Thursday, October 13, 2005
Jersey
When I was in New York last month, I took the train out to Jersey. That’s what people from New Jersey say. As in “You goin’ back to Jersey tonight?” “Nah, I’m gonna stay with my friend in the City.” New Yorkers say it too: “I’ve got family out in Jersey.”
Is there any other city or state in the entire country where the “New” is so routinely dropped?
While you could explain specifying the "New" in New Mexico as necessary to avoid confusion with the old one, there's no real likelihood of confusion between our other "News" and their British Isles forbears -- no more than the chance of confusing New Jersey with [Old] Jersey.
Yet no one compares "Jersey girls" to "York girls" or speaks of "Yorkers," nor does anyone go across the the George Washington Bridge to "York." People in Massachusetts don't go up to "Hampshire" for the weekend, nor do Manhattanites travel down to "Brunswick" or up to "Haven," "Rochelle" or "Paltz." You get the idea. What gives?
Is there any other city or state in the entire country where the “New” is so routinely dropped?
While you could explain specifying the "New" in New Mexico as necessary to avoid confusion with the old one, there's no real likelihood of confusion between our other "News" and their British Isles forbears -- no more than the chance of confusing New Jersey with [Old] Jersey.
Jersey
Yet no one compares "Jersey girls" to "York girls" or speaks of "Yorkers," nor does anyone go across the the George Washington Bridge to "York." People in Massachusetts don't go up to "Hampshire" for the weekend, nor do Manhattanites travel down to "Brunswick" or up to "Haven," "Rochelle" or "Paltz." You get the idea. What gives?
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I'm trying to decide whether to be offended at my (admittedly beat-up) air conditioner being used as a typical "Jersey" sight. Are you actually implying that you won't find window air-conditioners in homes in, say, Florida? (or is Florida "Jersey South"? As opposed to South Jersey, which is a whole other kettle of fish).
I suppose the middle class inhabitants of My Home Town couldn't afford a central air heating system that could be easily converted to heating/cooling as the 20th century progressed. We've got steam heat, powered by an oil burner, that was converted from a coal system sometime after the house was built in the 1920's. (you can still see vestiges of the coal delivery system in the basement). What we don't have is ducts.
But there are plenty of geese (I wonder why you didn't manage to see any of them).
And finally, the view from the rear-view mirror: Is taking a photo whilst driving akin to talking on a cell phone while driving?
I suppose the middle class inhabitants of My Home Town couldn't afford a central air heating system that could be easily converted to heating/cooling as the 20th century progressed. We've got steam heat, powered by an oil burner, that was converted from a coal system sometime after the house was built in the 1920's. (you can still see vestiges of the coal delivery system in the basement). What we don't have is ducts.
But there are plenty of geese (I wonder why you didn't manage to see any of them).
And finally, the view from the rear-view mirror: Is taking a photo whilst driving akin to talking on a cell phone while driving?
# posted by 
: 4:54 AM, October 14, 2005
: 4:54 AM, October 14, 2005
There is a street whose name I find terribly amusing: "Old New Brunswick Road". The logician in me says "Old and new cancel each other out, so this should really be "Brunswick Road". The newer "New Brunswick Road" is named just that, and not New New Brunswick Road.
And while people don't drop the "new" from New Brunswick, there is also a North Brunswick, which is west of New Brunswick, a South Brunswick, which is South of North Brunswick, but still SW of New Brunswick (and doesn't share a border with New Brunswick at all) and an East Brunswick, which is south of New Brunswick. And they don't get combined into "The Brunswicks," like people do with South/East Orange (combined into "The Oranges")
And while people don't drop the "new" from New Brunswick, there is also a North Brunswick, which is west of New Brunswick, a South Brunswick, which is South of North Brunswick, but still SW of New Brunswick (and doesn't share a border with New Brunswick at all) and an East Brunswick, which is south of New Brunswick. And they don't get combined into "The Brunswicks," like people do with South/East Orange (combined into "The Oranges")
# posted by : 5:00 AM, October 14, 2005
: 5:00 AM, October 14, 2005 
I've never thought all that much about what they called that state on the other side of the Hudson, because I didn't go there very often. My family lived out on the Island.
# posted by : 9:50 AM, October 14, 2005
: 9:50 AM, October 14, 2005
I Live in the Bronx, and I do often refer to new jersey as just plain "Jersy". Good observation. I have however heard people refer to New Rochelle as "Rochelle", just as often as I hear it's other nickname: "Newro"
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# posted by : 6:24 PM, October 15, 2005
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