City Names

[Simon,Beth]

Madison WI is "Mad-Town".

In Des Moines, one hears residents consciously and derisively say [dEz moynz]
or, occasionally, [dEz moynEz] (where capped E = mid front lax), presumably
to dig a big sarcastic ditch between us, who know it is [d@ moyn] (where
@=schwa) and them who say [dez moynz] in ignorance, or on analogy with [dEs
plenz] .


beth simon

Joseph McCollum wrote:

> In the sports pages, it's usually "Cincy," "Indy" (not "Indie,")
> "Philly," and "Frisco."
> I lived in Ann Arbor for six years, and I never heard it called "Narber,"
> and definitely not written that way -- "A^2," said "A-squared,"  yes, but
> not "Narber."
> Also I've seen and heard "Nawlins" for "New Orleans," and "The 'burgh"
> for "Pittsburgh" although the latter is not abbreviating the city name.
>
> In re "The Third Degree" -- what are the "First" and "Second" degrees?
> Are they more or less severe than The Third Degree?
>
> First degree murder is a more severe crime than third degree murder, but
> then a third degree burn (charring of the skin) is more severe than a
> first degree burn (just redness).