What is your definition of a yinzer? (Pittsburgh, Beaver: fit in, store)

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by Aqua Teen Carl

Yinzer and rube should not be considered insults.

That's how I feel, too. Jagoff is the insult. Not all yinzers are jagoffs, and not all jagoffs are yinzers.

By the way, where did the work jagoff come from?

[Aqua Teen Carl]

Originally Posted by Caladium

By the way, where did the work jagoff come from?

No idea, I don't think I'm old enough to have been around for its origins. It's obviously a spin off of "jerk off", and "jag" has several meanings including "screwing around" (stop jaggin'!), "jerk", and "jagger bush" (thorn bush).

Also while we're at it, when did Pittsburghers start using the term "rubbish" instead of garbage? That's a Brit term. Perhaps one day we'll replace the phrase "are you jaggin' me" with "are you taking the piss?"

[Tinare]

Do You Speak American . Sea to Shining Sea . American Varieties . Pittsburghese | PBS

"Many of these Scotch-Irish, along with other people from Ulster of native Irish and northern English ancestry, emigrated from northern Ireland to North America at the end of the 17th century and during the 18th century. Scotch-Irish immigrants also settled west and south of Pennsylvania, moving along the Ohio River and the Appalachian Mountains. Thus many features that can be traced to their way of speaking are found in Midwestern and Appalachian speech as well as in western Pennsylvania. Some of these words and structures are also still in use in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Among the many words used in southwestern Pennsylvania that are probably Scotch-Irish are redd up (clean up, tidy), nebby, slippy, and diamond for a town square. So is the word jag in the sense of poke or stab, from which come jagger (thorn, burr), jaggerbush (thorny bush), jag somebody off (irritate), jag around (fool around, goof off), and jagoff (a derogatory term for someone stupid or inept). Yinz, which is found throughout the Appalachians in various forms (such as you’uns), is most likely Scotch-Irish as well. So is the grammatical peculiarity found in expressions like The car needs washed or These customers want seated, where other dialects would have an infinitive (needs to be washed) or a present participle (needs washing). This is also found in Appalachian English and in the central Midwest."

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by Aqua Teen Carl

Well since Pittsburgh is commonly labeled (or mis-labeled) as the "gateway to the Midwest" I thought rube would be a good starting point as to what a Yinzer is to our area. Basically Midwest rubes, Pittsburgh Yinzers, Texas Good ol' boys, etc. are the areas "common folk" with their own particular traits. Simple American people who are set in their ways and nothing more.

Yinzer and rube should not be considered insults.

This is at least a mild insult:

Rube - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary

an awkward unsophisticated person : rustic
2: a naive or inexperienced person

Synonyms: bumpkin, chawbacon, churl, clodhopper, cornball, countryman, hayseed, hillbilly, provincial, hick, rustic, yokel

************************************************

From another source:
rube/ro͞ob/Noun: A country bumpkin.

Furthermore, not all "rubes" are midwestern, and not all midwesterners are "rubes".

[Aqua Teen Carl]

Originally Posted by Tinare

Do You Speak American . Sea to Shining Sea . American Varieties . Pittsburghese | PBS

"Many of these Scotch-Irish, along with other people from Ulster of native Irish and northern English ancestry, emigrated from northern Ireland to North America at the end of the 17th century and during the 18th century. Scotch-Irish immigrants also settled west and south of Pennsylvania, moving along the Ohio River and the Appalachian Mountains. Thus many features that can be traced to their way of speaking are found in Midwestern and Appalachian speech as well as in western Pennsylvania. Some of these words and structures are also still in use in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Among the many words used in southwestern Pennsylvania that are probably Scotch-Irish are redd up (clean up, tidy), nebby, slippy, and diamond for a town square. So is the word jag in the sense of poke or stab, from which come jagger (thorn, burr), jaggerbush (thorny bush), jag somebody off (irritate), jag around (fool around, goof off), and jagoff (a derogatory term for someone stupid or inept). Yinz, which is found throughout the Appalachians in various forms (such as you’uns), is most likely Scotch-Irish as well. So is the grammatical peculiarity found in expressions like The car needs washed or These customers want seated, where other dialects would have an infinitive (needs to be washed) or a present participle (needs washing). This is also found in Appalachian English and in the central Midwest."

Thanks for the info, repped.

[cowboyxjon]

For what it's worth, I grew up in Schuylkill County, and the term "skook" carries pretty much the same meaning as "yinzer" does in Pittsburgh.

[Aqua Teen Carl]

Originally Posted by Katiana

This is at least a mild insult:

Rube - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary

an awkward unsophisticated person : rustic
2: a naive or inexperienced person

Synonyms: bumpkin, chawbacon, churl, clodhopper, cornball, countryman, hayseed, hillbilly, provincial, hick, rustic, yokel

rube/ro͞ob/Noun: A country bumpkin.

Well that's crappy. Unfortunately people equate the typical American countryman as a yokel. I think that's a larger problem actually, why are American common folk labeled as hicks by definition?

Originally Posted by Katiana

Furthermore, not all "rubes" are midwestern, and not all midwesterners are "rubes".

Of course, just as not all Pittsburghers are Yinzers and such.

[fleetiebelle]

Originally Posted by Aqua Teen Carl

No idea, I don't think I'm old enough to have been around for its origins. It's obviously a spin off of "jerk off", and "jag" has several meanings including "screwing around" (stop jaggin'!), "jerk", and "jagger bush" (thorn bush).

From what I've read, the modern association with "jerk off" is completely wrong (or at least it's not where the word came from.) A "jagoff" is someone who's prickly and thorny a la the jagger bush.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by Aqua Teen Carl

Well that's crappy. Unfortunately people equate the typical American countryman as a yokel. I think that's a larger problem actually, why are American common folk labeled as hicks by definition?



Of course, just as not all Pittsburghers are Yinzers and such.

You still don't get it. Both terms are insulting (rube and yinzer).

[Aqua Teen Carl]

Originally Posted by Katiana

You still don't get it. Both terms are insulting (rube and yinzer).

I personally don't think so, but that's my opinion. We throw call each other Yinzers in the office openly all the time and people actually take pride in it. I've lived here all my life and not once have I seen someone insulted for being a Yinzer. That's the local identity and people embrace it. ::shrug::