Definition: — to set in order; to make things tidy — used especially with up
Example: People are coming over tonight, I gotta redd up the house.
Associated with western Pennsylvania and especially the Pittsburgh dialect, this verb phrase is Scottish in origin.
Definition: — used in contexts in which “excuse me,” “sorry,” and “oops” are used
Example: Ope, just gotta sneak by you.
Ope is associated with the Midwest and especially with Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, but also claimed by folks in North Dakota and other parts. It may be an alteration of oops.
Definition: — used for a jelly doughnut or a deep-fried round cake filled with jelly
Example: A dozen bismarcks, please.
The Dictionary of American Regional English reports that this term is used especially in the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes region of the US. We assume they're the lucky ones who get to eat them too.
Definition: — a projecting framework with a sloping door giving access to a cellar stairway or a shaft
Example: The kids like to slide down the bulkhead like they’re at a playground.
While those who live near bodies of water may use bulkhead to refer to a retaining wall along a waterfront, in New England the term is also something you might see attached to a house. Bulk alone can refer to a structure projecting from a building.
Definition: — used in Alaska in August or later to refer to the first fall of snow seen on mountain peaks and marking the end of summer
Example: Termination dust means that it’s time to bring the winter gear out again.
Termination dust is said to be referred to as such because the snow traditionally marked the coming job terminations for those working in construction.
Definition: — used in some parts of Texas to refer to a convenience store
Example: I’ll stop by the icehouse and pick up some bread.
In broad use, an icehouse is a building in which ice is made or stored. The Dictionary of American Regional English posits that the “convenience store” use is extended from the word’s use to refer to a place where you can buy ice.
Definition: — a dense winter fog containing frozen particles that is formed in deep mountain valleys of the western U.S.
Example: The pogonip had turned the world into an icy wonderland.
Pogonip comes from the Shoshone word paγɨnappɨh, meaning “cloud.”
Definition: - a roofed shelter with usually open sides
Example: The kids played in the shade of the ramada.
Ramada is used in the southwestern United States. It’s an American Spanish word that comes from the Spanish ramada meaning “arbor.”
Definition: — used in parts of Ohio to refer to a strip of ground lying between the sidewalk line and the curb line, usually turfed, and commonly planted with shade trees
Example: I love to see wildflowers blooming in the devil’s strip.
The Dictionary of American Regional English reports that the term is probably from the strip “being a sort of no-man’s-land between public and private property.”
Definition: milkshake
Example: I’ll have a cabinet and fries, please.
If you’re in Rhode Island or southeastern Massachusetts and hankering for a milkshake you can order a cabinet instead and get what you’re after. The Dictionary of American Regional English reports that this use first appeared in the phrase royal cabinet at a time when royal was used in product names to appeal to those who wanted something particularly nice. It seems that the drinks were delicious enough to eventually sell without having to suggest a monarchy.
