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As promised, here is the much-awaited sequel to my previous blog, in which I wondered at the "acceptable" word choices in Scrabble. Here are some other...shall we say, "questionable"...language expressions I have encountered in my stay thus far in Pennsylvania: [pop] - noun. used in refererence to soda. This is understandable; soda is, in it's full name, "soda pop," so using either it's first or last component makes sense. And since my parents are both from Pittsburgh, I've grown up used to "pop." My Maryland friends, however, would beg differ; they refuse to answer or acknowledge my request when I ask if they have pop... [kife] - verb. to steal, most often used in a playful or kidding manner. Had never heard this one until I got here. It's quite fun to use though..."I'm going to kife her fruit snacks when she's not looking!" kife kife kife kife....really fun to say. haha [sick] - adjective. crazy cool, unbelievable, awesome, etc. This makes no sense to me...ok, I'm going to call something that's great by a word that is definitely not great...really? "I'm so sick." "I know! You're crazy!" "No, really...I'm sick...as in physically ill..." Ohio-ans do this too, according to my boyfriend; only they use "terrible," which might make even less sense... [creeper] - noun. someone who creeps, as in has a creepy demeanor and stalks or follows someone's business/life/etc, especially in reference to Facebook. This I've heard a little bit in Maryland, but not to the extent of everyday lingo up here. Not always used in a serious or insulting way, because come on, everyone's a creeper on Facebook! [yinz] - noun. plurality of you. Y'all makes some sense..."you" + "all." But yinz? Where does this come from? You ones? You ins? Someone PLEASE explain this to me, because hearing it makes me - and everyone outside the circle of Western PA - cringe. BTW, according to the Encarta Dictionary in Microsoft Word, "etiological" is the study of causes, the philosophical investigation of causes and origins. But it also means, and this might be a more accurate definition in this circumstance (haha), a medical specialty, the set of factors that contributes to the occurence of a disease.
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