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2 Apr 2008 01:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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ljgeoff, an open-ended U.S. regional vocabulary (and behavior) quiz. I think it works best if you fill the quiz out before looking at other people's answers. My answers are under the cut.
1. A body of water, smaller than a river, contained within relatively narrow banks.
2. What the thing you push around the grocery store is called.
3. A metal container to carry a meal in.
4. The thing that you cook bacon and eggs in.
5. The piece of furniture that seats three people.
6. The device on the outside of the house that carries rain off the roof.
7. The covered area outside a house where people sit in the evening.
8. Carbonated, sweetened, non-alcoholic beverages.
9. A flat, round breakfast food served with syrup.
10. A long sandwich designed to be a whole meal in itself.
11. The piece of clothing worn by men at the beach?
12. Shoes worn for sports.
13. Putting a room in order.
14. A flying insect that glows in the dark.
15. The little insect that curls up into a ball.
16. The children's playground equipment where one kid sits on one side and goes up while the other sits on the other side and goes down.
17. How do you eat your pizza?
18. What's it called when private citizens put up signs and sell their used stuff?
19. What's the evening meal?
20. The thing under a house where the furnace and perhaps a rec room are?
21. What do you call the thing that you can get water out of to drink in public places?
my answers
I list all the terms I use, in order of how often I use them. For reference, I grew up mostly in Michigan near Detroit, but my relatives all come from Illinois. Then I spent 10 years in Connecticut and after that 20 years in California.
1. A body of water, smaller than a river, contained within relatively narrow banks.
Stream, creek
2. What the thing you push around the grocery store is called.
Cart, shopping cart, grocery cart
3. A metal container to carry a meal in.
Lunchbox
4. The thing that you cook bacon and eggs in.
Frying pan
5. The piece of furniture that seats three people.
Couch
6. The device on the outside of the house that carries rain off the roof.
Gutters, downspouts
7. The covered area outside a house where people sit in the evening.
Porch
8. Carbonated, sweetened, non-alcoholic beverages.
Soda (I used to call it pop, but changed to soda when I moved to the East Coast and never went back)
9. A flat, round breakfast food served with syrup.
Pancake
10. A long sandwich designed to be a whole meal in itself.
Sub (I called it a grinder when I lived in Connecticut)
11. The piece of clothing worn by men at the beach?
Depending on the kind of item it is: Swim trunks, board shorts, briefs
12. Shoes worn for sports.
Tennis shoes, running shoes, high-tops, cross-trainers (IOW, I mostly don't use a generic term for them; I identify them by the type of sport they're associated with. In Michigan when I was growing up, they were tennis shoes or tennies.)
13. Putting a room in order.
Tidying
14. A flying insect that glows in the dark.
Firefly
15. The little insect that curls up into a ball.
Pillbug
16. The children's playground equipment where one kid sits on one side and goes up while the other sits on the other side and goes down.
Teeter-totter
17. How do you eat your pizza?
Pick up a piece with my right hand, supporting bottom with my left hand. If it's a wedge shape, I fold in half lengthwise, eat from point back. If it's a square shape I eat from one corner without folding.
18. What's it called when private citizens put up signs and sell their used stuff?
Garage sale, tag sale, yard sale
19. What's the evening meal?
Dinner
20. The thing under a house where the furnace and perhaps a rec room are?
Basement.
21. What do you call the thing that you can get water out of to drink in public places?
Drinking fountain, water fountain,
ljgeoff, an open-ended 1. A body of water, smaller than a river, contained within relatively narrow banks.
2. What the thing you push around the grocery store is called.
3. A metal container to carry a meal in.
4. The thing that you cook bacon and eggs in.
5. The piece of furniture that seats three people.
6. The device on the outside of the house that carries rain off the roof.
7. The covered area outside a house where people sit in the evening.
8. Carbonated, sweetened, non-alcoholic beverages.
9. A flat, round breakfast food served with syrup.
10. A long sandwich designed to be a whole meal in itself.
11. The piece of clothing worn by men at the beach?
12. Shoes worn for sports.
13. Putting a room in order.
14. A flying insect that glows in the dark.
15. The little insect that curls up into a ball.
16. The children's playground equipment where one kid sits on one side and goes up while the other sits on the other side and goes down.
17. How do you eat your pizza?
18. What's it called when private citizens put up signs and sell their used stuff?
19. What's the evening meal?
20. The thing under a house where the furnace and perhaps a rec room are?
21. What do you call the thing that you can get water out of to drink in public places?
my answers
I list all the terms I use, in order of how often I use them. For reference, I grew up mostly in Michigan near Detroit, but my relatives all come from Illinois. Then I spent 10 years in Connecticut and after that 20 years in California.
