The Great Pop vs. Soda Controversy

Joel S. Berson Berson at ATT.NET
Tue May 22 18:36:32 UTC 2007


I'll have to experiment in the Boston metro area:  "What flavors of
tonic do you have?"  Or, if there are still soda fountains these
days, "Can you make a cherry tonic for me?"  The respondents will all
undoubtedly be under 21.  Especially during the summer.

Joel

At 5/22/2007 02:12 PM, you wrote:
>Unfortunately, that seems to be the case. In the Boston area, I have
>only one local friend, a fifty-ish native of Haverhill, MA, who uses
>*only* "tonic" as his term for a carbonated soft drink.
>
>-Wilson
>
>On 5/21/07, Amy West <medievalist at w-sts.com> wrote:
>>---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>-----------------------
>>Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>Poster:       Amy West <medievalist at W-STS.COM>
>>Subject:      Re: The Great Pop vs. Soda Controversy
>>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> >So we're walking along, going down side streets from Forbes Ave, looking
>> >for somewhere he can buy something to drink, when we see an old guy
>> >walking along the other side of the street. "Hey!" calls Mike, the
>> >thirsty New Hampshirean (yeah, i know, i know, Nutmegger). "You know
>> >where i can buy a soda?"
>>
>>He ain't a Nutmegger 'lessin' he's from Connecticut.
>>
>>Here in Worcester, the term is "tonic," though I've heard it in vivo
>>only from the same informant, so I think it's dying out.
>>
>>---Amy West
>>
>>------------------------------------------------------------
>>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
>
>--
>All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
>come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
>-----
>                                              -Sam'l Clemens
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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