I learned something absolutely wild this week, and even though I immediately fact-checked it, I still was in shock and disbelief. I still AM in shock and disbelief.
From an episode of Were You Raised By Wolves – my current and longtime favourite podcast about modern etiquette, which is more fun than it sounds, really – I learned that, in Minnesota, the children’s game Duck, Duck, Goose is not Duck, Duck, Goose. Instead, it is Duck, Duck, GREY DUCK.
I had to turn off the podcast for a moment to stare out the window. It felt like everything I had ever known was in question. Do I, like Oprah, know anything for sure? I just cannot say, I just cannot say.
I instantly texted my favourite Minnesotan, Lisa, to ask her if this was true, if everything I have ever known was a lie? And Lisa, darling Lisa, Lisa who would never lead anyone astray, told me that yes, all is true and more. Not only do Minnesotan children chant Grey Duck before running around the circle, but so do those in North Dakota.
The world, it is a wild and wonderful place. (HI LISA).
Isn’t it wild, isn’t it WILD how things differ between regions? Let’s take language and dialect, for example. It is a common perception that Canadians pronounce about like aboot, and yet I have never in my fifty years met a single person who sounds like that, and I have met people from all over the country. Accents and dialects do differ across our great country, of course. I can tell a prairie accent from a Maritime one, I can pinpoint if a person is from Newfoundland or Quebec; I live in BC and I have friends all over Ontario, and yet never once have I heard the word aboot. Eh, I hear and say often, but aboot? Never.
Calgarians can easily identify non-Calgarians, simply from how the city is pronounced: it’s Cal-GREE, not Cal-GARY, and although I no longer live there, I will offer a gentle correction. That is the only thing I will correct, though, because so many words are pronounced differently based on regional dialect, and there is no such thing as “correct” or “incorrect” when it comes to that. When it comes to mischievous, coyote, groceries, mascara, and tomato I personally say mis-chee-vious, kai-oh-tee, grow-sher-ees, mah-scare-ah, toe-may-toe. I also pronounce tour with two syllables, too-er, rather than “ture” or “tore,” but I pronounce tournament as ture-nament. I contain multitudes.
It’s funny that language and dialect are so interesting to me, yet so dull to write about. I’m boring myself. Let’s move on.
The other day I heard the song Daddy Cool twice during a single workout: once on my own playlist while I was on the elliptical, and then once during a Peloton ride. God, I love Boney M and I love that song. It reminded me of a funny, albeit embarrassing story circa 1995. My friend Alice (HI ALICE, if you’re reading this) was engaged, and had confided to the Econ Girls, of which I was one, that she hated the word fiance. Our friend Tony, not an Econ Girl per se, but as he was studying economics we didn’t exclude him based on his sex, suggested that we refer to her fiance as Big Daddy Cool, and that stuck.
It stuck a little too well. I was at her bridal shower, and one of the games involved questions about the couple, including the correct spelling of the groom’s name. It was at that moment that I realized that not only did I not know the correct spelling of the groom’s name, I did not know his name at all. I had never called him anything at all except Big Daddy Cool, or, sometimes, Big Daddy. I was seated right next to his mother, and if there’s anything worse than being at a bridal shower and not knowing the groom’s name after meeting him dozens of times, well. There’s actually a lot of things that are worse, but still, it wasn’t my best moment. It could have landed me on a segment from Were You Raised By Wolves.
Weekly Reading
The Spoon Stealer. This book concerns a peppy old lady looking back on her life, which is divided between Nova Scotia and England. She has a talking dog and a habit of stealing spoons wherever she goes, after her brother tells her that a spoonful of kindness is all it takes to make a difference. It’s a very sweet concept and there are a lot of heartwarming messages in this book, but the writing style just wasn’t for me and I found it very difficult to be engaged with the story. In fact, I kept thinking when is this going to end, and then at the actual end, I discovered that the story was based on the author’s family, which made me feel terrible for mentally disparaging it.
