Why do Texans refer to all soda as "Coke"? (Dallas: school, stats)

[blueskies49]

Originally Posted by case44

Actually, Belle, I've spotted some in my end of the state. They can be found at Central Market locations in D/FW.

Oh, really, case? I was just at the Central Market in Fort Worth on Saturday. I don't drink any kind of cokes much but sometimes I get a hankering for one.

[Reactionary]

In Boston, especially the North Shore, them Yankees refer to Cokes (aka soda, pop) as 'tonic'.

Imagine my surprise when I was asked if I wanted a tonic... I was thinking quinine and gin

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[mikeyyc]

Originally Posted by Sonrise

I only brought up BMW because someone, I forget who, mentioned that Coke had a huge influence on the "south" thus every soft drink became "coke" similarily BMW's headquartered here in Greenville, therefore having an influence on the community. So using the flawed logic that all sodas should be called coke, all cars here in SC should be called BMW's.

Actually a couple of things. 1) BMW North America may be in Greenville. BMW's corporate head office is in Munich. 2) There are large sections of the world where "Ford" is a generic description for a car/truck.

[bluenoter]

When I order a coke, I usually get a Dr. Pepper.

[doctorjef]

This comes as a complete surprise to me. I lived in Austin for 22 years, Ft Worth for a total of almost 7 years, in Beaumont for a year, Lubbock for 3 years, and various other places in the state when I was a younger kid. I always thought "Coke" meant a Coca-Cola and nothing else. No one that I knew confused it with Dr Pepper, Orange Crush, grape soda, Upper Ten, Seven Up or any other soft drink! This is either some kind of extremely regionalised thing, a social class thing, or a generational thing.

[Bulldawg82]

I still think "coke" when I actually say "soda". I (and many others) refer to photo-copying as "Xeroxing" as well. Language is funny that way and it reflects the uniqueness/quirkiness of people. I think its great.

[quietthings]

Argh....I hear people use 'coke' referring to soda in general all the time, so annoying. Even though I've been born and raised here in Texas, I say 'soda' and *gasp* 'soft drink'. I'll catch a strange look now and then....*sigh* Can't wait to get out of East Texas.

[doctorjef]

Maybe it's an East Texas thing? If they used it that way in Beaumont (SE TX), I was either oblivious to it or have simply forgotten. Maybe not really being a soft drink enthusiast accounts for my lack of knowledge about this. Could this also be an educational artifact? Don't kill me for asking that, but maybe people in my little elitist part of the professional world in Texas simply didn't use "coke" as a general tag for all soft drinks.

[Westerner92]

I don't know if this has been said before (I'm not going to read all 15 pages), but some people call a soft drink "coke" like Kleenex is used for a tissue or Xerox used for "to copy". Or is that regional also?

[texdav]

Originally Posted by ITChick

That's interesting. I noticed that too when I spent time in Houston last year.
I made the mistake of asking one of the clerks at a grocery store there where the "Pop" aisle was, and although she looked at me funny (I'm a midwesterner and that's what we call it), she said to me, "I know what you're talking about, because I'm from Michigan, so follow me!".

Next time ask whre the soda waters are.