Are you an old geezer if:

[gh]

gnarly, man!

[lonewolf]

Interesting pop/soda/coke map.. my recollections is that the common term for soft drinks in SW OK was either "pop" or "soda pop" or, generically, "coke" but do not recall term "soda " being in common use.

I am puzzled by the "soda" islands in Cherry and Garden Counties, NE, Coffey Co, KS and Jackson Co., OK

Curious what "other" is.

[tandfman]

For a great analysis of regionalisms, check out this interactive map of North America to see the distribution of carbonated beverages as soda, pop, or coke.

http://www.popvssoda.com

I grew up in the Pacific Northwest calling it pop, had it turn into soda in California, and then married a woman from upstate New York who was also a pop girl.

According to that other map, showing usage by county, she would have been from the extreme Western part of upstate New York. (Upstate New York refers generically to all of the state North and West of NYC and its close suburbs. Most of upstate NY is soda country.)

[tandfman]

Interesting pop/soda/coke map.. my recollections is that the common term for soft drinks in SW OK was either "pop" or "soda pop" or, generically, "coke" but do not recall term "soda " being in common use.

I don't think I've ever heard "coke" being used generically to include any flavored carbonated beverages. That seems very strange to me.

But the strangest example of that sort of thing that I've ever come across was in Kenya, about 10 years ago, when I realized that the locals there referred to any road or cross-country race of any distance as a "marathon". I've since seen this strange usage even in print--a few months ago I saw a mention in a Nairobi newspaper of a marathon. Reading the story closely, I figured out that the race in question was actually a 10K.

[lonewolf]

Happens in US papers too.. unenlightened reporter calling almost any race longer than a mile or two a "marathon"

[dj]

Happens in US papers too.. unenlightened reporter calling almost any race longer than a mile or two a "marathon"

Was very common in US papers to call any road race a "marathon" or a "modified marathon" until post-WWII, perhaps later. Even Boston and NYC papers referred to road races that way, and they were in the heart of US marathon country.

[preston]

Coke? Pop? Soda pop? Those are easy; they give you some idea of what you're talking about. But the first time someone asked, "is there a bubbler around here?" I was completely stumped.

[tandfman]

I'd have thought they were talking about Champagne or something similar.

[lonewolf]

Coke? Pop? Soda pop? Those are easy; they give you some idea of what you're talking about. But the first time someone asked, "is there a bubbler around here?" I was completely stumped.

Obviously one of the "others".

[gh]

I first heard bubbler only a few years ago in a discussion of amenities at the Olympic Trials. Wiki explains why it would crop up in Eugene.

<<..."Bubbler" is still used as a generic term in several regional dialects of the United States, originating in eastern Wisconsin and remaining well-known throughout the state. The term is still widely used in Australia. Oregon is also known to be quite familiar with the term, specifically in the Portland region where in the late 1800s Simon Benson installed 20 fountains, which are now known in the Portland area as "Benson Bubblers". It is also commonly used in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The terms "water fountain" and "drinking fountain" are much more commonly used in the remainder of North America....>>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubbler

[jeremyp]

I texted my daughter the other day and we were arguing (nicely) about something so I texted "sfu." She showed it to the gkids and got a "grandpa!!!" back. IMHO In some things I am not a geezer. I'm also catching on to the Brit phrase" one off" which I like.

[tandfman]

I guess I am an old geezer. I just Googled sfu and of course got lots of hits for Simon Fraser University. There is an internet slang website, which finally made things clear, although I might have guessed.