Detroit slang?

[Django]

Smear the queer was another delightful game we used to play in the late 70s, it often ended in a n----r pile.

[MizMotown]

This is definitely on the nose... lol

Company names as possessives
In the early 1900's, the Ford Motor Company's sole factory was known by people all over Michigan as "Ford's Factory", since it was owned by Henry Ford. Like a virus, this wacky mispronunciation spread to any large shrine of industry or commerce.
"Where do you work?" "Oh, I work at Ford's." "I see, and evidently you were schooled in Ohio."
So "Meijer" became "Meijers", "Kroger" became "Krogers", and inexplicably, "K-Mart" became... "K-Marts"! For the record, folks... there is no family by the name of "K-Mart" that owns that chain.

Ones I kinda remember...

skype - red head
wayco boys - Wayne County Sheriff
f*ck n' A [[dude)
in your dreams...
psyche
chill
gel [[burnout) smoker, partyer
jock
jams [[music)
kick ass
dude
scrap [[fight)
scum [[scumbag)
TOTALLY!

[DetroitZack]

Forklifts were called "hi-lows"

They still are. I'm a department manager at Kroger in Plymouth and it is never called a forklft, we call it either a hi-low or the straddle jack. I was under the assumption "hi-low" is used all over.

[tompage]

Case Quarter
As I came out of the Highland Park Aldi's today a lady asked me if I had a "case quarter" for some change. She needed it for a shopping cart. I hadn't heard that term in years! Spent 25 years in LA and never heard it. I knew exactly what she wanted: a regular old quarter. Don't know if that's Detroit slang, but I've never heard it anywhere else!

[Tony Codfish]

In my earlier post on this thread I responded to princealbert’s comment about calling your friends by standing out on the sidewalk and call a friends name til they would come out.
That was something I had not thought about in a long time. That was really the sound of living in our neighborhood. A warm evening after dinner but before it started to get dark ... listening you could hear the sound of kids doing that calling thing sometimes two or three at a time, blocks apart ... maybe the sound of the ice cream truck’s bells in the background making its final pass blocks away. We wanted to get some more time in playing with friends because we knew that it was only a short time until we’d all be at a dead run back home to save our skins, racing the streetlights coming on.

Im wondering about Dinky Dau, that sounds like Vietnamese ...
I wouldn't be surprised if that was brought back by some of our Vets.

The couple guys I recall using the term were in fact vets just back from vietnam. One of them I recall used the phrase “dee dee” all the time for darn near everything.

Re: my comment about the term “messer”.

Must've been a German part of town.

Actually yes, the kid who used to say that was of German descent ... his parents were from Germany .... they were from the 25th street and Fort area.

Speaking of someone’s descent, something else that was common was to ask where someone was “from” ... meaning, of what descent. As a kid it was so common for everybody we knew to be only a generation or two removed from the “old country” we just assumed that everyone had a back story. And if someone you asked said they didn’t know, they’d get looked at like they were from the moon.

[Tony Codfish]

Sike! The hard "i" sound is drawn out and more or less means "just kidding" after making a misleading statement. More literally, to psyche someone out. I remember this as a kid from the 70s. Still used, often nostalgically.

"gimme five" and then you'd pull your hand away before it could be hit and say "psych!"

how bout:
" gimme five, on the side, in the hole, you got soul".

[Signman]

I didn't read every post but someone had to mention pluralizing or adding an s to every proper noun or place.
I went to Meijer[[s) or I work at Ford[[s).

[Django]

Ive always liked adding an "s" to companies like JC Pennies and Hudsons like my elders did.

[ibsquared]

"Dogs'" - Chanel lock pliers.
"jewish lighting" - arson
"Hi-Lo" - fork truck

[tvaspen]

I don't know if this a midwest thing or a specific Michigan thing, but when I moved to Colorado in the late 70's, I went to the bar and asked for a shell of beer. They had no idea what I was talking about. My Canadian relatives pronounced Detroit, Detroy-it.

[HomerStreet]

I didn't read every post but someone had to mention pluralizing or adding an s to every proper noun or place.
I went to Meijer[[s) or I work at Ford[[s).

What a laugh! I've included those possessives my whole life but never even 'heard' them. Never noticed not everyone does that!

[kathy2trips]

Talkin' in rhyme,
Pappy did it all the time.

[Corn.Bot]

Probably not just a Detroit thing, but Detroit's where I learned how to use lyrics as conversation. Just did this without even thinking about it the other day, when the weather was first nice enough. I said to my husband, "Open up that window, let some air into this room." He responded with, "I think I'm almost choking from the smell of stale perfume." And so on. We did most of the song. Annoys the heck out of our teenager when we do this, which is not the intent but is still a nice side benefit. Heh.

[gnome]

Heard a new one yesterday.

I met a gentleman who happened to be sporting a rather unattractive goose egg on his forehead. When I inquired as to the story behind the headknot, he said, "... Bitch done hit me wit a smoothy!" "A smoothy? That must have been one heck of a frozen treat." I said.

"No, motherf......er, a smmmoooffee" he said drawing out his words while moving his arm back and forth.

Now completely confused, I confessed I had no idea what he was talking about.

"she was smoothin her dress" again with the arm motion.

Then it hit me like a smoothy to the forehead ... He was hit with a hot iron.

[jcole]

Heard a new one yesterday.

I met a gentleman who happened to be sporting a rather unattractive goose egg on his forehead. When I inquired as to the story behind the headknot, he said, "... Bitch done hit me wit a smoothy!" "A smoothy? That must have been one heck of a frozen treat." I said.

"No, motherf......er, a smmmoooffee" he said drawing out his words while moving his arm back and forth.

Now completely confused, I confessed I had no idea what he was talking about.

"she was smoothin her dress" again with the arm motion.

Then it hit me like a smoothy to the forehead ... He was hit with a hot iron.

I don't think that's slang; I just don't think he knew what an iron was.

[Django]

I heard a new one today.

A dude I know who works at the Cass Cafe was in the supermarket the other day. While shopping he noticed a frozen turkey fall down and out of the bottom of a womans dress, kerplunk onto the floor. She was obviously trying to shoplift the frozen bird. She looked around and then directly at my friend eye to eye and points at him, "You Better Don't" she says threateningly".

You better don't. You couldnt make that shit up, We were all rotfl.

[BRAZZMAN]

People referring to Detroit as "The D". I mean those doofus jerks on local TV and other media types. I don't hear it in general conversation on the street or anywhere. But I don't get out much. Anyway, I don't like it. A lame attempt to appear hip.

[Bigb23]

I'm watching Elvira[[Boobs) who has a nice evening show[[Boobs), Playing now is, [[Boobs)Teenagers from Outer space [[Boobs) How old is Elvira? [[Boobs). My mind is on [[Boobs). And Elvira. And[[Boobs)

[Django]

I myself am an elvira man.

[rb336]

They had no idea what I was talking about. My Canadian relatives pronounced Detroit, Detroy-it.

in a musty old hall in detroy-it they prayed...

[One Shot]

The Imperial Tailights...
My Dad called them bird catchers!

[Dave70]

The th sound at the end of a word changed to an f... I went to DPS from '76-'85 and don't remember that happening back then.

[jcdfde5]

"shut that light off"
I never got that one?

[gnome]

I myself am an elvira man.

And a Meg White fan if I recall correctly.

hmm, I'm detecting a trend.

[Scottathew]

Calling streets strictly by their mile road number, even if that street isn't named as a mile road.

Example: "Meet me at 15 and Livernois". This would be a request to meet at Maple Road and Livernois Road, even though the road is only known as "15 Mile Road" east of Dequindre.