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. This has been on my TBR for a long time, but I had forgotten about it until Lisa and Laura (HI LISA, HI LAURA) mentioned it to me recently, so I bumped it up. I have a lot of thoughts, buckle up. This is a memoir by a very acclaimed author of her family’s move from Tucson to a piece of land in Appalachia; the move was precipitated by their desire to eat entirely locally which the author claims is impossible in the arid land of Arizona. They were motivated to reduce their carbon footprint via trucked-in or flown-in food, and I do think this is a very admirable thing to do. Each family member was able to choose one exception to this rule, and her husband chose coffee, which was extremely relatable to me. They do accomplish this locavore-style of eating, both through community purchases and their own garden and animals. I will say I skimmed over quickly the parts in the book where they discuss slaughtering their own meat versus factory farmed meat. I already know about this, I agree raising one’s own meat is a sustainable way to eat meat if one does, and also I do not want to read about it. The book is peppered with recipes – Laura had mentioned one for zucchini chocolate chip cookies, you can bet I’ll be trying that – and that is quite delightful. However, I found the book as a whole to be a bit dated – it came out nearly 20 years ago, and even the updated epilogue from 2017 was a moment in time – and also reeking of privilege and judgement. I was in my early thirties – around when this first came out – when I read The Good Food Revolution; before reading that book I had absolutely no idea what a food desert was. I had never heard of it. I had never heard of children unaware that carrots and potatoes grow in the ground, that apples are from trees, etcetera. I had never, not once, realized that there were entire communities of people without access to a grocery store or to fresh fruits and vegetables. That book really changed my perspectives and cultivated a lot of empathy in me for people who are just trying to feed their families in any way that they could, and after reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, I felt that the author was a privileged white woman whose answer to climate change was to a) grow a garden, or b) go to the farmer’s market. And I love both of those things but it is an incredible privilege to do so. Gardening is a lot of work and takes a lot of time. Going to the farmer’s market requires access to one, as well as money, and I’m not sure in this day and age if that is always possible. We don’t all have a piece of land in Appalachia that we can ditch our life for, even if we could all just leave our jobs. Another thing that stuck in my craw a bit is that the author and husband takes a trip to Italy, and while I loved reading about their local eating in places I had so recently enjoyed, I also wondered how they justified the jet fuel. I suppose one doesn’t preclude the other, but it was a detail that bothered me. The last thing I’ll say is that the author speaks very lovingly and with great empathy for the tobacco farmers of her youth, who built the communities surrounding her. I do think it’s a really hard thing, seeing an industry that employed everyone you know disappear, but I wondered what her take on other reviled industries – let’s say energy, for example – would be. I wondered if she would have the same level of kindness for people who were also just putting food on their tables via an industry that is generally not looked on with love. Laura and I spent some time discussing the author’s more recent book – which I haven’t read and I WILL NOT – Demon Copperhead, which is about the opioid crisis in her very community. Was the disappearance of the tobacco industry a precursor to that? Maybe. Anyway, lots to think about, the tl;dr is that I loved the descriptions of gardens and seasonal recipes, and I hated the privilege and judgement emanating from this. The food industry as a whole, and the way we approach eating and nutrition are extremely complex and often terribly problematic, and this book does shine a light on those issues.
Whew! After all that, I am going to give you an update on my own garden! Because I am nothing if not a multicoloured tapestry of a person. I have been using garden spinach in my smoothies all week, there are teeny tiny green tomatoes on two of my plants, and the iris garden, friends, the iris garden is bringing me so much happiness. Every morning there is something new! We have so many different colours – purples and burgundies, white and yellow, peach and variegated – and I love them all.
You have no idea how difficult it is for me not to post a photo of every single iris in the garden, thus making this ridiculously long post even longer. I blame Barbara Kingsolver! No, I only have myself to blame. Have a beautiful, flower-filled week, my friends. xo
Dialects are so fascinating! I get mistaken for being from Canada since I grew up in ND. My o’s are longer than others and I can hear my dialect when I am in other regions of the country. But this means I can pass for Canadian which is a good thing these days!
I totally get your critiques of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. It is really written from a place of privilege. She has options that most people don’t have. Her book inspired me to can when I had a garden which I really enjoyed. And for a person who is in a position of privilege, it made me think about choices I could make. For quite a while, I did not buy bananas… but that did not last!
