warmsnickers

I guess I'm linguistically confused. I grew up in Kansas saying "pop," went to school in Utah where I continued saying it, but spent a summer in NYC where I felt like such a rube that I switched to "soda." I still say it now that I'm back in SLC. However, I would say "Coke machine" or "pop machine," not "soda machine." A lot of people here seem to use the generic "drink" to mean a nonalcoholic, sweetened (usu carbonated) beverage, as in, "let's go to 7-11 and get a drink" (insert your Utah liquor joke here ). My nephew born & raised here always wants a "drink" from the Coke machine, not a soda/pop/Coke, etc.

corky

I grew up in Michigan where we always called it pop. Soda was what you made when you put ice cream in a glass with pop....like a float. To escape ridicule when I moved to California I quickly changed to calling all carbonated beverages sodas. When in Rome.....

pointsgirl

I am from New England and I do not call it Tonic. My sister does, and when she says that I always make fun of her.
I call everything Diet Coke...cause...well...that is all I drink.

wingless

Tonic use to be called Quinine. If you go to your local bar the button the bartender pushes is "Q" for tonic and "C" is for Coke.

Now Soda (as in Club Soda) is basically carbonated water with no flavor and is the "S" on the bar gun.

I know my grandfather still calls it sodapop (in Missouri) and I think that is what they called it when it was first introduced. I am sure we got lazy and some called it soda and some called it pop.

It will remain one of lifes great mysteries.

robb

Exactly, I thought of this thread today when I was picking up lunch for someone and asked "Do you want a coke?" and then I asked "What do you want?" (meaning, what kind of soft drink would you like me to get?)

Nowadays, I always ask for a "Coca-Cola" as I have found that it greatly increases the chance that a waiter/waitress will tell you if they only have Pepsi (devil-water).

gsw

I grew up in Mississippi, where all soft drinks were "Coke." My best friend used to drink "grape cokes." This, of course, was a grape pop (specifically, a "NuGrape"), not a Coca Cola with grape flavoring added.

techgirl

I also grew up in Fort Worth and also call all sodas "coke". If I want a Coca-Cola, I also say "a Coke coke".

Aren't regional things funny? I also say (and I hate it but can't break the habit) fixin' to (as in "I'm fixin' to go get a coke") and y'all.

I do not, however (despite what several FTers have insisted) have a southern drawl.

wingless

I guess I have been working too long in F&B.

If you have no idea what F&B is ask a friend.

axicano

I'll say the brand coke, diet coke, or diet pepsi. When it comes to vending machines, I say soda machine.

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axicano= A Chicano
Austin,TX Live Music Capitol of the World

bnaboy

Exactly the same experience I had growing up in TN.

These days I refer to it all as soda

techgirl

F&B is like an elite fraternity... I miss those days sometimes.

opus17

When I was a kid in New Jersey, all the kids would play stickball with little rubber balls that they called "Spalldeens".

Being a rational 8-year old, I questioned this. First of all, the name of the company that made the ball was "Spalding". Secondly, most of the balls weren't even made by "Spalding" (just the expensive, 29 cent ones, not the more common 19 cent ones).

When I explained this to the great unwashed, I was dismissed as a heretic. Even when I pointed out the spelling "Spalding", this was greeted with disbelief.

Then, I realized the truth. They were just stupid.

By the same token, anyone who refers to any soda/pop/sodapop/soft drink as "Coke" is just stupid. These people must be stopped. Certainly, they must not be permitted to breed.

ME1st

I grew up in Iowa where we called "it" Pop as in "I would like a purple pop" then I moved to WI as a kid and got teased terribly for my Iowaism's so switched to Soda.

ILuvParis

In Chicago, we say pop, but "soda" will get you what you want too.

I went to school in Ecuador and found that "cola" meant "pop." I guess that's how they came up with Inca Kola, which isn't cola at all. I also found out that regular cola was cheap and "cola de Guayaquil," (i.e., cola from the big city, i.e., Pepsi, Coca or "Seven" - 7-Up) was more expensive.

gsw

Au contraire. This is a gift that must be preserved.

[This message has been edited by gsw (edited 09-14-2002).]