How We Talk

Author: Allan Metcalf
Published: 2000

Covering accents and curious local terms, Metcalf conducts a tour of the U.S., region by region. Also has a section on ethnic accents and slang, and also how well, or poorly, accents are portrayed in the movies.

Among the interesting facts, I learned why nearby Woods Hole is called a hole (term for a bay or channel), what Southerners mean by butter bean, and how the milk shake got the name 'kabinet' in Rhode Island (just be sure to ask for a frappe in Massachusetts if you want ice cream in it).