Loss of Innocence (sniff, sniff)
Welp, I said to one group "let's weed this hillside up to those jagger bushes." And one student, not from Western PA, looked at me and said "what?" So I repeats myself and said "just go as far as those jagger bushes." At which point she said "what's a jagger bush?"
Now what ensued was a discussion that led to a heartbreaking revelation: "jagger bush" isn't a real term. It's a colloquialism of Western Pennsylvania. People from other places don't call them jagger bushes. They call them thorn bushes, or they call them by their proper names.
Alas, at the tender young age of 45, my innocence was shattered like tender young skin laid bare by the hapless destruction of a jagger bush...
6 comments:
Its okay nobody calls them thorn bushes. Jagger bush just sounds more effective, and its a whole lot more fun to say.
Our son and daughter-in-law have an ongoing debate over which term is correct - the PA "jagger bush" or the Cleveland version, "pricker bush". I vote PA for sure!
Jaye
We must take to the streets and spread the benefits of western Pennsylvania dialect. I was once complimented that I spoke without "the weird accent of rural Pennsylvanians." I said thank you, but was a little reserved. If I don't have an accent, where is my identity? Where do I come from, and just who am I?
Thinking of ya. Excuse me, but I have to go get my wershing finished.
Guy
I think they have jagger bushes in Ghana! If they don't, they sure look like jagger bushes to me!
what is absolutely hilarious is that I only check in here periodically and just this week in a 'stress management' course, we were discussing the stress of dialectics and 'jagger bush' was one of the examples used as a stressor!
IT'S A JAGGER BUSH!
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