Bananas would be very hard for me to give up, I think. I use them so much! We go through 25-30 a week around here!
When I heard you on a podcast a long time ago, I remembered thinking that you didn’t “sound American!” That explains that!
I was thinking just this week that I ought to reread the Kingsolver, but your review has released me from that notion. Sorry it has been a bit of a dud week in terms of reading. But your irises! Your veggie garden!
I think our pronunciations match except in the case of “gro-sir-ees.” 🙂
It was a dud week, but this week is looking up in terms of books!
I adore Kingsolver. Personal policies are not super effective in battling climate change when polluting industries are running rampant, so I don’t read her stuff as prescriptive, I guess. Hate dickens. Loved copperhead.
Sarah, that’s a good – albeit kind of depressing – point. I will think about that when feeling guilty about mascara tubes and giant jugs of laundry detergent.
That’s a funny story about the wedding. How did you get yourself out of that pickle?
Impressive spinach crop and your irises are beautiful. Ours are long gone. They used to be an early May flower here but now with climate change they bloom in April.
I usually enjoy Kingsolver but haven’t read that one. I’ve been reading David Copperfield in preparation for Demon Copperhead and it’s starting to seem as if I may actually finish it.
Steph, I’ll tell you how: I cheated. I looked at the mother’s piece of paper, surreptitiously.
I tried to read David Copperfield years ago but got too bored with it. I’ll have to just hear your review!
Okay, I definitely won’t read this book. I have read her books in the past and enjoyed them (although I also don’t want to read Demon Copperhead). This one would just make me feel guilty. I KNOW I should be gardening and composting. I’ve done both those things in the past, but it’s hard in Florida. Not impossible (which is where the guilt comes in.) Our soil is very sandy, and it’s very hard to grow anything in the summer (which is like 3/4 of the year.) When i had a garden in the past, it was more like a fun project for the kids, and we had luck with carrots and cherry tomatoes. Not quite enough to feed our family though! Of course there are people who are building raised beds and have all sorts of ways around the soil and heat issues- MAYBE when I retire I’ll have a garden again (maybe.)
I love different dialects and accents. BUT. I do take exception with “mis-cheevious” because it’s simply a mispronunciation! Look at how the word it spelled! I guess we all have our line that cannot be crossed. Oh- and “grey duck” is mind blowing! I mean… doesn’t “duck duck goose” just roll off the tongue? Grey duck seems so awkward!
I stand by my pronunciation! Jenny, I submit that many words are not phonetically spelled and I offer Wednesday, pneumonia, valet, foyer as examples for your consideration.
I would have thought gardening would be easier in Florida, but I guess not! It just seems so lush there!
I’m only speaking for myself, but I wouldn’t mind seeing a few hundred iris pictures.
It must be very awkward if you’re a kid and you move from a “grey duck” region to
a “goose” region. I wonder where the exact border falls. There must be border regions where either version might pop up. Guess what I will be contemplating in my idle moments today/the rest of the week.
Well now I’m thinking about that too. Where is the border? Where do we cross the line?
Your irises are gorgeous! I am here for ALL the flower photos, Nicole.
The Big Daddy Cool thing is HILARIOUS. And you were sitting next to his mother. Omg. Did you write “Big Daddy Cool” on the form, or did you sneak a peek at his mom’s answer????
Okay, now I am going to tell you something you may find alarming. Where I grew up, it was “Duck, Duck, Grey Goose.” I have a distinct memory of screaming “Grey Goose!” and then running as fast as possible around that stupid circle. What a weird game. Why are water fowl involved at all???
I SNUCK A PEEK! I could not NOT know what his name was.
GREY GOOSE WHAT SUZANNE WHAT
But it is such a weird game! There’s almost no way to “win!”
I enjoyed the whole Big Daddy Cool story TREMENDOUSLY. Also the review of the Kingsolver book.
The “finding out it was based on the author’s own family” make me immediately think Oh NO WONDER it was no good!! Especially if it was sweet and heartwarming! NO THANK YOU.
