Pat in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, says that when his brother Paul was young, he misunderstood their father’s references to Miami. Paul always thought his dad was referring to his own personal ammy, and the family still refers to that South Florida city as Dad’s ammy. This is part of a complete episode.
That’s so cute! This reminded me of an anecdote that comes up in my family often. We’re Dutch, and when my brother would ask my mum when his birthday was, my mother would reply it’s on dertien mei (May 13). As it happens, in Dutch, the month of May is pronounced exactly the same as the personal pronoun ‘mij’ (used in the same places as English ‘my’). I bet you can guess where this is going. When my brother then told somebody his own birthday, he replied it was on ‘dertien mama’ (thirteen momma’).
An 1875 dictionary of the Sussex dialect from southeastern England gives a colorful glimpse of life there in those days. A beever is “an 11 o’clock luncheon.” In parts of Sussex, a ladybug is variously known as a Bishop Barnaby, a fly-golding, or...
A Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, listener says when he was growing up, his family used the word schmutz as a verb. For example, when one parent reminded the other to apply sunscreen to the youngsters, they might say Make sure you schmutz the kids...
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That’s so cute! This reminded me of an anecdote that comes up in my family often. We’re Dutch, and when my brother would ask my mum when his birthday was, my mother would reply it’s on dertien mei (May 13). As it happens, in Dutch, the month of May is pronounced exactly the same as the personal pronoun ‘mij’ (used in the same places as English ‘my’). I bet you can guess where this is going. When my brother then told somebody his own birthday, he replied it was on ‘dertien mama’ (thirteen momma’).