Inasmuch as New Jersey native, I often get confused looks when I try to defend why it’s called “Taylor’s ham” or when I constantly use the phrase “on the coast” throughout the summer. Basically, as Americans, we adopt expressions and mannerisms from whatever state we grew up in that can confuse others. So when Redditor PolylingualAnilingus asked the r/AskAnAmerican subreddit to share the unique sayings they use which immediately indicate where they came from, people certainly had a lot to share. Here are some from across the United States.

1.“Yinz”: Pittsburgh for “y’all”.”

2.“A Michigander can be identified by asking where they are from. They will use their left index finger to point to their right palm. There are only 300,000 Yoopers, and they are as elusive as a Sasquatch; you won’t encounter any never just one.”

—LeBimpo

“I went to school in the UP (Upper Peninsula). You hold the mitten with your right hand, then place your left hand sort of scrunched up at a right angle with the tip of the middle finger touching (Mackinaw) and the thumb protruding upward and outward (Keweenaw Peninsula in Lake Superior), and stir it as you say this.

Then, place your right hand on the point as you explain how far from the nearest red light and in nature you were. »

—OldBlueKat

3.“If the phrase ‘the mountain is out today’ has any meaning, then you’re probably from the Pacific Northwest.”

4.“In Hawaiiwe use “da kine” for something we can’t find a word for: “Hey, did you bring da kine?” means “Did you bring the Whatchamacallit?” » “It’s a kine, isn’t it?” means “What’s-his-face, right?” » Additionally, “da kine” can also be used in place of a word you don’t want to say out loud, usually in front of your parents/teachers: “You have da kine?” My sister has cockroach faces, so I don’t have any anymore” means “Do you have any grass? My sister stole my stash, so I’m completely out.'”

—SuperShineeCoinToss7

“I’ve only lived in Hawaii for three years, but it’s definitely the most modified English in the United States. It took me a little while to understand a lot of what my classmates were saying. class.”

—Dazzling_Honeydew_71

5.“‘Bubbler’ instead of a water fountain means you’re probably talking to someone from Wisconsin or Massachusetts. Although the person from Massachusetts would probably say ‘bubbla’.”

6.“‘Grey duck’ instead of ‘goose’ in the game ‘duck, duck, goose’ is a dead giveaway of a Minnesotan.”

—zugabdu

7.“If someone is waiting ‘on’ a line rather than ‘in’ a line, they are from the New York/NYC subway.”

8.“It’s a somewhat deep cut, but the tap light marks one like the one in Butte, Montana. I guess it’s a reminder to carefully place mining explosives in a drilled hole, and figuratively speaking , it means something like ‘good luck’ or ‘take care.'”

—traveler_

9.“Say ‘bueno bye’ in New Mexico.”

10.“Utah is famous for avoiding curses: devil, dang, shit, frick and shoot.”

—Sarcastic_Rocket

“I spent a summer working in Utah, and it was quite an experience. They are very serious and do not take the name of the Lord in vain. In most of the United States, “Oh My God” is pretty mild, but not in Utah. the only place I ever heard “Oh my God!” and if they were really upset, you might hear, “Well, my God! »

—luminousoblique

11.“If someone puts ‘the’ in front of a highway number (i.e. ‘Take the 405 to the 5’), I know they’re from Southern California.”

12.“‘Fix’.'”

—wooper346

“My wife’s grandparents were from Illinois and they thought it was hilarious that I told them I was about to go back to the dorm.”

—arkstfan

“I’m from California, but my parents are from the South, so I grew up saying it and never thought about it. Until one day in high school, a friend pointed it out to me , and I got embarrassed by her saying, “No, it’s cute, you’re always fixing things!”

—ljlkm

13.“‘Wicked.'”

14.“If you drink ‘pop’ instead of soda, you’re from the Midwest.”

—stylus929

“I was in Washington, D.C., and someone asked a vendor for soft drinks. The vendor and my Maryland group were baffled, asking me if they were talking about popcorn or maybe bubblegum. He told them took so long to start naming Coca-Cola/Pepsi/etc.

—Willothwisp2303

15.“‘Grocery shopping’ means shopping in South Louisiana.”

16.“Midwesterners tend to jump in with the word ‘ope’ when something unexpected happens.”

—eides-of-march

“Funny story: I was an ESL teacher for a few years and a student kept asking me why I said “open” and he got so angry when I told him I didn’t have never said “open” even though he insisted I did. Embarrassingly, it took me about three class periods to realize that my Midwest was slipping away from me, and I said “ope” every time. he was making a mistake.

—_Like_to_Comment_

17.“I grew up in Chicago and recently learned that we were the only ones who said ‘athletic shoes’; everyone else said sneakers or tennis shoes. I just thought tons of people on TV played tennis !”

18.“Using the grammatical construction ‘my car needs to be repaired’ or ‘my lawn needs to be mowed’ instead of ‘my car needs to be repaired’ is an Ohio thing, although it seems to have spread to others Midwest regions.”

—TherealJerseyTom

“I didn’t know it was an Ohio thing! When I learned there should have been a ‘being’ in there, I felt so stupid. It didn’t occur to me in mind that this might be a regional thing.”

—Hide87

19.“If you say to someone, ‘The stars at night are big and bright,’ and they clap four times in a row, you’ll know they’re from Texas.”

20.“If they say they’re going to ‘put something in’ instead of ‘put something away,’ they’re probably from the South.”

—dystopia attopia

“Born in the Midwest teaching in the South, and I adopted this one against my will.”

—chouxandkings1291

21.“The ‘devil’s strip’ for that patch of grass between the sidewalk and the road is an Akron thing. Because it’s not yours, but the city makes you mow it so the devil can take.”

22.“If they call every soft drink a Coke, even if it’s not Coca-Cola, they’re from the South.”

—Cruise

“Here, South Texas. I moved to California when I was a kid and I was very confused when I asked for a Coca-Cola, and someone handed me a Coca-Cola instead of ask me what kind.”

—yesusername

23.“If someone says ‘bodega’ when referring to a convenience store, they’re automatically from New York. Plus, they’ll use ‘yerrr’ as a greeting.”

24.“Asking someone to do something and telling them ‘I don’t care’ means they don’t mind doing the thing and will do it. Damn Tennessee people, this shit is confusing and not grammatically correct.”

—throwawtphone

“East Tennessee, absolutely. It threw my wife (from Maryland) when she moved here. It was a phrase I had heard forever and always knew exactly what it meant. Almost like , ‘I could do that.'”

—ReservoirSaladin

25.“In New Jersey, we go down the coast instead of going to the beach.”

Are there any sayings or mannerisms specific to your condition? Let us hear it in the comments, or fill out this anonymous form!

Note: Some answers have been edited for length and/or clarity.