 
Chuckjav
Member
Username: Chuckjav
Post Number: 1376
Registered: 09-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, January 08, 2009 - 1:27 pm: |    |
Detroitism: "Iron Pimp" (DSR Bus) |
Chuckjav
Member
Username: Chuckjav
Post Number: 1377
Registered: 09-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, January 08, 2009 - 1:28 pm: | |
Detroitism: "Deuce & a Quarter" (Buick Electra 225) |
Diehard
Member
Username: Diehard
Post Number: 651
Registered: 03-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, January 08, 2009 - 1:29 pm: | |
"Me and my buddies we're going to the bar."
"What'd you do last night? We went to the bar."
I always thought that was funny - which bar? Anywhere else people would say "we're going to the Majestic" or "we hung out at the Lager House" or someplace specific. |
Jimg
Member
Username: Jimg
Post Number: 496
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, January 08, 2009 - 1:55 pm: | |
The way 'asshole' is pronounced, as in "he's a ASShole,' always preceded by 'a' & accent on the first syllable... |
Chuckjav
Member
Username: Chuckjav
Post Number: 1378
Registered: 09-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, January 08, 2009 - 2:07 pm: | |
Savannah........speaking of Oak Park, it is the only community where - as a child - I saw folks holding up the index & pinkie finger, as a sign of defiance & anger |
Awfavre
Member
Username: Awfavre
Post Number: 271
Registered: 08-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, January 08, 2009 - 2:16 pm: | |
I third the tendency to add the ’s to the end of everything (Ford’s, K-Mart’s, etc.). There’s a woman I know in the U.P. who grew up in Detroit, & she puts it on everything. Drives me nuts. On the other hand, I’m originally from the Central Michigan area, & we always called the store Meijer Thrifty Acres “Meijer’s.”
We also called couches davenports, & my grandparents were originally from the Minnesota area, so I don’t think it’s just a SE Michigan thing.
I only hear “doorwall” from people who hale from the SE Michigan area.
New ones for me as of the last ten years:
*“Shut the noise!” as a response along the lines of, “You’re kidding!”
*“Hook a left/right,” to indicate which way to turn.
*“Mmm hmm," as a non-verbal response, usually indicating affirmation of what the speaker just said. Often used around strangers.
*“Mmm,” as another non-verbal response to just about anything. It’s usually low & guttural & sounds like the noise wildebeests make – almost like a mini-moo. I find it most often indicates a negative response & is accompanied by a frown or a glare. |
Carolcb
Member
Username: Carolcb
Post Number: 2373
Registered: 11-2006
| | Posted on Thursday, January 08, 2009 - 2:18 pm: | |
I remember the "give to the poor" thing on Halloween.
My neighbor always said "get sweated" when her kids were out in the summer, and she also said "gooms" for gums.
I cannot remember anything more - I have been gone too long. But people still tell me they know I am not "from around here". |
Johnlodge
Member
Username: Johnlodge
Post Number: 9121
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, January 08, 2009 - 2:19 pm: | |
quote:*“Mmm,” as another non-verbal response to just about anything. It’s usually low & guttural & sounds like the noise wildebeests make – almost like a mini-moo. I find it most often indicates a negative response & is accompanied by a frown or a glare.
Like Marge Simpson? |
Big_baby_jebus
Member
Username: Big_baby_jebus
Post Number: 29
Registered: 09-2008
| | Posted on Thursday, January 08, 2009 - 2:19 pm: | |
"What up doe?" |
Izzyindetroit
Member
Username: Izzyindetroit
Post Number: 176
Registered: 07-2008
| | Posted on Thursday, January 08, 2009 - 2:22 pm: | |
"Shut the noise!" reminds me of "Fuck that noise" which is a response to something you disagree with. |
Onthe405
Member
Username: Onthe405
Post Number: 90
Registered: 11-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, January 08, 2009 - 2:25 pm: | |
Oladub,rather than a "Midwest accent", a "Great Lakes accent" is a more accurate description from my observation.
The extended nasal short "a"s (Haaaem Saaaendwich) & excessively short "o" (the ubiquitous "pop" for soda) is common from WI through metro Chicago, northern Indiana, southern Michigan, northern Ohio, and into western NY.
