A transplant asks his Beaufort neighbor when the repairman is coming. “Directly,” she says, and closes the door. Three hours later, he’s still waiting because nobody told him that “directly” can mean whenever. These are the words South Carolinians say that leave the rest of us lost. Pluff Mud Walk onto any South Carolina dock…
No, we don’t all surf. Half of California lives closer to a Costco parking lot than a wave. The questions start the second someone hears the word California, and Californians have been fielding them for years. These are the things Californians are tired of explaining to the rest of us. NorCal Versus SoCal Californians argue…
A new coworker from Boston moves to Columbus and starts keeping a list. Every few days, someone says a word or orders a dish that stops them cold. By spring, that list runs long. These are the things the rest of the country says that Ohioans do wrong. Ohioans understandably feel that it’s everyone else…
Think a decade of sunshine can turn a Philly native into a mellow Floridian? Not a chance. Their tan changes. The instincts that came down I-95 with them don’t. These are the Northeast habits that follow transplants all the way to Florida. “The Shore,” Not the Beach You’ve lived in Florida for years, and you…
A man at a Phoenix taco stand waits for his food with his arms crossed, sizing up how long the line will take. Nobody taught him that. Queens did. You can pick out a New York transplant from across a parking lot, years after they signed a lease somewhere warm. These are the habits that…
A Floridian can order lunch, gripe about the bugs, and give you directions without saying one word a Northerner recognizes. It sounds like English. Kind of. These are the everyday words Floridians say that leave Northerners doing a double take. No-See-Ums Floridians warn you about the no-see-ums before they ever mention the sharks. They’re biting…
Pennsylvania’s woods look about as threatening as a state park picnic. That calm is exactly what gets newcomers. The Allegheny hardwoods and the Pocono ridges hide a long list of things that can turn a nice hike sideways, and none of them care that you just moved here. These are the woods hazards transplants keep…
Think you talk like a Texan because you watched a few episodes of “Friday Night Lights”? You don’t. Forget the drawl. What gives a transplant away is the handful of words that mean one thing to a Texan and something else to whoever’s stuck behind them at the H-E-B checkout. These are the sayings that…
Every Florida transplant has a first-week story about an animal. Usually it involves a scream, a broom, and a neighbor who wandered over to laugh. What looks like an emergency to somebody fresh off I-95 is just a Tuesday to anyone raised in Florida. These are the creatures that rattle newcomers while Floridians shrug them…
Think you speak the same English as a Pittsburgh native? You don’t. Somewhere between the Liberty Bell and the Terrible Towel, the language splits in two, and most visitors never catch the switch. These are the Pennsylvania sayings that leave other Americans smiling and completely lost. 1. Yinz Yinz is how western Pennsylvania says “you…
