Silly question...is it Falls OF Neuse or Falls OF THE Neuse? (Raleigh: zoning, shopping center)

[suedonym]

Originally Posted by VickiR

I agree! Falls of THE Neuse makes sense. Falls of Neuse doesn't even sound gramatically correct!!!

At my house, we also just call it "Falls". Except when it turns into Old Wake Forest Road!

Vicki

I know, right??? and old wake forest rd should not be confused with wake forest rd. and lynn rd and spring forest are the same, depending on what side of six forks you're on. god i love this town and all its crazy street naming ways LMAO

Originally Posted by Sayantsi

Yes, Falls of the Neuse is what I've always called it, or Falls, and people know what I'm talking about. It is afterall talking about a feature of THE river.

I think "Falls of Neuse" is new lazy speak, up there with people that say "Belks" when referring to the department store "Belk", or "the Gap" when referring to the clothing store called "Gap". Etc...

i do call it belks. remember belkie bear? used to come out at xmas every year. dont know if it still does LOL.

i dont think its lazy, it IS what the street is named, but that doesnt mean locals cant change the name. why not? we change other road names LOL

for the record, i call it pennys, too.

Originally Posted by HS_DUDE

I don't think it's "lazy speak" if the actual name is "Falls of Neuse".

Sounds like the "lazy" ones are those who don't take the time to say a name properly "just because that's the way we always done it".

i like the way weve always done it. cant be the only one, with so many others doing it too.

Originally Posted by jeffs555

I have lived here since the late 60's and have always heard it and called it Falls of the Neuse. Maybe my mind just filled in a "the" on the road signs, or maybe the person who ordered or painted the signs actually put a "the" on them. I used to ride out there often to watch them building the dam and swear there was a "the" on the signs.

PS This Corps of Engineers site about the dam lists their address as "11405 Falls Of The Neuse Road". Corps Lakes Gateway: North Carolina - Falls Lake

that settles it then, if the COE calls it THE... its THE, dang nabbit!

Seriously though, I agree... I would SWEAR i remember seeing street signs with 'the' - not all of them mind you, but we used to go drink out at the dam (yeah sure, i was 21 **cough cough**...LOL) and i even remember commenting a couple of times how some signs had 'the' and others didnt...

[suedonym]

by the way, i just told hubby that there is no 'the'

and he didnt believe me until he looked it up. LMAOOOOOOOOOOO

he says maybe it started cause if you say it fast and add a drawl to it... it kinda sounds like theres a 'the' in there LMAO

regardless, for us, it always has been, and always WILL be... falls of THE neuse... correct or not

[Poggly Woggly]

Originally Posted by suedonym

I know, right??? and old wake forest rd should not be confused with wake forest rd. and lynn rd and spring forest are the same, depending on what side of six forks you're on. god i love this town and all its crazy street naming ways LMAO

How about Park Dr....Park Ave....West Park Dr....East Park Dr....all within a few blocks of each other. It's all part of what makes it so fun to live here

Oh...and I grew up saying Hudson "Belts"...still do too

[RaleighLass]

I've been here since 74 and it was always called Fall of the Neuse. I thought roads signs used to say that? In recent year - this is relative...20 yrs seems recent to me Anyhow, it seems the signs changed to Falls of Neuse. I think there is an older thread on here with proof of it being "of the" rather than "of". Mind you I think I'm suffering from info overload, running out of RAM So could be mistaken on the thread content.

[RaleighLass]

PS - I also say Downtown Blvd for Capital as it was once broken up this way. Of course I also remember Charlie Wygul Ford there and Leith's cat on the roof ANd the big man at the building supply place. As well as the green shield stamp place on downtown blvd.

[Francois]

Originally Posted by HS_DUDE

I don't think it's "lazy speak" if the actual name is "Falls of Neuse".

Of course not. I wouldn't call it "lazy" in either direction (thought "lazy" usually would mean subtracting from the name, not adding to it)

Sounds like the "lazy" ones are those who don't take the time to say a name properly "just because that's the way we always done it".

Not if it used to be called the other name. Seems like people who've lived here for decades might know a teensy bit more about the area than someone who's a recent arrival, don't you agree?

[BurntHombre]

Doesn't Neuse in this context refer to the Neuse river? And would that explain why many people instinctively insert "the"?

[Poggly Woggly]

Originally Posted by BurntHombre

Doesn't Neuse in this context refer to the Neuse river? And would that explain why many people instinctively insert "the"?

Yes....it's referring to the river. It's about the falls on the river. It's about the road that would take you to the falls on the river. It's all about the falls of the Neuse River.

[CHTransplant]

So has anyone actually ever gotten lost because they were looking for "Falls of THE Neuse Road" and they just couldn't find it, only some similarly named street called "Falls of Neuse Road" (or vice versa)?

[suedonym]

might not be too PC to say... but if they DID... they deserved to be lost and need more than a street sign to help them LOL