Haverhill and tonic

[Joel S. Berson]

At 7/20/2009 12:37 AM, Your Name wrote:
>In a message dated 7/20/2009 12:00:46 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
>LISTSERV at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU [AKS Wilson] writes:
>
>my  friend who uses "tonic" for soda / pop / soda pop / soda
>water, etc., is  from Haverhill [hEIvr at l] and not from the city.

Residents of the City of Haverhill would be offended.  Now if Wilson
had written "not from the big city" ...


>-Wilson
>
>
>FWIW, my grandmother, a city-of-Boston native, always called it tonic as
>well.    How old is your friend?  Maybe the difference is  generational
>rather than geographical.
>
>Rosemarie

When I came to the gown city (Cambridge) in the mid-50s, I was told
to say "tonic" -- and "frappe".  And some locals did.

Joel

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org