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One of the greatest perks in truck driving is the opportunity to see the U.S. from coast to coast, border to border and everything in-between. Outside of being a Kardashian, there are not many jobs that require as much travel as truck driving.

There are tons of differences in cultures, subcultures, trends and mannerisms from region to region, and you have definitely noticed them along your drive. Maybe you have noticed these common words and slang of regional popularity. Or maybe you’ve even picked one or two of them, turning yourself into a melting pot of U.S. regional slang.

Semi/Truck – Tractor Trailer – Eighteen Wheeler

Truck drivers for Fremont Contract Carriers might have noticed this one along their routes. Some regions say 18 wheelers, some say tractor-trailer, and others say semi trucks. Generally, the Northeast tends to use “Tractor trailer,” the South says “eighteen-wheeler,” and everywhere else says semi.

Caramel

Do you use two syllables (“car-ml”) or three (“car-ra-mel’)? According to linguist experts, the South and New England regions use three syllables, but the rest of the U.S. uses two syllables, with the midwest using two syllables almost exclusively.

Snow

Okay, everyone in the U.S. knows what snow is and has the same name for it, but this section refers to how the region reacts to it.

If residents seemingly need a pack of sled dogs to get through the snow, people are honking to go faster despite the weather and society is still functioning accordingly despite piles of snow, you’re probably in the Midwest or New England.

On the other hand, if people are stockpiling food and the roads already have piles of salt, even though meteorologists expect 2 inches of snowfall, you’re probably in the South or on the West Coast.

What you wear in the cold

Similar to snowfall, what we wear during the cold differs by region. While people in the Midwest and New England regions simply wear a light jacket and even shorts in 50-degree weather, southerners and west coasters might fight the mild temperatures with a heavy jacket and jeans.

Pancakes or flapjacks?

These tasty pastries are described differently based on two distinct U.S. regions. The South uses “flapjacks” while everywhere else in the U.S. calls them “pancakes.” It’s important to note that IHOP uses pancakes and are located throughout the entire U.S. But in the South’s defense, IHOF doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue.

Lightning Bug or Firefly?

The beetles that sprinkle light through summer nights. Despite being the exact same insect, they are referred to differently based on regions. While much of the United States use these terms interchangeably, the Mountain and Pacific time zones tend to call these beetles “fireflies,” while people living along Mississippi River through Appalachia call them “lightning bugs.”

How do you pronounce crayon?

This one is probably on the Mount Rushmore verbal regional debates. The often debated, “cran or cray-on”. In general, the Eastern Time Zone uses “cray-on” and the rest of the US says “cran,” but each different pronunciation is used in each region interchangeably. Will the debate ever end?

Hoagie or sub?

This one is fun. Heat maps show that the majority of the U.S. uses “sub” in reference to elongated sandwiches, but Philadelphia just has to be different. When not referring to the notorious “philly sandwich” they refer to these sub sandwiches to hoagies almost exclusively. Philly is always going to march to the beat of their own drum.

If you thought this blog was fun, the New York Times has a quiz that is quite accurate in guessing where you are from based your dialect