Regional Idiosyncracies

I have been struck by many language idiosyncrasies since moving to Ohio. Things like "pop" were not new to me, as I've had an Ohio-born daughter-in-law for twelve years, and she regularly uses that word instead of my "soda." However, living here brings to ear many more phrases that are totally foreign to me.

One I noticed in the workplace very early on after moving here was the eliding of "to be". "That text needs proofed." "That car needs washed." "That bill needs passed." It would drive me crazy. Now that my grandson is in third grade, I hear him making this mistake. And I correct him. If he says, "My fingernails need cut", I gently repeat "My fingernails need cutting," or "My fingernails need to be cut."

Alas, two nights ago, suffering from a day-long headache, I turned to the Jazzman, directing him to the knot on the left side of my neck, and said, "My neck needs rubbed." Argh! How did this happen? Someone who pays loads of attention to her speaking and writing mannerisms has begun, after a two-year residence, to speak like an Ohioan.

A more obscure term came to my ears and eyes twice within a 24-hour period over the weekend. On Friday, my colleague posted on Facebook that he had installed a "man door." Huh? Who knew doors had genders? Then on Saturday afternoon, the Jazzman asked me who had installed the light over my man door. Really?! There are a lot of places you could go with the phrase, "my man door!"

Okay, so if you're reading from afar and wondering what on earth a "man door" is, think about your garage. You have a door that cars drive through, and a door that people walk through. The door that people walk through is a "man door." (I'm reminded of old-time IBM, when an employee ID number was called a "man number".) In our more politically-correct day and age, it probably should be a people door. Some call it a utility door. But to Loren and the Jazzman (and, evidently, many other Ohioans), it's a "man door."

Now here's your test for the day: What's a "devil strip?" That's another regional speech idiosyncrasy that I never heard before moving here. I've got two of them that need lots of attention. So what are they? (Here's the answer.)