Hahaha well exactly! Now I know why everything was tied up in a neat bow that took SO LONG to get to!
The Big Daddy Cool thing is just too hilarious!
That smoothie looks so good – and to have grown the greens yourself. Gold stars, my friend.
I grew up with Duck, Duck, Goose and this is the first time I’ve heard about a Grey Duck. I’ll stick with my version.
How do you say Calgary? I say Cal-gah-ree. But I often say Toronto more like Chur-on-oh.
I’ve never heard anyone say “aboot” either. But I say Eh regularly!
Elisabeth, isn’t it funny how we have never heard aboot? Eh, though, all the time.
Calgarians say CAL-gree, and so it’s a way to know who’s “come from away” as you say in the Maritimes!
I think I say Tore-on-oh!
I love Kingsolver’s books; however, I bought this book when it came out and DNFed!! It’s a long time ago and my memory is that I just found it boring. I agree the book does come from a place of privilege, as many “how I changed my life” memoirs are, so not relatable to the “average” person. I have tried at various times to support the local businesses rather than the big corporations. I used to buy bread from baker, meat/eggs from the butcher, (no candlestick maker as my husband is hypersensitive to smell LOL), and the farmer’s market every Thursday. I gave up the farmer’s market first due to the exorbitant prices. The other places closed and I was relieved as it was more work to go to all these individual places than one stop shopping. It left me tired.
I did loved Demon Copperhead, but it’s definitely not for everyone. After reading the book I watched the series Dopesick with Michael Keaton about the opioid crisis and the Sackler family – horrible people!
Have you read The 100-Mile Diet: a year of local eating by Alisa Smith and J.B.MacKinnon? A young couple from Vancouver who tried eating only local food for a year. It’s more grassroots and includes their personal feelings and some fun stories on how they sourced food they wanted.
This is a great point – “how I changed my life” is rarely something I find interesting to read.
I haven’t read the 100 Mile Diet but I do remember when it came out, a friend who lived in far Northern BC was like “what, am I going to eat deer and potatoes all year?” Maybe I’ll give it a try after I’ve recovered from AVM.
Lol, candlestick maker! I also do not have candles, not from sensitivity but because I have a fear of open flame!
My mind is BLOWN by “duck, duck, grey goose.” I never knew this!!
It’s funny that you’ve never heard the “aboot” proununciation because whenever I hear someone pronounce about like that, I know they’re Canadian! I’ve definitely heard it in my life, but maybe my ears are more sensitive to it since it’s a different dialect from what I’m used to!
I do not think that Kingsolver book is for me. I really get angry when people don’t acknowledge their privilege. The ability to garden and grow your own food is not one most of us can do! First, owning a home with ANY SORT OF LAND is freaking expensive, as is maintaining all of that. And there’s also the privilege of being partnered and having someone to share the burden. Gah.
It’s so funny you’ve heard it but I haven’t! Everyone I know says a-BOUT. But then you’re probably right, I notice American accents right away – it’s what you’re used to, I guess!
You’re so right, growing food is so much work and also owning land is a big privilege!
All I can think about is the shock I had the first time my husband told me he was from Regina, SK. The pronunciation felt very rude. Ha!
Hahaha! “Where did you say you were from?”
Hahaha! I love this story. My first boyfriend’s former girlfriend’s name was Regina, and when is saw it spelled out, I pronounced it Ra-jine-a – as you would – and his sisters were appalled and thought I was dissing her and calling her a part of the private female anatomy, and I was all, “I thought that was the way it was pronounced!” But they pronounced it Re-jeen-a. And I was 17 and completely embarassed and that was likely why we eventually broke up, because I always thought his sisters were judging me on that comment. Or maybe it was just because I was 17 and that’s the way first loves went. But it was very convenient to have something to blame things on!
Hahaha this made me laugh so much! Ah, the loves of youth. Poor Regina, doomed to have her name rhyming with vagina forever.
Nope, never heard ‘aboot’ and it’s definitely Calgree ’ not Calgary! I’ve read both The Poisonwood Bible and Demon Coppergead(depressing, heartbreaking, disturbing) and I don’t think I need to read this other Kingsolver book!