Obviously, there are no hard boundaries, but the accent begins to vary into northern MI/MN/ND (blending Canadian & Norwegian influences), moving south in OH, IN, IL (blending in some southern twang) and eastward in NY state. Once you get into states like NE, KS, MO, IA which are also part of the "Midwest" there is not nearly the pronounced accent found in the Great Lakes area.
When flying to Detroit from more distant areas of the country, I always find it fascinating to listen to the conversations. I can usually tell immediately by their accent and topic of conversation which people are "heading home" vs. those visiting-–even before they "tell their story" to the passenger sitting next to them.
Culturally, comedians like Chris Farley ("da Bulls, da Bears") and Edie McClurg (Second City) created archetypal characters based on the working-class provincialism of their upbringing in the upper midwest.
|
Awfavre
Member
Username: Awfavre
Post Number: 272
Registered: 08-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, January 08, 2009 - 2:33 pm: | |
JL, Marge Simpson has the same sound/note, but hers is like a dog’s warning growl – it lasts longer. What I usually hear has more of a staccato sound. |
Django
Member
Username: Django
Post Number: 2177
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, January 08, 2009 - 2:34 pm: | |
Im lookin foward to start refering to my Pop as Cat Daddy. To bad he didnt buy the Bro-ham.
I dont think "Hey Boo" has been mentioned, Boo feels very Detroit.
Crackin up with Zulus "dont make me have to pop the trunk" another classic. I first heard that in a movie but cant remember which one.
"you get served yet" or "whos servin you"
you can hear on any notorious corner in the D. |
Django
Member
Username: Django
Post Number: 2178
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, January 08, 2009 - 2:41 pm: | |
I think a lot us remember shopping at Monkey Wards. Or was that only my Grandfather who said that?
Awfvre, it was also K-Marts and Fords with my family, no doubt a Grandpawism. |
Grumpyoldlady
Member
Username: Grumpyoldlady
Post Number: 308
Registered: 06-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, January 08, 2009 - 2:53 pm: | |
I was born in Detroit in 1949 and lived there until 1989. My parents came to Detroit from Kentucky in 1929. My mom always used the term "davenport" when referring to the couch. I didn't even know what a "sofa" was until I was in high school. I now live in Minnesota and have never heard anyone use the term "davenport".
As for "pop" and "soda"....A soda is a confection made in a malt or soda shop...ice cream, flavored syrup and a few squirts of carbonated soda water. "Pop" to me is any carbonated softdrink...Vernor's (the best of all), Coke, etc.
Around here the "foot feed" is the common term for the accelerator or gas pedal. Asking if someone wants to "go with", as in "Do you want to go with (me)?
Leaving out words...as in "this needs (to be) fixed" or "the soup needs (to be) stirred" |
Grumpyoldlady
Member
Username: Grumpyoldlady
Post Number: 309
Registered: 06-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, January 08, 2009 - 2:56 pm: | |
D'troit is the proper pronunciation. Pronouncing it DEEtroit started with all the southerers that moved to the city. Down south, most still say it that way.
And "prolly" for the lazy man's way to say "probably". That one really bugs me, lol. |
Gazhekwe
Member
Username: Gazhekwe
Post Number: 2822
Registered: 08-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, January 08, 2009 - 3:24 pm: | |
I remember "Help the Poor" also. When we moved up to the Soo, no one had ever heard of it, and we had to switch to "Trick or Treat." I remember the first time out, I started with "Help the Poor" and got some very strange looks. I was nine.
As for Detroit expressions, does anyone else "Mash" buttons? |
Melody
Member
Username: Melody
Post Number: 316
Registered: 11-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, January 08, 2009 - 3:25 pm: | |
"I think a lot us remember shopping at Monkey Wards. Or was that only my Grandfather who said that?"
My mom called it that, too. My mom and aunt also call Target "tar-jay," to make it sound more high class. I wonder if people do that outside of Detroit. |
Laveo44
Member
Username: Laveo44
Post Number: 7
Registered: 09-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, January 08, 2009 - 3:27 pm: | |
Grumpyoldlady, I have lived in Maryland for twenty-two years, and I constantly have to correct people here that pronounce D'troit as Deetroit. It irritates the heck out of me, but everyone just thinks I am being too sensitive.
