in reply to Re: Etymologies and Dialects
in thread I refer to a non-specified carbonated beverage as a:
Yeah. Since I'm from Ohio, you can probably guess what I call the stuff. Though, to be honest, I usually refer to a specific type ("root beer", "cola", or cetera), or if I'm including various types of things to drink there are almost certainly some included that are not carbonated (water, Kool-Aid, milk, ..., so I just call them "beverages".
Oh, a fun thing to do: next time somebody asks you what you want to drink (especially if it's somebody taking your order at a restaurant), matter-of-factly ask for "room-temperature tapwater", and watch the reaction. You get some weird looks. I didn't think anything about it (I drink quarts of the stuff a day) until I saw how someone else reacted. Apparently, it's not high on everyone's list of things to drink. So if I don't want to elicit a reaction I just order the root beer.
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