That is EXACTLY why I’m not reading Demon Copperhead! No thank you. I did like the Poisonwood Bible though, but so strongly disliked Unsheltered that I blocked out the title, and only realized it when someone just mentioned it on my IG post.
CALGREE!!!
Dialects fascinate me. Within its borders, Russia has republics, territories, regions, federal cities, autonomy regions and autonomous okrugs (with major populations of different ethnicities). The dialects are everywhere. In Chelyabinsk oblast, where I grew up, we had vocabulary from Tatar language, Kazakh language, and nearby Bashkir language in Russian language.
That is so interesting, Daria! I love thinking about the way languages develop!
Sooo, I had never heard the song Daddy Cool until today. And I consider myself a music person, so for me to say I’ve never heard of a song—that’s something! I always find it fascinating that there’s music out there that was popular and somehow never reached where I lived. I grew up in rural Ohio in the ’80s, so it’s very possible it’s an Ohio thing.
In the early ’90s, I was at a club with friends, dancing to Bizarre Love Triangle by New Order (released in the mid-80s), and I said to one of them, “This is such a cool song! Is it new?” 🤣
Well I sure hope you are now listening to Daddy Cool! I am a bit surprised you haven’t heard it but hey, these things happen! Daddy! Daddy Cooool.
Language is, indeed, a veritable minefield. The same goes for any large country where there are several or more regional accents. The UK is no exception (I’m an import into Canada). No Geordie would understand someone from Cornwall, or a Glaswegian understand someone from Wales.
Oh, and I am so envious of your garden and the fact you have veg already. I’m only just thinking about pots and plants for my balcony garden. And your irises are gorgeous. Enjoy!
That’s so funny, Alex, as my husband and I just started watching a Scottish comedy on BBC called Two Doors Down. We had to put the closed captioning on! But that didn’t explain the Scottish jokes/ slang, lol.
Any time anyone says,”Big Daddy” all I can think of is Elizabeth Taylor in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” and Milton Burl sitting in the corner being angry with her saying, “Oh Big Daddy,” completely exasperated with everyone being excessively hot wishing there was air conditioning while waiting for Paul Newman to come in from reliving his glory days completely drunk at the local highschool track.
Oh GOOD POINT!!! I love that movie! Elizabeth Taylor was a goddess.
I grew up with duck, duck, goose in Montana. I had no idea that my North Dakotan neighbors had a grey duck instead of a goose! When I travel, I often get asked if I’m Canadian – well, except in Canada! I agree with Lisa that it’s something about the “o” sound. I’ve always said Cal guh ree. No wonder Canadians aren’t fooled by my accent!
Your irises are so beautiful! Please feel free to post a photo of every flower!
WELL IF YOU INSIST!!! I will have to post photos of all the irises. There are so many colours, Michelle, you would love them!
I’ve never heard ‘aboot’ either, and yet that notion persists. I’ve loved a few of Kingsolver’s books but I think I’ll pass on this one. Haven’t read Demon Copperhead either. I read up in the earlier comments about GREY GOOSE?? My mind immediately went to vodka, although that would not be my beverage of choice.
Pearl, you and I really need to get together because I immediately thought of the vodka as well. It’s not my beverage of choice but if I’m having vodka, that’s the one I want!
I hear ‘aboot’ from Canadian friends, but it’s a gentle long o, as opposed to the out in the California pronunciation. But it’s one of those words that is a tell that someone is from Canada.
I have read several of Kingsolver’s books, and some I ADORE, and others I dislike. She definitely can come across as preachy. At the same time, she’s the only author I ever wrote a fan letter to…in the mail! with a stamp! she wrote back! I think that was for The Bean Trees. My sister gave me one of her books (Animal Dreams) as a gift, and then forgot she had done so and gave it to me again a year or two later. I figured, this must be good, so I finally read it and loved it. I hated Poisonwood Bible. I don’t remember the name of one of her other books that I really disliked.
