www.alphadictionary.com

Oh, we had the same thing. We called it elástico.

Brazilian dude

Well, in Tennessee, we called them rubber bands, because they were made out of rubber, see, but in Pittsburgh it is always gum bands. They are not made out of gum, so I don't know why they call them that, but having lived here now for 37 years, I have finally acclimated and succumbed to the local jargon, calling a rubber band a gum band only just recently. I sometimes surprise myself.

In stores I have always seen rubber bands labeled as rubber bands, never anything else.

William

Ditto to William, I grew up in NYC and the package when you bought them called them rubber bands.

I do know I have never heard an infant called a "doll baby" from anybody but those from western Pa.

Karen

I never realized until about a year ago that they aren't really gum bands,they're rubber bands.Yes,I am from the Pittsburgh area.

Do yins also have a crick near your house like I do?

WELCOME ALANALOVESYOU
Right~ I go by what the package says...Rubber Bands. Saw them in the store just yesterday...lol
uh oh there I go with my caps lock again lets see what kind of tongue lashing I get this time.....sorry folks just got out of my email mode where I still use permanent caps....

Karen

I never realized until about a year ago that they aren't really gum bands,they're rubber bands.Yes,I am from the Pittsburgh area.

Do yins also have a crick near your house like I do?

!!! 'yins'!

I have this friend (from NY) who insists that Pennsylvanians say "yins" or "yuns". Me, I vehemently deny this ever happens (I've honestly never heard it uttered) but of course I really speak for my side of the state. Maybe you and I can convince my friend that your half and my half of PA really are two different states.

However I will admit to having walked by a crick on my way to school...

PS too bad about Ben Rothlisberger

It would not surprise me to find that the western side of PA was more Appalachian in dialect, and the eastern side of PA more ... something else.

-Tim

The Internet is just full of useless, I mean useful, information!

Linguistic Geography of Pennsylvania

The Philadelphia Dialect

Pittsburghese.com

-Tim

The Internet is just full of useless, I mean useful, information!

Linguistic Geography of Pennsylvania

The Philadelphia Dialect

Pittsburghese.com

-Tim

Wow, what great links, thanks! I'll be getting lost in there a while. (or awhile). Particularly the Fluffya one.

OK, so Philly has its own dialect. But what's up with Hardee's ridiculous tv commercial with the two Philly cabbies. Even when I read the subtitles the conversation makes no sense. Sheesh!

!!! 'yins'!

I have this friend (from NY) who insists that Pennsylvanians say "yins" or "yuns". Me, I vehemently deny this ever happens (I've honestly never heard it uttered) but of course I really speak for my side of the state. Maybe you and I can convince my friend that your half and my half of PA really are two different states.

However I will admit to having walked by a crick on my way to school...

PS too bad about Ben Rothlisberger

Yins is very common around here. I don't actually live in Pittsburgh though, I live about 30 miles from there.I have a teacher who recently moved from Philly to here, and he was so confused one day when my friend asked if she could go to the pop machine,since he had only ever called it soda.It was so funny.

I do feel real bad for Ben, but I think he'll probably be ok,at least that's what they're saying all over the news. He should've been wearing a helmet though.

I grew up asking for an "elastic"!

I'm going to go out on a limb and posit that "gum" band is short for "gum rubber" band. I couldn't find any reference to gum rubber in Wikipedia, but a web search turned up several rubber company pages, such as this one, which seem to indicate that "pure gum" rubber is "natural" rubber, as opposed to a synthetic rubber such as Neoprene and Nitrile.

I grew up asking for an "elastic"!

That's what we call it here in my neck of the woods: elástico.

Brazilian dude