When I was growing up, the evening meal was at 6 p.m. sharp. No dallying in front of the t.v. even for scenes from next week’s Superman show. What many people called dinner, we referred to as supper.

Then when I was introduced to my husband’s family, my father-in-law explained that Sunday dinner was served at noon. Need I ask what happened to noon being lunch time? I was a bit confused in all the references to the proper time of day to enjoy dinner, supper or lunch. All I know is that I didn’t want to be late for any of those meals offered up by my in-laws.

The same goes in references to whether you want a bottle of pop or soda. It just depends on what part of the country you are in that people refer to Coke and Pepsi as soda or pop. Around these parts, it’s definitely pop.

There are other wording differences that have been pointed out to me. Even my 11-year-old granddaughter informed me that when you go to the grocery store, you use a shopping cart to carry your items.

She laughed at my reference to shopping buggies and wished to set me straight.

Regional differences are obvious, too.

If you drive 50 miles north to the Pittsburgh area, you will find a whole other dialect when it comes to pronunciation or meanings of certain words.

Pittsburghers refer to slippery roads as being slippy. I never quite got that but I guess it is acceptable in both the English and British language.

I recall newsroom discussions on the proper reference to the word milk. Friends from up north pronounced milk as “melk.” Going downtown was pronounced “dahntahn.” Of course, the word yinz is the perfectly acceptable form of southerners’ y’all.

Around these parts, you can go “out the crick” to do some fishing.

When company was coming to the house, you made sure to “redd up” or tidy up the place. To do so, some of us used a sweeper while others had a vacuum cleaner.

All I know is that as a wordsmith of sorts, I just wish the reporting public would correctly pronounce the word library.

There really are two “r’s’ in the word. Just ask Mr. Webster.

Heather Ziegler can be reached via email at hizelger@theintelligencer.net.