A rancher out past Marathon watches the sky turn strange shades of gray and calls it a blue norther before the front even arrives. A visitor just calls it a cold front. These are the words, foods, and customs that instantly give away a lifelong Texan. 1. Icehouse Icehouse means a bar to a lifelong…
Live in South Carolina long enough, and certain behaviors start running in the background. A glance at the hurricane cone, a quick check of the yard, and one look at the barbecue sauce bottle happen without a second thought. These are habits South Carolinians develop without ever realizing it. 1. Naming Their Corner of the…
More than 100,000 people crowd Lexington every October for one plate of barbecue. Many out-of-staters will order it wrong before they even sit down. These are the North Carolina barbecue rules outsiders break at every cookout. 1. Choosing a Sauce Side North Carolina barbecue splits into two camps, and picking one out loud, whether at…
To Americans who didn’t grow up in Iowa, Casey’s is just another gas station. To Iowans, it’s the unofficial pizza standard. These are the small signs that give an Iowa transplant away, no matter where they land in the United States. 1. Bragging About Corn An Iowa transplant brings up corn within the first five…
New York City almost lost its doormen this spring. Thirty-four thousand of them threatened to walk off the job before a new contract saved them in April, days before a strike would have hit thousands of buildings. Doormen say the job starts the second someone walks through the lobby door, long before anyone says a…
A black-and-white rerun flickers on during a family dinner in Erie, and somebody’s dad repeats the punchline out loud a half-second before the actor on screen gets there. He meant it, back in the day. The kids at the table just look at each other. These are the 1960s phrases that turn a family dinner…
Ever hear a South Carolina Bojangles regular call the place by its full name? Neither have we. Regulars shorten it to “Bo’s,” and a cashier can usually clock a first-timer by the pronunciation of the fast food chain’s full name alone. These are the habits that separate a South Carolina Bojangles regular from a first-timer….
A 1998 survey of Oklahoma speakers found that a third of them used “y’all” to address just one person, not a group. Strict Southern grammar has a blunt word for that move. A mistake. These are the Southern sayings Georgians keep using wrong without ever realizing it. 1. Can’t Never Could Georgians who grew up…
Florida elementary schoolers have raised more than $2 million putting their own crayon-and-marker art on license plates that end up bolted to a stranger’s bumper. Grown adults drive around with a fifth grader’s manatee drawing bolted to their bumper. Only someone who sat through Florida public school thinks that’s the most normal thing in the…
Tennessee borders eight other states, tied with Missouri for more neighbors than any state in the country. Certain foods and drinks locals consume change at nearly every one of those lines. A dish that’s second nature in Memphis can draw a blank stare two hours up the road in Nashville. Neither one means much once…
