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old hand
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old hand
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And it often gets referred to as 'town'.
This is true of St. John's (relative to the rest of Newfoundland), as well. If you live in St. John's, you're a "townie". I'm led to believe that's straight from British English (it might be archaic now). Otherwise you're from "around the bay" or a "bayman". (Also from the Brits, apparently) But we've been down this path before. right, Faldage?
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addict
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addict
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Then we have downtown and uptown, referring, as I understand it, to the central business district and the up-scale residential area.
I may have mentioned this before, but when I was a kid growing up in suburban Boston, going "uptown" was going to the "business center" of our little 'burb, and going "downtown" was going to Boston.
In Vermont, we have the (poetically named) Northeast Kingdom -- the NE corner of the state. It is extremely rural, even by Vermont standards! Towns with populations in the double (and single) digits are not uncommon in The Kingdom. I'll also add another NY state place name here. Upstate NY is indeed anything not in NYC, but the extreme northeastern part of the state is also referred to as the North Country.
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stranger
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stranger
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If you live in Central Australia (specifically Alice Springs) and you are travelling to Darwin, you are going to the 'Top End'.
Naturally if you are going to Adelaide you are going 'Down South' but we also have Banana Benders (people from Queensland), Croweaters (people from South Australia) etc. which conjure up all sorts of images.
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enthusiast
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enthusiast
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In England, 'up north' pronounced 'oop north' refers jocularly to those areas where 'up' is so pronounced, roughly the northern half of the country.
Well, jocularly if you're not from there and it's not therefore your normal pronunciation.
By the way, to me 'uptown' and 'downtown' are only used of American cities, and I've never been clear on what they mean. In London, the downtown part is called the West End, i.e. where most of the theatre and shopping and embassies are. The East End is the traditional home of the Cockneys (and now such groups as Bangladeshis); and between them is the City, the small central business district. And around them is the rest of London; these 'ends' referring only to the innermost part. If you're in London, going 'into town' probably means going into this inner part, and going into the City is more specific.
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old hand
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old hand
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Greetings Fearless!!!!!!!!!! Welcome aboard.
Alice Springs hey. mmmmmmm. One of my favourite places! Driving into town from the south, through the gap, with the morning sun just starting to glow. Like being in a Namitjira painting!!
I spent 6 weeks working in Tennant Creek a few years ago and fell in love with there as well. Went back for a few days late last year..... 3 hops and 8 hours airtime from Perth in my boss's VERY small Cessna 210 - had to learn how to walk every time we stopped.
stales
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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By the way, to me 'uptown' and 'downtown' are only used of American cities
??? Remember the song Downtown by Petula Clark, about 30-35 years ago? Wasn't she a british singer?
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enthusiast
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enthusiast
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The Petula Clark song is the obvious reference for 'downtown', but I had always assumed it was set in New York or meant for American audiences. Tony Hatch is British; don't know about Jackie Trent.
There's a line 'There are movie shows - downtown' in it. In 1965 (date of the hit) we might have said 'movie' in UK, but 'movie show'?
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Oct 2000
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In NY, down town and uptown are relitive terms.
i grew up in the bronx, and all of Mannhattan was 'downtown' midtown is from about 23rd to 59th street, downtown starts below Canal, (in between is the village, ie, greenwich village, or (NY) SoHo (south of Houston)
we all so have cross town, and "east side" (cultured, and rich), or "west side" intelectual, and upper middle class. with many, many exceptions!
Lower east side -- and alphabet city, Triceca, DUMBO (down under the manhattan bridge overpass-- a area that is both in manhattan and brooklyn, all residental-- residential areas all have neighborhood names-- and they have "identities" People move into them because they want to be associated with those identites. (London i think is the same.)
downtown and and midtown, are business area names. i work in civic center, the north end of Downtown. there is a full mile more of downtown south of where i work.. but i am almost a half mile south of Canal-- the beginning of downtown! Other downtown areas include the now defunct WTC, Wall Street, South Ferry, the Seaport, Bowling Green.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Many of these designations are interesting, quaint, and informative, unlike the abomination to be found in referring to right coast and left coast as descriptors for respectively the US east and west coasts.
TEd
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Being from the West, my favorite phrase to describe East is "toward the flat things" (Kansas, Nebraska) My favorite wagontrain response is "Anyone who calls Nebraska flat hasn't walked it." If you're going way East "The other side of the river." (Mississippi river) Me and mine tend not to say Back East. Don't know why. To me it sounds like Back Home, like you're from there. Maybe we've been Out West too long.
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