1. A body of water, smaller than a river, contained within relatively narrow banks.
Stream, creek
2. What the thing you push around the grocery store is called.
Cart, shopping cart, grocery cart
3. A metal container to carry a meal in.
Lunchbox
4. The thing that you cook bacon and eggs in.
Frying pan
5. The piece of furniture that seats three people.
Couch
6. The device on the outside of the house that carries rain off the roof.
Gutters, downspouts
7. The covered area outside a house where people sit in the evening.
Porch
8. Carbonated, sweetened, non-alcoholic beverages.
Soda (I used to call it pop, but changed to soda when I moved to the East Coast and never went back)
9. A flat, round breakfast food served with syrup.
Pancake
10. A long sandwich designed to be a whole meal in itself.
Sub (I called it a grinder when I lived in Connecticut)
11. The piece of clothing worn by men at the beach?
Depending on the kind of item it is: Swim trunks, board shorts, briefs
12. Shoes worn for sports.
Tennis shoes, running shoes, high-tops, cross-trainers (IOW, I mostly don't use a generic term for them; I identify them by the type of sport they're associated with. In Michigan when I was growing up, they were tennis shoes or tennies.)
13. Putting a room in order.
Tidying
14. A flying insect that glows in the dark.
Firefly
15. The little insect that curls up into a ball.
Pillbug
16. The children's playground equipment where one kid sits on one side and goes up while the other sits on the other side and goes down.
Teeter-totter
17. How do you eat your pizza?
Pick up a piece with my right hand, supporting bottom with my left hand. If it's a wedge shape, I fold in half lengthwise, eat from point back. If it's a square shape I eat from one corner without folding.
18. What's it called when private citizens put up signs and sell their used stuff?
Garage sale, tag sale, yard sale
19. What's the evening meal?
Dinner
20. The thing under a house where the furnace and perhaps a rec room are?
Basement.
21. What do you call the thing that you can get water out of to drink in public places?
Drinking fountain, water fountain,
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no subject
Date: 2 Apr 2008 08:42 pm (UTC)1. A body of water, smaller than a river, contained within relatively narrow banks: Creek or Stream (assuming from context it's moving)
2. What the thing you push around the grocery store is called: Cart
3. A metal container to carry a meal in: Metal - lunch pail or lunch bucket; any hard-sided - lunch box; soft-sided - lunch bag
4. The thing that you cook bacon and eggs in: pan or skillet (pan is more general, and includes skillets and saucepans)
5. The piece of furniture that seats three people: couch, sofa, or davenport (couch usually, sofa at random, davenport for a specific piece of family furniture that is always referred to as "the davenport.")
6. The device on the outside of the house that carries rain off the roof: Gutters carry off the rain; gutters are attached to the eaves.
7. The covered area outside a house where people sit in the evening: Porch.
8. Carbonated, sweetened, non-alcoholic beverages: Soda mostly, occasionally soft drink or pop
9. A flat, round breakfast food served with syrup: Pancakes, generally. Variants include crepes (very thin), griddle-cakes (fairly thick), or flapjacks (just an alternative word)
10. A long sandwich designed to be a whole meal in itself: Sub, hoagie, grinder -- those are the first words to come to mind anyway. I think there are several others I recognize. Oh, and a poor-boy is a particular type of these sandwiches, involving the protein in the filling being breaded and fried. Sub is probably the most common word for me, with hoagie coming in second.
11. The piece of clothing worn by men at the beach: trunks, swim trunks.
12. Shoes worn for sports: sneakers, tennis shoes.
13. Putting a room in order: straighten, tidy, ret up (no idea where that last one comes from).
14. A flying insect that glows in the dark: Lightning bug or firefly.
15. The little insect that curls up into a ball: Pill bug or roly-poly (also potato bug, but I think that's more a "real" name and the other two are what I *call* them.)
16. The children's playground equipment where one kid sits on one side and goes up while the other sits on the other side and goes down: Teeter totter -- also see-saw. Teeter totter is probably what I think first, though.
17. How do you eat your pizza? Point to crust. By hand.
18. What's it called when private citizens put up signs and sell their used stuff? Sale -- garage, yard, or rummage.
19. What's the evening meal? Dinner or supper -- supper is light, dinner is a more major meal.
20. The thing under a house where the furnace and perhaps a rec room are? Basement -- but I grew up with Cellar, too. Ah -- Basements are more likely to be finished than cellars are -- and cellar is also storm cellar or a cellar where you store food over the winter.
21. What do you call the thing that you can get water out of to drink in public places? Water fountain, drinking fountain, bubbler. (Bubbler in Wisconsin; I think some place I was just called it a fountain, but to me that's a public water display or some sort. Water fountain or drinking fountain are clearer.)