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What's the statute of limitations in calling the U.S. Bank Building the "First Wisconsin Building?" |
| By OnMilwaukee.com Staff Writers |
| Published Aug. 19, 2009 at 5:15 a.m. |
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There's hardly a major city in America that doesn't have its own regional accent, colloquialisms and verbal idiosyncrasies. Back in 2004, we took a serious look at the Milwaukee accent, but this time around, we're highlighting the lighter side of our local dialect: the mispronunciations, the phrases and the abbreviations that make sense to Brew City -- but perhaps nowhere else.
We came up with more than 50 examples, but instead picked a handful of our favorites to feature. Chime in below with your favorite "Milwaukeeisms" using the Talkback feature below.
In alphabetical order:
Apostrophe "s" -- We've already blogged about this, but pick any restaurant or bar, and you'll find Milwaukeeans who will add an "apostrophe s" to make it possessive. That makes sense for Vitucci's or Victor's or Axel's. It doesn't make sense for BBC's, Nomad's or Trocadero's.
Brewer game -- You hear people say, "I'm going to the Brewer game tonight," but surely they're referring to the entire team, right? It's not just nitpicking; imagine Cleveland fans talking about the "Indian game" or Chicagoans taking in a "Cub game." As much as Milwaukeeans love to add an "apostrophe s" to everything, they drop the plural when talking about their sports team.
"Fonjulock" -- Yes, we're actually talking about Fond du Lac, the avenue and the city. File this one under other French-inspired Wisconsin cities like "Oh Klare."
"Highway A hunnert" -- When did "Highway 100" morph into this strange variation? Entire numbers and letters have gone missing. Maybe they can be found at Capitol Court (no longer there) or Mitchell Field (which has been Gen. Mitchell International Airport for years) or inside the First Wisconsin Building (read: U.S. Bank Building).
New Berlin -- Spelled the same way, but not pronounced like the German capital. Rumor has it that locals changed the pronunciation during World War I, when it wasn't cool to be Teutonic. Speaking of which, we're pretty sure that Teutonia Avenue shouldn't be pronounced "Tie-tone-ya."
"O'Creek" -- That's Oak Creek, by the way. It's very close to -- "acrosst" the way from, actually -- Wes Stallis (otherwise known as West Allis). Oddly, O'Creek isn't called O'Crick, which is how most Wisconsinites pronounce the word, "creek."
Honorable mention:
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33 comments about this article. Post a comment / write a review. |
Posted by Mazzers on Aug. 27, 2009 at 10:39 a.m. (report)
For "Shprecher (Sprecher)" I would say Spreker is the incorrect M'waukee pronunciation. (Sh-prech-er is actually the real German pronunciation.)
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Posted by terrabrown on Aug. 25, 2009 at 5:01 p.m. (report)
You do realize that a lot of Milwaukeeans are under 40 and/or live north of Oklahoma Ave and that very little of this list actually applies to us, right?
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Posted by sexycattlady33 on Aug. 22, 2009 at 1:52 p.m. (report)
ambalampse (ambulance)
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Posted by whip on Aug. 21, 2009 at 2:53 p.m. (report)
Hey any of use going up nort dis weekend. I am right after I go to sawt rige.
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Posted by azyooper on Aug. 20, 2009 at 11:21 p.m. (report)
The official corporate names of the teams (owned by the respective pro sports leagues)are the Milwaukee Bucks, the Green Bay Packers and the Milwaukee Brewers. Therefore, it is not correct or proper to drop the "s" when referring to a Brewers, Packers or Bucks game, or Packers shirt or a Bucks coffee mug, etc., etc. If Aaron Rogers made a personal appearance, he would be a Green Bay Packer (no "s" needed.) Even the Green Bay Packers eventually got their own act together, a few years back, and changed the name of the "Packer Pro Shop" to the "Packers Pro Shop." I worked in a sports-related business and learned these "rules of usage" directly from the teams. Still irks me when I see them used incorrectly, even in the paper or on TV.
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