I had a nursing instructor who called condoms condones--as in "I don't condone your use of condoms."

Well damn. Are you sure you're not a midwesterner hidden in an east coasters body?

It depends on where in the East you are. There is an awful lot of East Coast ... and what goes in Philadelphia doesn't work in New England, or in Miami.

I start a large number of my sentences in conversations with "Yeah, no," as in, "Yeah, no I'm not sure where it is," or "Yeah, no you're totally right." It doesn't bother me, since in my mind it's usually because I'm agreeing with a negative, but it drives my father crazy and he nags me about it every time I see him.

Not much gets me out here... but the weirdest accents / linguistics I have ever heard were from two different guys from Fresno. I blame pollution.

I don't see the problem. Gershwin's got rhythm. He's also got music. There's honorable precedent.

Philaspeak often requres that one say "He/She/It goes" rather than "says."

I hate hearing that more than anything esle! "He goes" instead of "He said", and "He's like" instead of "He said". When I hear a person saying one of those phrases repeatedly, I want to have them write down what they're saying and listen to how stupid it sounds and looks when read.

My brother-in-law exchanges "says" and "goes". As in "he goes "oh yeah?" then says bam on the side of his head"

I think a lot of your examples were New Yorkisms, especially standing "on" line.

I've been thinking about little ways I say words and stuff, and I've found a few more I'm guilty of overusing (or just using period):

Watchoo = What [are] you
'zif = as if
Whater = what are [you] (optional version of Watchoo)
'ag = cool, sweet, awesome, you get the idea
don' = don't
jus' = just
(i think i have an aversion to t's)
all ya'll
"hey man" - I say this to people regardless of their sex.. oops
"buggy" - shopping cart
Also guilty of "he/she/it goes"
"ya know?" after a statement
I wait on people instead of for them
I stall the elevator instead of hold it
No one can audibly tell the difference when I say pen and pin.. they both sound like pin

and yes rkzenrage i change all my and's to " 'n" .... " 'n then what happened?"


People always tell me I have an accent, but they can never quite pinpoint exactly what it is since I've done my growning up in thirds in California, Tennessee, and now Ohio.. now it all has melted together in a sticky mess of lingo and slang and who the freak knows what else.

Alternate form of "whater":
Whaddaya as in "whaddaya doin'"

A coworker just asked me how to spell "stinch" She meant stench. I told her she was so Ohio! (I am too, but try not to show it!)

I use both. If someone is making me wait somewhat against my will, I'm waiting on them. If it's expected that they will arrive at a certain time, and they are not yet late, I am waiting for them.

Is it Pittsburgh where they say din't instead of didn't?

I've always interpreted "he said" as

"Now I'm going to repeat the words that he used"

and "he's like" as

"Now I'm going to do a whole body imitation of him at the moment that he said these words"