ash pan, ice box, city chicken

I learned English from people older than me, i was around my parents, and they came from the old country. They learned English from people older than they, and voted for Roosevelt four times, maybe five, when he could still walk. So much of this was English from the time before television, and even radio. Some of those speakers came from other cities, and rural areas. So, i was introduced to an older, oral, American English with local colors; rather than the current, trendy speech of that time. In addition, some of my school books were not the latest. Some books from the library were old too, and some printed in England. In addition, i was, and am, somewhat conservative in language usage.

Further, i dislike jargon, and i detest imposed, and manipulative speech. The worst offenders are business, and advertising. They manipulate to take from you, what they want the most—your money. The other offender is political speech. Disingenuous, mendacious, and sly is their verbal violence. They want control, and creating casualties is not unwanted. I also do not appreciate being miscorrected, nor directed. Lessons in re-education are not appreciated.

There is a place for new concepts, and descriptions of aptness, and utility. Sometimes new words are those that have been forgotten, or not well known words; this also occurs in slang. Those i rail against are those created by people who think they are more clever than half.

Well anyway, a lot of the examples i can give are on vocabulary. These people used ash pan synonymously with dust pan, and ash can for trash can. They had fireplaces, wood stoves, coal stoves, coal furnaces, and boilers. There was ash a plenty, and some people called ashes cinders.

Before there was electric appliances that kept food cold, people had ice boxes. So, i grew up calling the Philco refrigerator we had an ice box. I am now the only one in my family using the term. I said icebox at the drug store as the place a prescription might be, they were all surprised. Only the oldest one there recognised the word, and did not believe i used it. I have a friend ten years older than me. He heard me say ice box, and was surprised. "My father used to say ice box", said he. Well, the ice man used to deliver ice to the house, and there were men with wagons, and trucks that brought bread, milk, other stuff, and took away paper, rags, and junk. That was not the world of Mathusala.

I also make references, and some people have no idea. I was on a ladder, and said album. This guy was an adult, and had no idea what i was talking about. So very many young guys are cocky, and not very deep. New technology, and modes push out words. In a good dictionary, definitions are listed in chronological order. The most common definition does not cancel the validity of the others. The older usages still count. Ignorance is not to be valued over knowledge.

The last few years i have read mention about the Pittsburgh dialect. It is not exotic, or difficult. There is the common slurring, and shortening of words, that is everywhere. But some people from the New York-Los Angeles usage league find it strange. Much of what is found different to these people is familiar to me. So someone directed me to Pittsburgh Dad on you tube. He used davenport for couch and sofa, sweeper for vacuum, buggy for cart, and slippy for slippery. I have used all four. We had a sweeper, it was not a hoover, or electric even.  It was rolled on the carpet, and swept up the particles. We also had an electrolux. Not every device needs a cord, or battery; and i have heard it pronounced "battry". Pretty becomes priddy, Monday and the other days become Mondee, Tuesdee...

But, yinzers we were not. I met a girl from Mingo Junction, and she used to say, "you-ins". That was ok. Now i hear white northerners say "ya'll", and that grates like finger nails on a slate blackboard. Pittsburgh Dad also mentioned city chicken—deep fried, breaded, pork chunks on wooden skewers. Markets still sell packages with the chunks, and sticks. A large swath of America had city chicken, at least from Pittsburgh to Detroit, maybe to Chicago. We also had Barberton chicken, and i made sauerkraut balls once. It did not work so well, i will try again, maybe, with German sauerkraut, which i have seen is drier.

—a Grumpy Geezer