There is a scene in one of her books, Flight Behavior, where an impoverished young mother in Appalachia is visited by an environmentalist that has always struck me, the difference between privilege and poverty. I’ll share it here because it’s easy, I wrote a review at the time on my blog and included it there, so I can copy/paste. The environmentalist is trying to talk to her about ways she can reduce her carbon footprint.
“Number one. Bring your own Tupperware to a restaurant for leftovers, as often as possible.”
“I’ve not eaten at a restaurant in over two years.”
“Try bringing your own mug for tea or coffee. Does not apply, I guess. Carry your own cutlery, use no plastic utensils, ditto ditto. Okay, here’s one. Carry your own Nalgene bottle instead of buying bottled water.”
“Our well water is good. We wouldn’t pay for store-bought.”
“Okay,” he said. “Try to reduce the intake of red meat in your diet.”
“Are you crazy? I’m trying to increase our intake of red meat.”
“Why is that?”
“Because mac and cheese only gets you so far, is why. We have lamb, we produce that on our farm. But I don’t have a freezer. I have to get it from my in-laws.”
Mr. Akins went quiet. His dark eyes swam like tadpoles behind his glasses.
“Is that it?” she asked.
“No. There are five other categories.”
“Let’s hear them.”
“No really. You came all this way. To get us on board.”
“Okay,” he said, sounding a little nervous. “Skipping ahead to Everyday Necessities. Try your best to buy reused. Use Craigslist.”
“What is that?” she asked, although she had a pretty good idea.
“Craigslist,” he said. “On the Internet.”
“I don’t have a computer.”
Mr. Akins moved quickly to cover his bases. “Or find your your local reuse stores.”
“Find them,” she said.
“Plan your errand route so you drive less!” Now he sounded belligerent.
“Who wouldn’t do do that? With what gas costs?”
He went quiet again.
“What are the other categories?” she asked.
“Home-office-household-travel-financial. We don’t have to go on.”
She put down the binoculars and looked at him. She’d lost track of the butterflies anyway. “Let’s hear financial.”
Mr. Akins read in a rushed monotone: “Switch some of your stocks and mutual funds to socially responsible investments, skip, skip. Okay, Home-slash-Office. Make sure old computers get recycled. Turn your monitor off when not in use. I think we’ve got a lot of not applicable here.”
“Okay, this is the last one,” he said. “Fly less.”
“Fly less,” she repeated.
He looked at his paper as if receiving orders from some higher authority. “That’s all she wrote. Fly less.”
What I’m taking from this is you mailed a fan letter! And got a response!
It’s so interesting you’ve heard aboot and I haven’t! I live here! I say a-bout, rhyming with out, which I say OWt.
I just recently read that exact passage – maybe it was on your blog!! Was it recent?
Yes, I think in the comments! What I got from it is that yes, Kingsolver has a lot of privilege, and she can be preachy, but she also understands what it is to not have money.
I was thinking of aboot vs. about, and I think when Americans imitate Canadians, they emphasize it. The reality is softer. The other word that is a tell is ‘Sorry’, which I hear Canadians say as soory, but again, that second O is really soft. It’s like if the U and an O had a baby.
I’ll be watching an interview with an actor or something, and hear them say sorry our about, and think, “Oh, they’re Canadian!”
Well, Kingsolver is for sure a talented writer! I am mixed on the books I’ve read – love one, hated one, meh on one – but she’s definitely a good writer!
Duck Duck GREY DUCK? What the hell kind of game is that? Who would even make up that game? Duck Duck Slightly Different Duck? That is pure insanity, I can’t condone it.
Do you really say groceries with a mushy c? I don’t think I’ve ever heard that. I grew up hearing ‘mis chee vee ous’ which apparently is a non-standard pronunciation and also makes it impossible to spell it, it’s the only word I ever got wrong on a spelling test, thanks a LOT Mrs. Zadow.
Love the Big Daddy story. Some moms would find that story absolutely hilarious (me), other moms not so much.
I agree about the Barbara Kingsolver book. She’s hit or miss for me. I dislike anything that smacks of Food Purity.
Yes I say grow-sher-ees, and I’m always a little taken aback when I hear gross-er-ees. Even though that’s probably more common!
