Everything but "soda" is wrong

[Scott]

I call it POP or COKE. I feel it is more a monosyllabic name, and soda or soft drink just takes too long to say.

they're all Bostonians, born and bred.

I lived in boston for a few months, and speech is so different from the Midwest. They call a sub sandwich a grinder. WTF I said when I first heard that, and I still say WTF... grinder?

[Petra456]

I've heard of a grinder before. Some people around here call them that, but very very few.

[Rei]

That's... almost surreal.

[Young Val]

if you think THAT'S crazy, you should check out The Wicked Good Guide to Boston English.

[starlooker]

Grand Forksians know what grinders are. You get them from the Red Pepper.

[shadow-petra]

Soda!!! Pop people are evil

[Claire]

I have never actually heard someone say anything other than soda. I live in connecticut and missouri, and both places are definitely soda.

[Syphon the Sun]

I'd like a liter of cola...

[zeroguy]

Hm, haven't heard of it. Is it French for something?

[zeroguy]

Double-posting and necroposting. What a horrible person I am.

Bumping for newbies and for this, which I recently came across. Unfortunately, the rest of the US/world doesn't seem to be as enlightened as pweb is. (And by the way, I just want to say that I'm so proud of all of you, putting soda in the lead like that.)

[Jayelle]

If you click on "other" you can see some really funny responses. My favourite is "penis".

[eriador]

Damn.... the map is amazing.

[Eddie Pinz]

I'll call it a "Cold One"... Because everyone loves a "Cold One" every now and again... But in a pinch, a "Cool One" will do just nicely.

That's pretty much awesome right there.

[Darth Petra]

I ask for a root beer, myself.

But I say soda when referring to it in general.

[GodInYourEyes]

I say coke others say pop. way Im I so
diffrent.
coke feels normal to me and I like the
sound of it coke! coke! coke! coke!

[Rei]

So I thought we had a thread about this already, but maybe that was 2.0.

A reference to jimmies in a comic I read (the last strip on the page). I still maintain that that's a bizarre word for sprinkles.

[Olhado_]

I must say I am slightly disappointed with the results. It is "coke" not "soda"

[lyons24000]

I said Soda. My grandfather would always say Pop. That bugged me. When I was young I would call it Coke.

[wizzard]

For those of you who call it coke, what do you ask for when you want a Coca-Cola? Cause that's what most normal people mean when they say Coke.

[locke]

you say coke when you want a coca-cola and a coke when you want a seven-up. The proper thing to do after asking for a coke is to wait for the server to ask you, "what kind of coke do you want, coke pepsi, seven up, sprite, root beer, diet coke, diet sprite or caffeine free?"

it is not appropriate to ask for a coke and expect them to include lemonade in the choices of coke a place offers.

[starlooker]

Sample dialogue in the south:

"I'd like a coke, please."
"What kind?"
"A regular coke."


Or,

"I'd like a coke."
"What kind?"
"What kind do you have?"
"We have regular coke, diet coke, sprite, dr. pepper..." etc.

It's easy once you're used to it.

[Wigginfodder]

I say "Coke" too. Sometimes I might say "Soda" though.

Also adding on to what starlooker said, that's pretty much the correct dialogue, but if you want a real Coca-Cola you can just say "Coca-Cola" since it's the full name and so it keeps the conversation short and simple.

[UnnDunn]

The correct answer is "Soda". Anything else is flat wrong.

[locke]

Also adding on to what starlooker said, that's pretty much the correct dialogue, but if you want a real Coca-Cola you can just say "Coca-Cola" since it's the full name and so it keeps the conversation short and simple.

This is probably the best route to take for Yankees/Westerners that can't handle/comprehend perfectly reasonable regional differences. Just call it by it's proper name, ask for a sprite or a coca-cola or a diet-coke (that last one is equally specific, only coke on its own is a completely generic term, sort of like kleenex or band-aid).

[vendor]

if more people would understand me I'd say "refrigerant". I normally just say soft drink when not being product specific.

[zeroguy]

The correct answer is "Soda". Anything else is flat wrong.

Hey, it looks like someone has actually been paying attention in the thread! Good job!

[starlooker]

I've never known anybody who actually said "coca-cola" and it would make me feel like a huge dork.

[Olhado_]

I actually had a thought today, which justified the whole "coke" thing. I am use to people saying, "where's the coke machine" or "it is right past the coke machine," even if they do not return with Coke Cola or it is not a Coke Cola machine.

Also, in convenient stores people regular ask, "where are the cokes" and then not come back with "Coke Cola."


Yet, with those people who are against this, I have also read a little bit into linguistics and the general term of "coke" tends to be in the South, which is where Coke Cola started and is still based. I also heard a convincing linguistic story about the orgins of "pop" and "soda;" but those stories allude me, right now.

However, I believe "soda" comes from those famous "pharmacies," with the "soda fountains." Of course, I only know of these from the movies.

[Rei]

People here will refer to the coke machine. I think it has something to do with the huge Coca-cola emblem on the machine, because all of the rest of the time it's pop.

[Petra456]

Heh, I just realized we always say we're going to get a pop out of the coke machine.

[Olhado_]

People here will refer to the coke machine. I think it has something to do with the huge Coca-cola emblem on the machine, because all of the rest of the time it's pop.

Well you don't (or at least I don't) hear "it is by the Pepsi machine," when it is actually a Pepsi machine, with the logo and everything.

[Rei]

I think we may have actually done that in high school. That or we said pop machine for those ones. (We only had Pepsi machines at school.)

It does make an interesting question, though, if a group of people who refers to pop or soda also refers to all such vending machines as one particular brand.

[Luet]

Around here everyone calls it soda and we call them soda machines or vending machines, not coke machines.

[zeroguy]

Yeah, soda machines here, as well. Does anyone call them pop machines?

[starlooker]

Yup. Around here it's "pop" machine pretty consistently.

I cannot wait to get away from the word "pop." With all the scary things about moving, that's one thing I can get excited about.