I read about two words today that are apparently used on online dating sites. One is ghosting, which means an unexplained withdrawal from contact. The other is breadcrumbing, which means throwing down "breadcrumbs" of interest, without ever taking it further.

Are there others that you've heard?

Dumping and teasing are the terms I'd use, but it seems each generation invents its own terms.

I am not sure it's generational, as much as referring to online relationships. 80-year-olds can have them too.

I've hears another use of ghosting. That's what idiots do when they climb outside the car while it's moving and they are the driver. Applies to motorcycles where you climb on the back and let the bike steer itself. Not as dangerous as it sounds since the vehicle always stops whe it hits a pole.

Speaking of vehicles, why do Southerners always say "ve-HICK-al'?

I think that's 'VEE...HICKle.
Those Southerners just love to linger over the syllables. Must be something to do with the hot weather.

My South Carolina relatives call pecans "PEE-cans." I still do too. I think it sounds less pretentious than "P'CAHNZ." When they call 'em a snooty name they charge more.

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My South Carolina relatives call pecans "PEE-cans."

So do I. Although they're not common here, I've never heard anyone pronounce them any other way.

Arnie, the next time we are together, let's have some p'CAHNZ. That's the way I say it.

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Originally posted by arnie:

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My South Carolina relatives call pecans "PEE-cans."

So do I. Although they're not common here, I've never heard anyone pronounce them any other way.

Me too

The closest we get to pecans is peanuts.

I don't remember ever hearing the "PEE-cans" pronunciation until I was 19 and went to Missouri. My dad was from Kansas and my mother was from Louisiana and I don't remember them ever pronouncing it other than \pi-ˈkän\, as M-W does. "PEE-cans," to me, are something entirely different. This site says "that pee-KAHN is dominant nationwide, but in areas of Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Mississippi, pick-AHN reigns supreme. PEE-can is popular on the East Coast and in New England, while folks from Wisconsin, northern Minnesota and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula go with PEE-kahn."

In the area of Wisconsin where I was raised (south central), it was p'CAHNZ. I tend to think, with all the mobility these days, those regionalisms aren't quite as regional anymore as they used to be. The linguists will probably kill me for saying that!

I think I will take up the "p'CAHNZ" pronunciation. Have always thought PEE-CANS -- especially as pronounced in upstate NY w/that horrible flat nyah-nyah "A" vowel-- sounded like something to take a whiz in.

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Originally posted by bethree5:
Have always thought PEE-CANS -...sounded like something to take a whiz in.

No, that's a PEE-cup. Chebby makes them.

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Originally posted by bethree5:
Have always thought PEE-CANS -...sounded like something to take a whiz in.
No, that's a PEE-cup

Then what's a pee-pod?

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Originally posted by Proofreader:

Then what's a pee-pod?

That's what a PEE-vish PEE-nut lives in. PEE-culiar, ain't it? And a flower-based diuretic is a PEE-on-ease.

Is it necessary to dry a peon?

Is a teepee an Indian outhouse?

I've often wondered how thick the output is in Mashpee, MA.

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Originally posted by Proofreader:
Is it necessary to dry a peon?

I don't know if they still do it, but US Border Patrol officers used to ask, "¿Estas mojado?" to arrested people. Literally, it means, "Are you wet," the implication being that they've waded across the Rio Grande. So, yes, sometimes one does have to dry a peon.

This is probably a very inappropriate question - but, is that where the pejorative term for Mexicans comes from?

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Originally posted by Kalleh:
This is probably a very inappropriate question - but, is that where the pejorative term for Mexicans comes from?

I've always assumed so. Oxford Dictionaries confirms it, although I'm slightly surprised it originated as long ago as the 1920s.

I'm not at all surprised, arnie, but then I spent much of my early years in Southern California, where most Anglos were quite prejudiced against anyone from South of the US/Mexico border. From second grade on, I attended school with Mexicans, Guatemalans, Salvadorans, etc, as well as Chinese and Japanese. I never sensed any prejudice against the Asians coming from adults, but many bristled with hatred of Mexicans, et.al.
Oddly, if you were descended from a Spanish Mexican family, you were considered white, hence little to no prejudice.

Proof, were you referring above to piso mojado, Spanish for "wet floor? I'm not quite sure. A peso for your thoughts!

I've always heard and assumed a peon was a person in a state of servitude to a more affluent master, one step up from slave.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: <Proofreader>,

Yes, thanks for clarifying. I just didn't track your thinking.

Geoff the dimwit