Why do people in KC call highway names weirdly? (California: houses, college)

[RadioSilence]

Growing up in Lawrence, we just said "24" or "59". There were no other similar-numbered roads to cause any confusion. But we would say "I-70" rather than 70.

In Washington, the state highways are labeled on road signs, for example, S.R. 252 (for state route 252). In Nashville, I encountered a lot of highways with the word "Pike" in the name.

The "40 Highway" or "71 Highway" bugs me a little, only because I've been instructed to put it on TV that way. It looks odd when I type it out. I would rather say U.S. 40 or Hwy. 40.

[Central Illinois 1]

Originally Posted by aragx6

Wait you don't say stoop in KC? I think we say stoop in St. Louis. I mean I'm not sure I ever took note of anyone saying it, but I know I say it and I don't have much close family on the East Coast, so I figure I got it from St. Louis.

Anyone from St. Louis want to weigh in on this one?

We didn't say stoop in the part of STL that I lived. It was a step (unspectacularly)...

[carpe777]

Wondered about the whole "40 Highway" thing myself; other transplants to KC said it must be a KC thing. And you don't hear it as much on the Kansas side of town.

Perhaps the explanation, though, is at the root of the propensity to call all the universities in the area KU, MU, etc for University of Kansas and University of Missouri. My theory on that (yet to be disputed) is that when Univ of Kansas began to make a consistent name for itself wayyy back when ( I know..I know.. the game was invented there), there was already a UK. Go Cats! MU just followed suit.

[muman]

Originally Posted by stlguy1976

I have heard you guys say things like 40 highway, 50 highway, etc. How weird is that? Explain please....is this a KC thing?

When I lived in St. Louis, people would say, take Highway 40 and get off at Brentwood Blvd to get to the Galleria.

I don't understand how it's unique to KC. Do you just mean the reversal of Highway, and 40 in the sentence?

[TabulaRasa]

Yep, that's what they say, here. Not "Highway 40," but "40 Highway."

[OneKC]

Its pop, not soda.

[chadam2saint]

this is a funny discussion. i think saying the number before the highway makes more sense... because clearly we know it's a highway. you know like how you say 22nd street, not street 22? (i've always said 40th/50th highway)

as to that outter/frontage road thing...i'm no sure about that. i've never heard those terms spoken before, really...though it's not hard to understand what they mean.

we say tennis shoes/sneakers. soda never pop. shelters. bbq never cook-out. restrooms/toilets never washroom.

[chadam2saint]

kc dosen't say pop...that's a total nothern thing.

[aragx6]

^Pretty sure this is wrong. Pretty much everyone I've spoken with who grew up here says pop. St. Louis is the soda abnormality in the midwest it seems.

[northbound74]

... along with eastern Wisconsin.

Some poor soul had enough time on their hands to make a map:

http://www.bloodywellwrite.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/popvssodamap2.png (broken link)

I'm totally jealous if they actually got paid to do it.