Fiftieth post, yay!!!
One has to be careful with regional slang because the meaning might vary in different regions. For example, in Illinois one shovels snow and scoops ice cream, while in Iowa one scoops snow and shovels ice cream. Personally, I like the Iowa attitude to ice cream better.
What's the phrase? "Britain and the United States, two countries separated by a common language?" If you ever have a chance, try flipping through a British/American travel dictionary. It's an eye-opener. Some phrases have totally different connotations depending on where you are.
I'm with dblteam in that many of the words mentioned here are part of my vocabulary, so I wouldn't see a problem with including them in my writing as long as the word matches the narrative, setting or character. Having a street urchin talking like a university professor will quickly destroy my interest in the story since it doesn't make sense. Use the type of words that flow naturally in the story, and don't worry if they won't score high in Scrabble.
Oh, and to add a word to the list: Discombobulated - confused or upset.
One has to be careful with regional slang because the meaning might vary in different regions. For example, in Illinois one shovels snow and scoops ice cream, while in Iowa one scoops snow and shovels ice cream. Personally, I like the Iowa attitude to ice cream better.
What's the phrase? "Britain and the United States, two countries separated by a common language?" If you ever have a chance, try flipping through a British/American travel dictionary. It's an eye-opener. Some phrases have totally different connotations depending on where you are.
I'm with dblteam in that many of the words mentioned here are part of my vocabulary, so I wouldn't see a problem with including them in my writing as long as the word matches the narrative, setting or character. Having a street urchin talking like a university professor will quickly destroy my interest in the story since it doesn't make sense. Use the type of words that flow naturally in the story, and don't worry if they won't score high in Scrabble.
Oh, and to add a word to the list: Discombobulated - confused or upset.