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| A language lesson (or not) from Mental Floss: America’s 10 Most Commonly Misunderstood Slang Terms  A dirty bird in Kentucky is a good thing, actually. First, researchers used data from two sites, OnlyInYourState and EnjoyTravel.com, to create a list of state-specific terms. They then asked 1028 U.S. residents to guess what they thought each one meant. The 10 terms that were wrongly defined most frequently are listed below (along with some entertaining honorable mentions). I'd treat this as "for entertainment purposes only." Tavern // South Dakota In South Dakota, a tavern isn’t always—as most survey participants assumed—a bar. Sometimes, it’s a ground-beef sandwich similar to a sloppy joe. I was unaware of this name for that kind of sandwich. In my defense, I've never spent more time in South Dakota than I had to. Carry // Mississippi The common assumption was that carry in Mississippi meant “to have a gun on your person.” And it does mean that—but it can also mean “to drive (someone),” in the same way you might say, “I have to take my mom to the airport.” And then shoot her. Gnarly // California Gnarly is such a classic bit of ’80s slang that you can’t fault respondents for assuming it’s a synonym for cool. Funny thing about words: they mean what we want them to mean. Borrow pit // Montana A borrow pit is a pit formed when material is excavated (i.e. borrowed) from it and relocated somewhere else. Montana? We call it that in Virginia. There are a few more there at the site. Some are mildly amusing. Nothing earth-shakingly important; just a bit of fun. |
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