Okay, so today I’m gonna ramble about something I was tinkering with yesterday: “american other names.” Sounds kinda vague, right? Well, it started with a super basic thought – like, what do people really call things in America, beyond the textbook answers?
First off, I just started brainstorming. I literally grabbed a notepad and started scribbling down everything that came to mind. You know, like soda vs. pop vs. coke (depending on where you are, obviously). Or what folks call those long sandwiches – hoagie, sub, grinder… the list goes on. It was a total brain dump, just trying to capture as much regional slang and alternate names as possible.
Then, because my handwriting is atrocious, I typed it all into a simple spreadsheet. Figured that would make it easier to organize later. Columns for the “thing,” the “alternative name,” and then maybe a little note about where I’d heard it used. Super simple stuff.
The real fun began when I started digging online. I wasn’t looking for official definitions or anything. I wanted real-world examples. So, I hopped on Reddit, searched for threads like “regional differences in language” or “what do you call this?”. That stuff is gold! People arguing about what a “water fountain” should really be called. Perfect!
I also spent way too much time on those online dialect quizzes. You know, the ones that ask you what you call a “rubber-banded stack of papers” and then try to guess where you’re from. They’re usually pretty inaccurate, but they can still spark some ideas and point you to interesting variations.
After a few hours of this, my spreadsheet was a mess, but a glorious mess. It was full of weird little nuggets of information. Like, apparently some people call a shopping cart a “buggy.” Who knew?
- Organized the spreadsheet a bit better. Grouped things by category (food, everyday objects, etc.).
- Added a “confidence level” column. Just a gut feeling on how widespread each term was.
- Cross-referenced some of the more obscure terms with online dictionaries, just to see if they were actually “real” words.
Finally, I ended up with this pretty decent list of “american other names.” It’s not exhaustive by any means, but it’s a fun little collection of regionalisms and alternative terms. I might even turn it into a little quiz or something. Or just use it to confuse people from other parts of the country. Who knows!
It was a pretty chill project overall. A good way to kill an afternoon and learn some random stuff. Plus, now I know what to call that thing you drink soda out of – is it a “bubbler” or a “drinking fountain?” the debate continues!
