That's the way you do 'er!

When I’m home, I work at a grocery store. The clientele at said grocery store aren’t the most….sophisticated residents of Shippensburg. As a result, I get to witness the intricacies and nuances of the local lingo. Let’s look at a few examples of commonly used or overheard phrases in Shippensburg, PA.

1. “That’s ignorant.”
Let’s be honest. When Shippensburgians use this adjective in the insulting way that they do, they do not pronounce it “ig-nor-ant.” It is more like the two-syllable “ig-nrnt.” Let’s see it used in a real-life situation.

Guy walks in to store who is a regular and is always a little stoned.
Me to co-worker: “Dude that guy always comes in here. I swear he’s always high or drunk.”
Guy comes through line. Sure enough, he is a little high/drunk.
Guy leaves.
Coworker (speaking to me): “Hahaha. You’re ignrnt!”

???

2. The pronunciation of “well”
In Shippensburg, natives do not pronounce “well” like the old-school water source. There are two different pronunciations of “well.”
1. “Wool”: Used at the beginning of a sentence in an explanatory manner.

Wool, I was going to thank you for tipping me off about those dragons, but…

2. “Whale”: Again, used at the beginning of the sentence, but not quite as explanatory.

Whale, I’ll be monitoring your frequencies, so you have no need to worry.

Typically, Shippensburgians do not use both pronunciations, leaning towards one more than the other. Unfortunately, I am a frequent user of “wool”.

3. "That’s the way you do ‘er."
I heard this little gem in a conversation between Shippensburg’s best at Food Lion. The convo went like this.

“How ya doin, Ray? What have you been up to?”
“Aww, just stayin out of trouble, Jim.”
“That’s the way you do ‘er."

???

4. "I’m gonna let this set here."
I’m pretty sure the word “sit” is never used except when referring to the action of lowering one’s bum into a chair.

5. "Thank ya (much)"
First of all, it’s not “thank you” but “thank ya”.
Second of all, it’s not “thank ya very much” but “thank ya much.” I feel like…this doesn’t make sense.

6. "You work tomar?"
This question was posed to me at work. I’m not sure exactly what a “tomar” is or whether I work it or not.

7. "I done drove up and down the road."
When did “done” became an adverb?

8. "They usually skunk that up."
A phrase that can only have origins in the country. Is used as a euphemism for f***.

9. "Oh my garsh."
Not “Oh my God.”
Not “Oh my gosh.”
Not “Oh my goodness.”
“Oh my garsh.”

For the comments: what do the locals say in your area? Have anything to add to the list?