Food Purity is very annoying. I recently heard a podcast debunking the whole “sugar is poison, it’s like using crack.” NO IT IS NOT.
GREY DUCK. Isn’t that wild!
This whole duck duck _____ thing is fascinating. In the Ramona Quimby books (set in Oregon) they seem to play a variation involving a mush pot. Leading to one of the kids being called Mush Pot Davy all year. Kindergarteners are tough, man.
My husband (Canadian) has had to coach me (hopefully officially Canadian very soon) on the correct pronunciation of many places. Like Regina, Calgary, Toronto, and a bunch of places in the GTA. I just try to avoid saying Mississauga and Etobicoke because I cannot remember how to say them at all. My tongue malfunctions when I attempt them. Fortunately I don’t live in Ontario so they don’t come up often. The official citizenship test study guide clearly has left out a lot of practically useful things like proper pronunciation.
Sorry if this posts a million times. It glitched on me and kept refreshing
only once! Yay!
I remember the first time I heard Regina pronounced Re-GEE-na, I was in shock. I’d only heard it in the rhymes-like-vagina way.
I mean, Etobicoke is really tricky. That’s Super Advanced Canadian, I think, and I think most people mispronounce it. Probably me!
Poor Mush Pot Davy!
Americans might accuse us of a-boot, but what we’re actually saying is closer to a-boat. It’s called Canadian raising and affects a lot of our vowel sounds! I certainly don’t take the time to roand my moath aroand an “ou” soand. The quickest way to the end of the word!
Lol Ariana, it’s all about efficiency (a-bout?) (I say it like owt) (I think) (I’m now overthinking and questioning everything)
Ok, hold up. It’s pronounced Cal-GREE? Down here, I’ve always heard it pronounced Cal-GAH-REE. Huh, the things you learn. It’s is wild how things are pronounced in different regions and the fact that certain items are called different things in different regions (coke/cola/soda/pop for example).
Oooh that is an excellent topic as well! I have always said pop. To me, soda is soda water. I was so surprised to discover that “coke” is used to describe all manner of soft drink! It’s fascinating, the differences!
I had a boyfriend right after high school whose family was from Oklahoma I think, and they said Coke for all of them. “I’m going to the store. Would you like a coke?” “Yes please!” “What kind?”
Also turn signal vs. blinker. Water fountain vs. bubbler.
I’ve heard both signal and blinker but I’ve never heard bubbler!
I’ve been known to watch YouTube videos about dialect for hours. It’s fascinating to me. I remember when we moved to our first home and our next door neighbor thought I was from elsewhere in the country. (I grew up maybe 25 miles away) 🤣I did not have a Cleveland accent, though I suppose I do now!
My kids got a big kick out of college roommates from all over who referred to various items by different names. Sprinkles were called jimmies by others and a drinking fountain was a bubbler. One oddity from my hometown is the word ‘devil strip.’ I believe we are the only people in the world who use that word. It’s the grass between the sidewalk and the road or the grass in a median.
There are YouTube videos about everything! *goes down rabbit hole*
Devil strip! I have never heard that! I say sprinkles but I think jimmies is quite charming!
Duck, Duck, Grey Duck is indeed a thing. I think it’s charming. They call drinking fountains bubblers here in Wisconsin. That’s weird. When I was teaching in Toronto, the students were coaching me on how it’s Torono – no second t articulated. I thought that was fun.
I once dated a guy from Canada (I think Calgary, but now that I think about it, we didn’t talk much about our pasts – we were doing other things) and he said processed with the emphasis on pro and I thought it was simply charming. He did say a-boot, too. So does y friend from London, Ontario. SIMPLY CHARMING, the Canadians.
Pro-sensed, yes, that’s another one. I’m glad you hear a-boot too.
Yes, the second t in Toronto is soft if it’s pronounced at all!
Gray duck? GRAY DUCK? WHAT THE DUCK are you talking about? This is so bizarre to me.
I’ve not heard of Daddy Cool and I had to google. OMG. This video. His dancing. Where have I been? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYGTT7YhywA
Back in the late 80’s I worked at a salon and one day I overheard my boss, Wendy having a conversation with a client. The client was telling Wendy about her fiancé and Wendy said deadpan: You know that fiancé in French means Who I’m Fucking Now.
