more regional dialect discussion

We've had threads like this before, but I heard a new one recently and wondered how widespread this one is.

A new guy at work is from New York city. He wears contact lenses but calls them "lenses". Where I'm from they're called "contacts". I was watching friends of all things and heard them called "lenses" on there a couple times.

So, what do you call them where you are from?

Contacts, from Ontario, Canada.

I love regional dialects. Around here, the verb "to be" gets dropped. The car needs washed. The lawn needs mowed. The cat needs fed. Makes me laugh every time.

Also, we have the verb "to Baja". ie, "I just Baja'd right over the curb to get into the parking lot".

Contacts in northern and Southern California (big state).

Contacts. Chicago, Illinois.

Contacts, WA

Contacts. Florida.

Contacts, Central PA

I love dialects as well, always try to pick up on that kind of stuff when I'm in a new place.

We do the whole dropping the "to be" thing as well, Keith. "Needs maintenanced" is a pretty common expression that I particularly enjoy.

Does anywhere else do "what for", as in " What for car did you buy?"

I had never heard them called lenses before. I really didn't know what he was talking about until he pointed to his eye.

I've been in NY all my life and I'd always heard them called contacts here. Your friend may be a spy. Address him in Russian and see if he answers.

Contacts in Saskatchewan.

You were watching Friends!?

Contacts, upstate ny

Oh dialect and accents. I will never grow tired of Bostonian profanity. It's an art.

Wall-e wrote: I've been in NY all my life and I'd always heard them called contacts here. Your friend may be a spy. Address him in Russian and see if he answers.

I thought that it may have just been him, but, then I saw it a couple times in friends so thought that it was a new York city thing, maybe it's a specific borough thing?

JohnRW1621 wrote: You were watching Friends!?

Not gonna lie. I binged on it all day Saturday, like twelve hours worth.

Brian wrote: Contacts, upstate ny Oh dialect and accents. I will never grow tired of Bostonian profanity. It's an art.

The masters of profanity and insults may be Mexicans, they seem to have a wide variety and constant stream of them. They seem not to want to talk about it to "outsiders" though.

One I read recently, is the use of "cabrone" (sp). Pretty common, but its basis appears to mean someone who's wife is F'ing another guy! Kind of like how Englanders us the "C" word apparently.

I've heard them called contact lens. Not lenses. 99.99% of people here call them contacts.

Since coming to the northeast a year ago, Im amazing at how many New Yorkers and Northern New Jerseyers I meet that use the phrase "Not for Nothing" before making a mildly opinionated statement. Example - "Not for nothing, I like the pork roll at this deli better than the other one."

I have no idea what it means.

We also have "real quick" around here. ie: I'm just going to do this real quick, or I just have a question real quick. It translates as "I know I'm about to waste your time, and I don't care".

Here's one: is it "Ski doo" or "skid-doo"? Warning, there is only one correct answer to this one.

Keith Tanner wrote: Here's one: is it "Ski doo" or "skid-doo"? Warning, there is only one correct answer to this one.

Depends on whether you're talking about a snowmobile, or 23 skidoo.

Which brings up another anomaly...Sarah Palin's husband crashed his snowmobile, but unlike everywhere else in Alaska they call them snow machines.

In reply to Keith Tanner:

it becomes one word!skiddoo

And in Alaska they are snow machines not snow mobiles.

Contacts, Florida

Nick (LUCAS) Comstock wrote:

Wall-e wrote: I've been in NY all my life and I'd always heard them called contacts here. Your friend may be a spy. Address him in Russian and see if he answers.

I thought that it may have just been him, but, then I saw it a couple times in friends so thought that it was a new York city thing, maybe it's a specific borough thing?

I didn't realize you meant the show Friends. Learning about New York from that show would be like learning about space from the Jetsons.

Not like the Southeast US is an unknown accent, but everyday at lunchtime I hear: "Djeetyet?" "Naw, fittnt'gothough."

stuart in mn wrote:

Keith Tanner wrote: Here's one: is it "Ski doo" or "skid-doo"? Warning, there is only one correct answer to this one.

Depends on whether you're talking about a snowmobile, or 23 skidoo. Which brings up another anomaly...Sarah Palin's husband crashed his snowmobile, but unlike everywhere else in Alaska they call them snow machines.

I've also heard them called sleds and that's it.

Contacts, but saying that you caught a lense, for a contact high, would be pretty discreet.

Snow mobile

Baltimore, md, via N.C, via UK.