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Fudgies! I'm very familiar with this term. When I was a little girl my family spent a number of summers in a cottage on Mackinac Island, Michigan, and we knew fudgies. They were the tourists who arrived on the first morning ferry and left on the last ferry out at the end of the day (not spending the night, no) and they would buy...fudge. There were bunches of fudge shops on the island. Along with the other tourist stuff, sure, but fudge was the number one commodity back in the day.
Wow - that discussion really took me back.
Welcome to the forum Janet.
You're probably gonna get a lotta responses to this, but here's my 2 cents …
My home state is Arizona. In January, after the holidays, we are inundated with escapees from cold climes. Midwest and East. They clog our roads with extra traffic, and usually drive slower than the norm. We call them "snowbirds."
When Arizonans escape to CA in the heat of Summer, we're known as "zonies."
Geodies?
Nahhh ... they're already called "rock hounds" I think, but I suspect you're looking for something more demeaning.
I understand that many people buy the geodes for their "crystal power" (it's a "new age" thing). There's a shop up in Sedona that specializes in that stuff, and even sells maps to where the best "psychic vortices" are located.
So maybe just "new ager," which I personally consider a demeaning label.
Reminds me of an old joke ... Q: What do you get when you play new age music backwards? A: new age music.
Tang/Spam: I remember Treet quite well, and of course so much Spam was involved in military rations that the government actually warned people not to send it in packages to the troops as they had a plentiful supply (plus it was rationed to civilians and that would cut into their dietary needs).
High school cliques: A major one around here are kickers. These are (generally playing) cowboys. They are typically driving pick-ups that have never seen a day's work in their lives, and the same can usually be said about their drivers. The name comes from their habit of kicking clods or manure to give their boots the appearance of being used for ranch work. They are most prevalent in small towns where the high schools may actually have rodeo as an extra-curricular sports activity, which is about as close to real ranching as most of them get.
Tourists: They are generally just passing through and rarely even stop, therefore no name has evolved. The old US 82 has been downgraded to state 56 forming the south edge of the courthouse square and the new US 82 grazes the north edge of the town limits, feeding nothing into town itself. A few might visit Sam Rayburn's house and library - well worth the stop as Rayburn was the last Speaker of the House not to become a millionaire (or multi-) in office - but that's about it for attractions.
I also live in NW lower peninsula of Michigan --and am familiar with the term "fudgies" for tourists. But the discussion does not end there. Eventually fudgies decide to buy a summer home, and then move to the area or retire. But that does not make them "locals". Be to a local takes residency for a generation or so. But a year-round fidge becomes known as a perma-fudge.
When I was 6 we moved to Vermont. My family was originally from the Midwest so I am very familiar with the term "flatlander," which was mentioned in the show. There is another term that Vermonters use for tourists, especially those that flood the state during the end of September and the beginning of October when the autumn colors peak. These tourists are known as "leaf peepers" or "tree peepers."
Heimhenge said:
Welcome to the forum Janet.
You're probably gonna get a lotta responses to this, but here's my 2 cents …
My home state is Arizona. In January, after the holidays, we are inundated with escapees from cold climes. Midwest and East. They clog our roads with extra traffic, and usually drive slower than the norm. We call them "snowbirds."
When Arizonans escape to CA in the heat of Summer, we're known as "zonies."
In south Texas, tourists are also called "snowbirds". It specifically refers to the retired folks who migrate south in the winter in their RVs, then return north when our sweltering summer temps kick in.
I'm from Northern Michigan (that's north of Clare but south of the UP–Upper Peninsula). We have plenty of tourists and names for them. They are trunk slammers, cone lickers, fudgies, and flat landers. It's ok though, to anyone in the UP the rest of us are trolls because we live under the bridge.
(Sorry for the late answer. I'm catching up on the podcasts.)
In the travel section of the newspaper, I've seen people who tourist around in the fall to see the trees change color referred to as "leaf-peepers." I grew up in Central Florida, and often spoke disdainfully of the Snowbirds, or just the "Damn turrists."
I spent a few years in Washington, D.C. where sightseers were always in the way, stopping in the middle of sidewalks to gawk, standing on the left side of the Metro escalators (a cardinal sin!), or moseying up to food counters and taking their sweet time while we worker-bees were trying to grab a quick lunch and get back to the office. I don't recall any particular names for tourists. I used to have a pin-on button that said, "If it's tourist season, why can't we shoot them?" I was wearing it on my coat one busy lunch hour during cherry blossom season, and was behind a family group that was taking forever to give their order and get out of the way. The mom of the group looked at the button, looked at me wide-eyed, and quickly scooted her kids out of the way, arms around them protectively. FWIW, I am a short, fat librarian and am as harmless as they come.
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