Like the tomato. I call it a pomato, after this episode of Fullmetal Alchemist (an anime show):
I also call cupcakes "cuppycakes" for some reason that I can't remember. Also, my whole family uses the term "squishy" to mean fluffy, and I use the term "squeaky" to mean cute.
We've already established that I'm weird, so let's move on to the point of this post.
We all have our own lingo, whether we realize it or not. Even if we don't exactly make up words or definitions, we don't all say the same things. Think about soda versus pop versus coke. Or supermarket versus grocery store versus food store. (I've said "food store" all my life, and only recently realized how silly it sounds.)
As a writer, I give my characters lingo, too. Typer, my eleven-year-old protagonist of CAMP RESPECTO, is a prime example of this. She makes up her own "catchphrases" (total ug, dumbodork, etc.) and has an obsession with calling everybody by their full names. Characters in other novels I've written have made up secret nicknames for people. When I was a kid, I had code words for people I knew, so maybe it's a kid thing.
Do you have your own lingo (or did you, as a kid)? Are there any words that you use that most people wouldn't get? Writers, how about your characters -- do they have their own lingo?
