

 Co'tor Shas wrote:

 A Town Called Malus wrote:

 Co'tor Shas wrote:

 A Town Called Malus wrote:
I got New York, Boston and Providence.

My most distinctive answer for all three is that I pronounce Mary, marry and merry differently to each other.

Out of int erst, how do you pronounce them? Because they are all the same to me.

You'd fit in well in the north of England. Had a friend at Uni from Yorkshire and she said them all the same, too

Mary is mare, as in the word for a female horse, with "ee" added afterwards, it rhymes with hairy or canary. Marry rhymes with Harry, parry or carry. And merry rhymes with Jerry, berry etc.

Well that doesn't help, I pronounce those all the same!

For myself, I pronounce Mary one way, and marry and merry the same.... The difference is, when saying something like Mary got married last weekend and it was a merry affair... the 'A' in Mary is slightly more emphasized/pronounced than it is in marry or merry.

 sebster wrote:

 Frazzled wrote:
Whats a sunshower?

It's a shower of rain when the sun is out. Shower. Sun. Sunshower

Or, as we brits like to call it, Summer.




Also, how long until DINLT comes in to tell us about how the English speaking countries of the world are separated by a common language?

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:
New York Times dialect quiz

That was fun. And yeah, it pegged me as either NY, Yonkers or Jersey so obviously it's 100% accurate

Still, "The devil is beating his wife"? Does anyone actually say that?



http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/12/20/sunday-review/dialect-quiz-map.html

I got Columbus, Lincoln and ... oddly enough Akron. Akron is just right up the road from me. Pretty interesting.

 JohnHwangDD wrote:

Sure they do:
"I'd like a Coke."
"OK, what kind?"
"Sprite."

This guy gets it!

Also, who calls a Rolly Polly a centipede?

You find these whenever you pick up an old piece of wood or something in the back yard.

 kronk wrote:

 JohnHwangDD wrote:

Sure they do:
"I'd like a Coke."
"OK, what kind?"
"Sprite."

This guy gets it!

Also, who calls a Rolly Polly a centipede?

You find these whenever you pick up an old piece of wood or something in the back yard.

We used them milk bugs. Certain times of year they will flood the back porch. TBone the Magnificant would have a grand old time and eat them until he burst, then he would purposefully step on all the rest.

I've always known them as "Roly Poly Pillbugs".
I love those little guys. I used to keep them as pets when I was a kid.

Worked 'Devil is beating his wife' into a conversation on FB today.

Life is good.

@KK - now try to work 10 "meows" into your next conversation.

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:
Worked 'Devil is beating his wife' into a conversation on FB today.

Life is good.

This is the internet. You know the rules

Pics or it didn't happen

 LordofHats wrote:

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:
Worked 'Devil is beating his wife' into a conversation on FB today.

Life is good.

This is the internet. You know the rules

Pics or it didn't happen

And a comment on a picture you uploaded of the devil literally beating Mrs. The Devil does not count.

Well, I got Pittsburgh, Toledo, and Detroit. Because we say pop, call the tiny bugs potato bugs, and the night before Halloween is called Devils Night. I don't even say yinz and it knew

Working through this now ...

First few questions imply I'm strongly like all of the US except the South. Then the one about caramel, and it reverses.

In the end, the closest matches for my Glasgow dialect are Boston, New York and Honolulu.

Montgomery, AL; Birmingham, AL; and Jackson, MS with all the red centered on the Tri-State area of Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. It pegged me pretty good.

Centered right around Michigan, where I'm from. We're like northern rednecks, but somehow have completely erased any accent, instead sounding like bland newscasters.

Heh. I got Yonkers, New York and Baltimore. Is that good or bad?

 Iron_Captain wrote:
Heh. I got Yonkers, New York and Baltimore. Is that good or bad?

It means you sound cultured, unlike those red-necks down south.

 Iron_Captain wrote:
Heh. I got Yonkers, New York and Baltimore. Is that good or bad?

It's not good, my friend

I took the test and my Englishness probably caused it to have a seizure; it crashed trying to work out which part of the USA I was least from. Oops, sorry if I broke the internet.

I got St Paul/Minneapolis, Omaha, and Rockford.

The first makes sense, saying I live about 3 minutes from downtown St Paul.

The other two are just spill over from the massive red glory that is Minnesota. Saying my match to them is... barely matching according to their scale.


Also, the devil beating his wife has been part of my vocabulary for a good 2-3 years now, after the first time I saw it on something similar like this. It is an all around great saying.

Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore.

Which makes some sense given that I've lived in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Harrisburg.

However...those are three very different *accents*. LOL.

Yinz *and* hun? Ha!

Wow pretty good

got me pegged straight in California. two of the options basically right where i live.
San jose, long beach and Glendale
neet.