10 Words/Phrases That Are Positively Iowa
Every state has them. Phrases or words that people identify with your state. Here's just a few of the ones that simply say, 'We're from Iowa.'
1. KNEE HIGH BY THE 4TH
My grandfathers were both farmers so I've heard "Knee-High by the 4th (of July)" for as long as I can remember. It used to be a barometer of a cornfield's progress. These days, if your corn is only knee-high by the 4th, you're in big trouble.
2. PORK QUEEN
Iowa is the hog capital of the world. Don't believe me? Just take a whiff on a county pavement someday. It only makes sense we have Pork Queens.
3. TENDERLOIN
Breaded, is my choice, but grilled are fantastic as well. Not only do we love our tenderloins, we always have a go-to spot. When I was a kid that was a place called Teet N Tobe's in the small town of Keswick. Unfortunately, it's closed now but my memories of it live on.
4. RAGBRAI
The Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa has been an Iowa tradition since 1973. The ride takes an entire week to cross the state with bicyclists beginning on the west side of the state and riders finally dipping their tires in the Mississippi River the following Saturday. Last summer, the ride went through my hometown of Sigourney (pictured below).
5. PUPPY CHOW
Cereal, chocolate, peanut butter, and powdered sugar make up most Puppy Chow recipes. How we ever started calling it puppy chow is beyond me. Maybe because the first time most of us tried it we reacted like puppies do the first time they encounter pretty much anything... with unbridled excitement.
6. POP
Growing up, POP is what we always called it. Then, at some point, that word, SODA, got introduced into our Iowa vocabulary. Even though I often call it soda now, it bothers me every time. It's POP. Although, I must admit neither word really seems fitting to this item that so many of us love, even though we know water is the way to go.
7. CORNHOLE
Here in Iowa, this one's up for some debate. Plenty of people claim they've never heard it called cornhole but then again, bags is so boring. Call it cornhole the next time you play and at the very least you'll strike up an interesting conversation to your game. A game that seems to be best played with beer. Then again, that's probably because it's so popular during tailgating, when beer is a must.
8. PADIDDLE
Before the era of hand held games, kids used to have to find ways to pass the time while traveling. During the day you might count the number of cows on your side of the road or any other of a ton of assorted things. At night, the choices were pretty limited. That has to be where Padiddle, perhaps the dumbest game ever, came from. If you saw a vehicle approaching that had only one headlight you had to holler out "Padiddle" and deliver a punch to your fellow player, preferably not the driver. Brake lights counted too but were a near impossibility to ever get.
9. CRICK
I always felt like a very small stream was a crick while one with more water was a creek. If you were headed to the crick your mom wouldn't have a worry in the world but if you were going to the creek, well that was different.
10. MAIDRITE
You can have your sloppy joe but here in Iowa we're all about the maidrite. The best part is you can make your maidrite however you like. Ketchup, mustard, pickle, onion, or something a little more crazy. A maidrite is to a sandwich what a graveyard was to pop. The graveyard was the ultimate mixture of a variety of different kinds of pop. Yes, I said pop.
Thanks to Only In Your State for their great list. What would you add? I know there are others out there that are positively Iowa. What's been forgotten?
[via Only in Your State]