"jimmies" in Philadelphia

[Mark A. Mandel]

I wrote:

>Just a few minutes ago, at a Ben & Jerry's ice cream shop here in
>Philadelphia, I ordered my ice cream with sprinkles, according to the option
>shown on the menu.  Working through our multi-part order, the young woman
>behind the counter asked a moment later, "Did you want that with jimmies?" I
>said, "Yes, please.... Did you say 'jimmies'? I've hardly ever heard that
>word outside the Boston area."  She said, "They say it quite a bit down
>here, too."
>
>I told my wife about it and she came up with the following theory: "When the
>Massachusetts delegation came down her to write the Declaration of
>Independence, they had to bypass New York because it was held by the
>British.  They brought the word 'jimmies' with them, and that's why it's
>current in Boston and Philadelphia but not New York."  Happy Independence
>Day!

Barbara Need answered:
        >>>

Well, except that I lived near Philadelphia for three years (1978-9,
1980-2) and never heard 'jimmies' for sprinkles. And I would have
noticed, I came down there from Massachusetts.
        <<<

I assume you weren't taking my wife's "theory" seriously!

I noticed this one just because we, too, have come down from Massachusetts.
We lived there from 1980 to 2002 -- briefly in Brighton, then in Marlboro
for a couple of years, then in Framingham from about 1983 on.  I moved to
the Philadelphia to work in about September of 2002, and a year later bought
a house and brought my family down as well.

When we first came to the Boston area we were surprised by the term
"jimmies", which we were unfamiliar with, and then quickly learned that it
was local to the area, and adopted it ourselves.  We have seldom if ever
heard it outside New England.

But you left Philadelphia just about as we were setting up in Massachusetts,
over 20 years ago.  Should it be surprising if the word has jumped or spread
from Boston to Philadelphia, with or without skipping New York, in a
generation?  Especially if carried by a generation of college students.  I
have one data point now, plus hearsay, all from the same informant, a
college-age woman working in a store serving a mostly university population
across the street from an Ivy League campus.  I don't know how widespread
the word is in Philadelphia overall, but I would not be at all surprised if
it were somewhat well-known among the students and totally unfamiliar
further out.

-- Mark A. Mandel
[This text prepared with Dragon NaturallySpeaking.]