President, CKC Manufacturing
"I never bought into that whole 'Where'dja go to high school?' thing -- I think it was propagated by the media. Well, there's always 'Highway Farty,' and a few diehards still hang on to "the Innerbelt." I just can't get used to 170; I always say 'the Innerbelt.' I feel that anyone I run into who calls it 'the Innerbelt' is a true St. Louisan -- that and when you hear someone mention the 'Old Barn.'"
Kyle Stark
Owner, Gateway Graphix
"'What's up?' or 'Wuzzup?' It means 'How're things goin'? What's the status? The ETA? How we doin'?' Just plain and simple: Wuzzup? It's part of the basic language of shop talk."
Skye Vanderhoff
Pediatric Intern, St. Mary's Hospital
"'Where'd you go to high school?' I hate that! It's a stupid question -- who cares? I just don't think it matters. I tell people I'm not from here; it's a conversation-ender."
Kenny Picker
Plasterer, Clayton Plastering
"'How's it hanging?' You hear that a lot, usually from some guys yelling down from a scaffolding: 'Hey, Elvis, how's it hanging?' And I'm thinking, 'How's what hangin'? Is my tool belt off-center because of the weight of my screw gun? Is it my personal parts, or what?' So, is that a colloq ... colloqui ... what he said?"
Judith A. Watson-Finney
Dental Assistant, St. Louis University Dental Services
"I don't get around that much, but what I hear the most is 'Go Cards' or 'How 'bout them Cards?' or 'The Cards are No. 1' -- and they are the greatest, even if they're in the cellar."
Tom Flood
Transient
"'Where you stayin?' When two people haven't seen each other anywhere from a week to a year, it's always 'Hey, where you stayin?' I guess if people didn't move around so much, we wouldn't have changed the verb from 'live' to 'stay.'"
