Barry Popik wrote:
>
> PITCH-IN SUPPER
>
> I'll re-post this here from the American Dialect Society list--Barry
> Popik.
>
>
> http://www.indystar.com/articles/7/172637-9237-047.html
> Indiana 'pitches in' with its own brand of slang terminology
> August 24, 2004
>
> Hoosiers speak their own language. Here's a quick glossary of terms,
> courtesy of the Indiana University Department of Linguistics.
>
> Pitch-in: A gathering where everyone contributes a dish to eat, known
> by the rest of the English-speaking world as a potluck.
>
> Mango: Ha! You thought it was a tropical fruit. For some weird reason,
> a lot of folks around Bloomington and Terre Haute use this word to
> describe a green pepper.
>
> Toboggan: Nope, not a sled. To Hoosiers in the southern part of the
> state, this is a knit cap worn in winter.
>
> Nibnose: A nosey person. Can also be an adjective, e.g. "She's awfully
> nibbey."

Here in Penna. (at least in the Pittsburgh area) we say
"nebby nose". Examples - "You're such a nebby nose, wanting
to know all about my business." "Quit nebbing into my
business." "Boy, she's a real neb-nose!" I was given to
understand that it was probably a Pa. Dutch term.

We also say "redd up". "Mother told me to redd up my
roon, or else!" Meaning to straighten up or clean up.
I recently saw it in a novel I was reading as "red" up
but I think that may be a typo. It should be "redd".
This also is a Pa. Dutch expression.

> Giggin' (as opposed to gigging): Hunting frogs in order to eat frog
> legs.
>
> Sweep the carpet: Vacuum the carpet.

We always said sweep the carpet when I was growing up.
I say vacuum now because I picked it up from other
people.

Another thing we say here in Pittsburgh, and maybe else
where, as well, is "gum bands" for "rubber bands". Don't
know if I can blame that one on the Pa. Dutch. ;-)

Kate

--
Kate Connally
“If I were as old as I feel, I’d be dead already.”
Goldfish: “The wholesome snack that smiles back,
Until you bite their heads off.”
What if the hokey pokey really *is* what it's all about?