Judy |
Gazhekwe
Member
Username: Gazhekwe
Post Number: 2823
Registered: 08-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, January 08, 2009 - 3:27 pm: | |
People outside Detroit do say Tarzhay. We used Monkey Wards up north, too. I think it comes from the abbreviation on the catalog orders:
Montg'y Ward
Of course, we added the s at the end, like Fords and KMarts. |
Gds
Member
Username: Gds
Post Number: 13
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, January 08, 2009 - 3:52 pm: | |
Not to beat the "add an S at the end" thing to death but it REALLY bugs me (and I grew up on the East side where it is rampant!)!
At least I can kind of understand Ford's and Meijer's because they are/were really people and you could say you were working at Henry Ford's factory or shopping at Fred Meijer's stores.
The K-Mart'S thing is just pure ignorance to me (even though I used to say it as a kid).
However, I think the biggest recipient of the "add an s" syndrome has got to be bars. If you notice most bars in the area (whether named after someone or not - like "Clancy's") end in an S (think Wild Woody's, Bamboozles, Siloz, etc.).
I once had someone tell me they were going to "Majestics" instead of the "The Majestic" and (showing my age) "Club X's" instead of Club X. But quite possible the most ridiculous is a few years back when my niece told me she was going to "Cafe's" in Pontiac. Being the hip older uncle I am and not having heard of it I naturally asked what it was. She said YOU KNOW "Have a Nice Day Cafe"!
GDS's |
12468_laing
Member
Username: 12468_laing
Post Number: 349
Registered: 07-2008
| | Posted on Thursday, January 08, 2009 - 3:59 pm: | |
i want to chime in on the pop, soda, coke item. i was brought up on the east side and always called it pop. in 1982, i moved to tn where i live to this day. first time i was out to a restaurant and i asked the waitress what kind of pop they had, she didn't know what I meant. I finally said i wanted a coke, and she asked me what kind. I asked her what she meant, and was told, "you know, coke, pepsi or 7 up". it was then i realized the reason the south lost the war. |
Johnlodge
Member
Username: Johnlodge
Post Number: 9124
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, January 08, 2009 - 4:00 pm: | |
I work with a Polish guy, been here probably 10 years or so, adds the "s" to Meijers, Fords, Krogers. How'd that happen? |
Larrym
Member
Username: Larrym
Post Number: 1
Registered: 03-2006
| | Posted on Thursday, January 08, 2009 - 4:53 pm: | |
What does ofay mean? Where and when did you grow up? Insult to a white person from a black person meaning punk, cracker, bitch |
Lizaanne
Member
Username: Lizaanne
Post Number: 128
Registered: 06-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, January 08, 2009 - 5:12 pm: | |
Did I miss it? I can't believe no one has mentioned "you guys"!
Or "I'm going over Susie's house" - OVER her house? Really?
:-) |
Chuckjav
Member
Username: Chuckjav
Post Number: 1382
Registered: 09-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, January 08, 2009 - 5:13 pm: | |
Grumpyoldlady....Yay - a native Detroiter, from my generation too!
Where did you go to high school? |
Homer
Member
Username: Homer
Post Number: 368
Registered: 08-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, January 08, 2009 - 5:18 pm: | |
Probably -> Probly -> Prolly
linear regression? |
Detroits_own
Member
Username: Detroits_own
Post Number: 58
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, January 08, 2009 - 5:21 pm: | |
hoe'd, meaning dissed
boy, refers to a thing |
Chuckjav
Member
Username: Chuckjav
Post Number: 1384
Registered: 09-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, January 08, 2009 - 5:23 pm: | |
Detroitism: "Greaze Back/Grizz Back" (to eat)
(Message edited by chuckjav on January 08, 2009) |
Chuckjav
Member
Username: Chuckjav
Post Number: 1385
Registered: 09-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, January 08, 2009 - 5:25 pm: | |
Detroitism: "Bull-dyger/Bull-dyke" (female homosexual) |