sir (prob. from "captain") chill bumps (also Midlands) – goose bumps chuck – toss or throw an object (now somewhat widespread) coke – any brand of soft drink commode (also Midlands) – bathroom; restroom; particularly the toilet itself crocus sack (Atlantic), croker sack (Gulf) – burlap bag cut on/off – to turn on/off directly – in a minute; soon; presently dirty rice (esp. Louisiana) – Cajun rice dish consisting of rice, spices, and meat Don't get above your raisin' - regional colloquialism fais-dodo (southern Louisiana) – a party fix – to get ready, to be on the verge of doing, e.g. "I'm fixing to go"; (widespread but esp. South) to prepare food house shoes – bedroom slippers lagniappe (Gulf, esp. Louisiana) – a little bit of something extra locker (esp. Louisiana) – closet make (age) (Gulf, esp. Louisiana) – have a birthday; "He's making 16 tomorrow." neutral ground (Louisiana, Mississippi) – median strip po' boy (scattered, but esp. South) – a long sandwich, typically made with fried oysters, clams, or shrimp put up – put away, put back in its place yankee – northerner; also damn yankee, damned yankee yonder (esp. rural) – over there, or a long distance away; also over yonder West barrow pit (var. of "borrow pit") - an excavated area where material has been dug for use as fill at another location davenport (widespread) – couch or sofa hella or hecka (esp. San Francisco Bay Area) – "very" or "a lot of" pop (widespread in West and North); soda (predominates in California, Arizona, southern Nevada); coke (in parts of New Mexico and Tucson, Arizona) – sweetened carbonated beverage snowmachine (Alaska) – a motor vehicle for travel over snow. Outside Alaska known as a snowmobile Pacific Northwest skid road or skid row – a path made of logs or timbers along which logs are pulled; (widespread) a run-down, impoverished urban area See also American and British English differences section Vocabulary General American List of dialects of the English language Names for soft drinks in the United States Sociolinguistics Notes References External links NY Times dialect quiz R American American English Shibboleths