Vocabulary unique to your region

[The Gravekeeper]

I can't think of a whole lot of slang that's unique to Western Canada (Eastern Canada's like a completely different country: different culture, slang, accent, etc). We've got a bit, though.

Chesterfield = Sofa
Bunny hug (specific to Saskatchewan) = hoodie
Spitting rain (well, more specific to my family, but whatevs) = the sort of rain when it's just a few pathetic little drops here and there, like the sky is just spitting.
Then, of course, there are several different words of snow since we get so much. I mean, there's light, fluffy snow, snow that melts when it hits the ground, snow that's so warm it's almost rain, snow that comes down in big clumps of snowflakes, etc.
And lastly, "sorry." It's rarely used as an apology; in some cases, it actually means "f*ck you." Once you've figured out what the different inflections mean for that one word we Canadians suddenly aren't so polite. Well, at least in Western Canada.

And Burgomaster, "wicked" is used the same way up here. I'm pretty sure that one came up here from the US sometime in the 80's or 90's, though.

[indianasmith]

One thing we joke about in the South is that you can say anything you want about a person, as long as you follow it up with "Bless his heart."


"Uncle Myron is so dumb that he thinks 'going green' means you ate too much lettuce, bless his heart!"

[Newt]

I have family in North Carolina.  They find "Why, bless your heart!" to be a very useful expression.   

I also have family in North Dakota.  Some very interesting things get said there too - but that's not my area.

Canada has its regional differences as well: I grew up in the Ottawa Valley.  The farming community in the valley could be amost incomprehensible - particularly the oldsters!  The one expression that really stands out from there is "G'day".  It has multitudinous variations, most relying on emphasis though sometimes appending the suffix 'eh', and can mean 'hello' 'great to see you!' 'see you later' 'good bye' 'did you ever see the like!' 'what do you think of that!' and several ruder and generally dismissive comments. Generally, the more it sounds like the full words "good day" the more emotional import it carries: most often anger or (less often) awe. The deciding factor is tone. (Whoever said English is not a tonal language never spoke with someone from the valley!  )  If you are happy, you say it clipped/quickly, loudly and double up on it.

So you say to a good friend who just arrived for a surprise visit:  "G'Day g'day!! Come set a spell in the dooryard!"

A bit of colour went out of daily life when I moved to Toronto, but the city has colours of its own.  Most of the sayings I know from there are shorthand for places/institutions or borrowed from other languages.

I know we have at least one member from The Rock (Newfoundland);  I hope he chimes in here too.

[Raffine]

A couple of related tell-tale Southern are "and 'em" and "and that bunch".

"And 'em" refers to a group of people, usually family, whom you actually like.
"And that bunch" refers to a group of people, again usually family, you don't like. Both are always preceded by the name of the perceived head of the group. 

EXAMPLES:

"Andrew and 'em are comin' over for dinner! They always bring such delicious desserts!"

"Andrew and that bunch are comin' over for dinner. They always eat up all the delicious desserts."

And lastly, "sorry."

In the US south, 'sorry' means a person of a low, usually lazy, character.

EXAMPLE: Did you see that sorry thing Bertha married?

[JaseSF]

If I were to speak in my area's primary dialect, very few here would likely understand a word I said...anyways here's some examples:

ahm goin' warsh me clodes (I'm going to wash my clothes)
how's she gorn today meboy? (How are you feeling today?)
well i'm hedded for a cup o tee (I'm going home for a meal)
I just cuts it with me fark (I use my fork to cut my food)
ahm heading in oer de road (I'm going for a trip)
Arn? (Any fish?)
Narn! (No, none)

[HappyGilmore]

Can't think of many, really, although:
Water Ice- apparently most places know it as Snow Cones or Italian Ice's.  We call it Water Ice.
Hoagie- Other places call it a Submarine Sandwich, 'Po Boy, Grinders.  Also, Shorti Hoagie- a sandwich, hoagie actually, available exclusively at the local Philly Exclusive WaWa Convenience Store.  Although, Wawa isn't just a "Philly" thing, but it's located primarily in the region of Philly, New Jersey and Delaware.


