Everyday things that have totally different names throughout the US

9/20/2019

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Geography Story: Everyday things that have totally different names throughout the US

When you travel from state to state in the USA, you can encounter some words that have totally different meanings in different areas. Read on to learn more about how everyday items are called throughout the country.

#1 A long sandwich with meat, vegetables and cheese

The word sub (or submarine sandwich) is popular across most of the country.

Anyway, in NYC it's called a hero.

In Pennsylvania, you will hear the word hoagie.

#2 A shopping cart

Most of the country prefer shopping cart, but in the South it's usually called a buggy.

#3 Sugar strands

The word sprinkles is popular everywhere except New England and the Mid-Atlantic: they prefer to call them jimmies. In other states, "jimmies" can be used to refer only to chocolate toppings.

#4 A major road

While most of the US call it a highway, in California and some other parts of the West Coast, they use the word freeway.

#5 A water tap

Spigot is popular in the South. Sometimes "spicket" can be used. The rest of the country call it a faucet.

#6 A flat cake

Pancakes are famous worldwide, and this word has even been borrowed to many foreign languages. Anyway, in North Carolina flat cakes are known as flapjacks.

#7 A sofa

Davenport is used in Upstate New York. People from the Midwest usually say couch or also davenport. In New England, it's usually called a sofa.

#8 Freshwater crustaceans which look like tiny lobsters

Crawfish is used in the South, while people from the Midwest call these creatures Crawdads. In the East Coast and the Great Lakes region, the word Crayfish is the most popular one.

#9 Shoes designed for sports

The phrase tennis shoes is used across most of the country, while in the Northeast the word sneakers is more common. It's also used in some parts of Florida.

#10 A carbonated drink

A carbonated beverage is called a soda in the Northeast and West. In parts of the South, coke refers to any carbonated drink, regardless of its brand. Pop is used primarily in the Midwest.

#11 Bugs that light up

The word firefly is used in the Northeast, Upper Midwest and the West. You will hear lightning bug in the South and most of the Midwest.

Which of these words do you use? Do you know any other names for these things?

Tell us in the comments!

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93 Comments

LeRoy Johnston

About the Freeway or Highway, either one is O.K., But My Question is, Why do We Park in the Driveway, and Drive on the Parkway?? L.O.L.

theotishaynes

I live in the south and I have never heard anyone call a faucet a spigot. Been here all my life and we either say a faucet or a water hydrant.

ginatatewof

LeRoy Johnston, 😂😂😂🤣 really good one 😂😂😂

Jim Mascair

My neighbor here in Louisiana was from Indiana and she came over to borrow a dust sweep. We had no idea what she needed. It was a dustpan.

Vimala Padmaraj

Louella Wilson, EXACTLY. BRITISH ENGLISH HERE - ALWAYS CALLED IT "TAP"

George Albert Binet

Here in New Orleans we use Po Boys for the sandwich and I've always called it a faucet

Sherry Wallis

I'm from S. Texas and we say shopping basket, whether it's one on your arm or with wheels. Also, road on these side of a freeway that is called a frontage road elsewhere, in Houston is called the access road. I say faucet or tap, depending on whether it is outside or inside. Pancakes not flapjacks. It is odd, but most of the time, we know what it means when we travel.

Gary Chadwick

Americans have so many names for things and think we should use their terms. We get water from Taps, so much easier than saying Faucet, we use shopping trolleys, Hundreds and thousands what we use, not sprinkles..

Caroline Weis

I remember once when I visited Tennessee that I was asked if I wanted my oil checked, but the way the fellow pronounced it, it sounded like all. I've heard different expressions forr corn cakes, ie: hoecakes corn pone and Johnny cakes. Guess it depends on where you are here in the U S A.

kittykay

In Australia we take reference from America,Canada,Great Britain & our own.We say Sub,Sprinkles/H&T,Soft Drink,Sneakers,Prawns,Lightning Bug,Lounge,Pancake,Tap,Trolley & use Highway & Freeway for different types of roads.

john duckett

The explanation re pancakes suggests it is an American word. It predates the US.

Gail Cusack

Interesting how different parts of American use different names for the same thing. To me, a Kiwi, a lot of the words used are longer than we would use eg automobile, we say Car

Margaret White

In Australia, we call those little crustaceons prawns. A tap is a tap and soft drinks fizz. And we sprinkle hundreds and thousands on our cakes.

Cindy Ursan

theotishaynes, hydrant? That’s what we call those red things that dogs pee on and firefighters hook hoses into to fight fires. In our little place in Canada, we call it a tap!

Louella Wilson

Trolley is our local name for a shopping cart. Lounge, tap, soft drink are some other terms that I am more familiar with cw those given.

Louella Wilson

theotishaynes, I've always called it a tap!

Dan Diffley

About the highways: in most states that I’ve driven in the “highways” are referred to only by the number as in “take 80” or “stay on 95 for 10 miles”, etc. But in California people say “take THE 5” or it’s just off THE 10”. I never could figure that out.😳

Doris Dallaire

I’ve always called them running shoes, not tennis shoes or sneakers. And it’s a tap, not a faucet or spigot, always pop, and it’s either a highway (2 lanes usually) or else it’s the four lane highway.