tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post362444230766527604..comments2024-03-19T07:48:54.021-06:00Comments on Gus Van Horn: Friday HodgepodgeGus Van Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126749051688217781noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-40044778976993313512018-02-09T14:15:12.071-06:002018-02-09T14:15:12.071-06:00Ah. It was which ones were sow bugs -- since I nev...Ah. It was which ones were sow bugs -- since I never used the term -- I wasn't sure about.Gus Van Hornhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05126749051688217781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-71169712388452113752018-02-09T11:15:40.872-06:002018-02-09T11:15:40.872-06:00"I'm unclear what you mean by knowing the..."I'm unclear what you mean by knowing the difference between sow- and pill bugs, but I remember noticing that there were some "roly polies" that couldn't form a ball. It didn't occur to me then that they were a different kind of animal."<br /><br />Yes, they're both woodlice, but the ones that don't roll up are a different species, I gather, and they are sow bugs.Snedcatnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-41369135272772498002018-02-09T10:47:27.691-06:002018-02-09T10:47:27.691-06:00Snedcat,
I'm sure your're right about the...Snedcat,<br /><br />I'm sure your're right about the shading. I'm also trying unsuccessfully to remember what my father's mother called them, since she'd encourage us to try to catch crawfish from the ditch in front of her house when we came over. She was from Mississippi and may have called them crawdads.<br /><br />Regarding woodlice, I called them roly-polies, and only learned of the proper name and numerous variants much later. I'm unclear what you mean by knowing the difference between sow- and pill bugs, but I remember noticing that there were some "roly polies" that couldn't form a ball. It didn't occur to me then that they were a different kind of animal.<br /><br />GusGus Van Hornhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05126749051688217781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-14691316438405555082018-02-09T09:38:27.504-06:002018-02-09T09:38:27.504-06:00Yo, Gus, you write: "And speaking of crawfish...Yo, Gus, you write: "And speaking of crawfish, here's a map of what Americans call those delectable freshwater crustaceans. I actually called them "crawdads" when I was very young, despite being a Mississippian. The map suggests a possible explanation: My mother came from Arkansas, and her mother from Missouri, where that term is more common."<br /><br />Curious. I called them <i>crawdads</i> and <i>crayfish</i> second, central Texas a bit north of Waco and the Hill Country. Note though that the coloration shows gradations, which suggests a slight majority in use, not exclusive use.<br /><br />Here's one right back atcha: What do you call <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armadillidiidae" rel="nofollow"><i>Armadilidiidae</i></a>: "Pill bugs," "doodle bugs," or "roly polies"? (When I was littler, I didn't distinguish "sow bugs" and "pill bugs" in speech even though I did know their differences in actual fact. About age 13 I learned the difference and also learned the term "woodlouse" covering both. I find some people even at age 40 still don't distinguish sow bugs and pill bugs.) For me, "doodle bug" was the technical term and "roly poly" was the slang term; I mostly thought of them as dry-land latter-day trilobites, actually.<br /><br />Turns out they have <a href="http://www4.uwm.edu/FLL/linguistics/dialect/staticmaps/q_74.html" rel="nofollow">so many different names</a> you'd think they were secret agents or something. "The name's Bug. Pill Bug."Snedcatnoreply@blogger.com