Mostly, it's our pronounciation of words that differs us, as well as our slight accents.  For example:
Water- if we're having a conversation, we pronounce water as "Wooder."  Wood with an er at the end, not Wat-er.
Window- we don't say it win-dow, or win-dough as most people.  We say it in a way that it sounds like "Winda", rhymes with Linda.
Acme- the supermarket.  There's a bunch of people around here that say "Ac-a-me" for some reason I can't figure out.

[dean]

You people are all speaking jibberish to me...

[Trevor]

"Bless his/her heart!" when injected into a conversation about a third party gives you permission to say the most terrible things about that person.

EXAMPLE: Trevor, bless his heart, had got the stinkiest underpants in creation.

"Bless your heart", on the other hand, is a phrase meaning deep sympathy and understanding.

TREVOR: I've got the stinkiest underpants in creation.
ME: Why, bless your heart, you poor thing!


NOTE: The examples used in this post are in no way meant to realistically reflect the actual aroma of Trevor's underpants, which I'm  sure is quite refreshing . . . bless his heart.

     

Burning tires and other aromas are nothing compared to my undie aroma. 

[jimmybob]

A bit of colour went out of daily life when I moved to Toronto, but the city has colours of its own.  Most of the sayings I know from there are shorthand for places/institutions or borrowed from other languages.

Where do you live in Toronto?

I live east of there and go downtown often. 

-Jimmybob

[Newt]

A bit of colour went out of daily life when I moved to Toronto, but the city has colours of its own.  Most of the sayings I know from there are shorthand for places/institutions or borrowed from other languages.

Where do you live in Toronto?

I live east of there and go downtown often. 

-Jimmybob

Hey Jimmybob!
My parents were both from T.O.; we moved near Ottawa when I was small and I went back to T.O. for university.  I lived downtown, then moved a bit north and eventually ended up in Willowdale.   Stayed there until 1992 when we bought our hobby farm south of Grimsby.  My son is now at the U of T and we have relatives all over the city (Etobicoke, Rosedale, The Beaches, Islington) so that gives me an excuse to go back downtown as often as I can - love that city!  Where else can one find places like the Silver Snail and Bakka?

My folks moved to ND in 1979.  My youngest brother had a prof at UND (I think) who accurately identified all his linguistic background - the Toronto, Ottawa Valley and ND influences.  That's a pretty impressive ear the man had!

[El Misfit]

how would you like your po boys DRESSED? hmm, no suit and tie? oh, you want it to have lettuce, tomato, pickles, and mayo!

we use DRESSED as a way to say Do you want Lettuce, Tomato, Pickles, and/or Mayo.

[Rev. Powell]

how would you like your po boys DRESSED? hmm, no suit and tie? oh, you want it to have lettuce, tomato, pickles, and mayo!

we use DRESSED as a way to say Do you want Lettuce, Tomato, Pickles, and/or Mayo.

The old folk say "dressed" here in Kentucky as well, only to mean "with everything".  I remember years ago my grandma going into a restaurant in Pennsylvania and asking for her hamburger "dressed."  The waitress literally had no idea what she was talking about: "you mean, you want us to put clothes on it?"  My grandma thought the waitress was being a smart ass.   

[Mr. DS]

People around here add "R" to things they shouldn't which is odd because as previously stated, they drop the "R" where it is needed.  A big one they say is "soder"  as in I'm going to the vending machine to buy a "soder". 

[Rev. Powell]

People around here add "R" to things they shouldn't which is odd because as previously stated, they drop the "R" where it is needed.  A big one they say is "soder"  as in I'm going to the vending machine to buy a "soder". 

Yes, that's the well known principle of conservation of "R"s: "R"s are  neither created nor destroyed, but can only be moved from one word to another.

I once knew I guy from Oklahoma who referred to the Oklahoma Sooners as the "Oklahomer Soonas."

[El Misfit]

how would you like your po boys DRESSED? hmm, no suit and tie? oh, you want it to have lettuce, tomato, pickles, and mayo!

we use DRESSED as a way to say Do you want Lettuce, Tomato, Pickles, and/or Mayo.

The old folk say "dressed" here in Kentucky as well, only to mean "with everything".  I remember years ago my grandma going into a restaurant in Pennsylvania and asking for her hamburger "dressed."  The waitress literally had no idea what she was talking about: "you mean, you want us to put clothes on it?"  My grandma thought the waitress was being a smart ass.   

(pulling a page out of Trevor's Book)