What do you call it - pop, soda, or soda-pop? (1 Viewer)

[Malcolm R]

Same with hoagie! It's NOT A SUB!

Say what? You talkin' about a "grinder"?

 

[Michael*K]

I just got back from visiting friends in Connecticut and I can tell you that people there have no idea what the hell I'm talking about when I ask what kind of pop they have.
Took me a day to figure out that a "grinder" is east coast lingo for a sub sandwich and a yard sale out there is known as a "tag sale." Those East Coasters sure do talk funny.

 

[Chuck C]

Cleveland, Ohio: POP!

 

[Joseph S]

have no idea what the hell I'm talking about when I ask what kind of pop they have.

Yeah, and when you ask for a pop. I'll ask, Where do you want it?
Soda is far more common now, though "tonic" does seem to have remained in some locales due to parental influences. Coke and other brand names are also very common.
As for the other issue. It is definitely a Sub, though the packaging at many "sub" shops usually has all the slang sprawled all over the bag. i.e. hoagie, hero, grinder, submarine, ...
I have never heard of a "tag" sale though. It was always a Yard Sale in my area.

 

[Graeme Clark]

Here you go
http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~almccon/pop_soda/
New Poll: How many times have you answered this question in HTF?
And all you "Coke" people are still crazy. Coke is generic for a cola, not a fizzy drink.

 

[Van Patton]

Here I call it Coke. If I want diet, I say diet coke.

 

[KeithH]

Being from the east, I say soda. My girlfriend, being from Pittsburgh, says pop.

 

[Steve Enemark]

People in the West call it pop. People in the East call it soda.

Interesting theory, but wrong. I've lived on the West Coast my entire life, and hardly anyone I've met (from around here) says "pop". Soda/Pop seems to be an Urban/Rural thing, more than east-west.

 

[Micah Lloyd]

Me: I'd like a Coke.

Server: Is Pepsi OK?

Me: No.

Server: -blank look-

(Although one server, it seems, knew better: her response was, "Is Pepsi OK or would you rather have a Dr. Pepper?")

I hope I didn't just start a Coke vs. Pepsi debate...

 

[RossTerry]

i go with soda. you will get strange looks in texas if you ask for a pop

my grandpa says soda water or bellywash

 

[Yee-Ming]

not that it has any relevance to a regional US debate regarding soda v. pop, but if memory serves (I spent 3 yrs in England as a child), the Brits call it "pop". (perhaps "full-time" Brits could confirm this?)
that would've suggested that East Coasters would use "pop" as well and West Coasters "soda" instead, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

 

[CameronS]

"Soda" for me.
It's weird here in North Carolina. You'd be surprised how many people call it "Drink". For some reason, that bothers me.

 

[David Williams]

Here in OK we call it 'pop'.

 

[Steve Tannehill]

We call it Soft Drink in Dallas.

- Steve

 

[Jeff Kleist]

Oooh, New England (more specifically Rhode Island, where the term originated) slang!
Unfortunately for you, I am well versed! Nothing goes better with a good hoagie than a cabinet! (Waiting for confused stares)

 

[Brad_V]

Seems like most places in Wisconsin it's "pop," although I think people are starting to go the "soda" route because they are realizing they sound dumb to other people. Or, as mentioned, maybe it is more an urban/rural thing.

To get a really crazy look from out-of-staters, all we have to do is mention a "bubbler." No one calls them "water fountains" here.

It's also fun telling people about "cheese curds" and "Friday fish fries" and all that. Sometimes I think Wisconsin is really on another planet as far as most people are concerned -- which might explain why TV characters from the midwest all seem to be from Wisconsin. It's like writers sitting at a table in Hollywood say to each other, "Hmmm, we need an off-the-wall character from a weird place to liven-up the show... I know, let's say he's from Wisconsin!"

This is the first time I've ever heard of a "tag sale." There's rummage sales, there's yard sales, and there's garage sales, (all the same thing), but a *tag* sale? Weird!

 

[Matt Stone]

Pop in mid to northern Indiana. My friend from Evansville calls everything Coke though. When I go to his house and I ask for a Coke, he always catches me off-gaurd by replying "What kind?"

 

[Todd K]

I did some research for a college newspaper article a few years back. I spoke to a few linguists, and they basically confirmed what that linked map said: Pop is centered mostly around the Great Lakes region, possibly being influenced by the region's major city, Chicago. I'm from Buffalo, a solid Pop town. if you go a bit further east to Rochester, you're in mixed Soda/Pop country, and by the time you hit the eastern part of the state, you're in soda territory.

 

[Danny R]

Why do we use brand-specific names? I couldn't tell you.
Its called branding, and is the goal of every advertising agency in the world. You know you've succeeded when your product is so dominant that its name is synonymous with the same type of product made by other companies.

 

[MartinTeller]

I used to say pop (I'm from Chicago), but now I usually say soft drink.