I DIED, and I can’t unhear it.
Ok. The Barbara Kingsolver book. I can see why you didn’t enjoy that particular book. I am currently halfway through Demon Copperhead and there has been very little in the way of the opioid crisis. Like very little. It’s a really good book, and I’m enjoying it, but perhaps that could change?
BTW: I love Canadian accents and if you don’t say aboot in person, I’m gonna want my Canadian Friend Refund.
OMG WHO I’M FUCKING NOW. I love it!
I don’t know where you’ve been, but now I hope you are dancing to Daddy Cool forever.
I feel like I need to record myself speaking just so all my American friends can hear how I say all the spicy words!
Daddy Cool is new to me but loving it. Your spinach crop and your irises are glimpses of perfection. I’ve never read anything by Kingsolver, somehow she seems like she might be too deep for me but maybe someday. I hear Canadian accents and smile, there’s something mellow about them to me.
Oooh I am so thrilled to be the one to introduce you to Daddy Cool! Isn’t it great?
Yup, you betcha. As someone living in Minnesota who did not grow up in Minnesota, I was flabbergasted by the whole duck, duck, gray duck thing. It is the weirdest thing and Minnesotans are gosh darn proud of it! They will battle to the death claiming gray duck is the CORRECT way. It’s an odd thing for sure.
Debi, that is so wild! I love the world, it’s so full of interesting things like this. You learn new things every day!
WHATTTTT…. I thought Duck duck goose was UNIVERSAL! …. Thats such a fun little tidbit
I would totally have to take a picture of a garden daily if I had the talent to have a garden LOL
Hahaha Rebecca, I am running out of storage space on my phone! TG for IG because I end up flooding my followers with flower pics just so I can clear space on my phone.
Isn’t the duck duck goose thing amazing?
So much good stuff here – the “I’m boring myself” line made me laugh. The Spoon Stealer was recommended to me when I was going through a very difficult time with a lot of sadness. The book was described as “ like a warm hug” and it was perfect. I enjoy Crewe’s books as that – something gentle and warm when you need it. Your gardens are amazing and it’s only May!!! We are finally getting a bit of warm weather here- but still way cooler than normal. At least the sun is shining!
Pat, I could totally see that – a warm hug. It was a cozy type of book for sure. I think I need to read something else by her, at a time where I need that kind of read.
My garden is blowing my mind this year!
Your irises are beautiful and I’d be happy to see many pictures of them! A few years ago I had neighbors from Canada and the way they said “about” sound more like “a boat” also “sorry” sounded like “sore ee” where I’m used to hearing it as “sar ee”. My mom was from UK but moved to US to marry my dad. When I was in first grade I pronounced tomato as “tow mah toe” and all the kids in the class laughed and made fun of me… I went home and yelled at my mom for pronouncing it wrong. 😑 And I grew up in LA and it was duck duck goose there!
Oh I definitely say sore-ee. I need to record myself speaking because now I’m questioning everything!
I love how Brits say toe-mah-toe! Kids are so mean!
Wait, what? GREY DUCK!? I have never heard of that before; how did you even figure that out!? But wait, are you originally from the Calgary area? I would have thought that if ND and MN are doing it, the southern section of Canada near those states may also be doing it? But I guess Calgary is not that far south. Anyway, I have never heard anyone say that, not even Lisa!
I enjoyed Animal, Vegetable, but mostly for the possibility of what we could do if we put our mind to it. I am not sure that I would do it, but I do like knowing about what it would take to do it. I think(?) that it could be easy enough in CA, BUT I do know that buying a local half goat or whatever is not cheap in the slightest, so unless you are raising your own animals or not eating meat, that part could get very expensive, which goes to what you were saying about privilege.
Kyria, it was on a podcast where they discussed it. Calgary is about three hour drive from the Montana border, so it’s not really that close to ND and MN.
The parts I liked about AVM were the seasonal recipes and the gardening parts. There were a lot of parts about animal slaughter which I wasn’t really into reading about.