Religion and Beliefs

CC1 On a church building, what do you call the part that sticks up high?

CC2 What are the predominant religious denominations around here?

CC3 Are there any religions that have come in recently around here or are a bit different from the common ones?

CC4 What nicknames do you have around here for various religions or religious groups?

CC5 Names for seats in a church, especially near the front:

CC6 The place where the preacher stands to give the sermon:

CC7 Words for a person who goes to church very seldom or not at all:

CC8 Other names for the devil:

CC9 Other words or expressions for hell: “That man is headed straight for ________.”

CC10 What words do you have around here for an unprofessional, part-time lay preacher?

CC11 When somebody has had a lot of good luck, you say he ________.

CC12a Expressions used about bad luck, or about somebody who has had a lot of it: “Poor Joe. He’s really been having ________.”

CC12b Or if a person has a lot of bad luck you might say, “He’s been ________.”

CC13a What names do you have around here for a forked stick that’s used to show where there’s water underground? (What kind of wood?)

CC13b And what do you call the person who knows how to use a forked stick to find water?

CC14 Words or expressions used here, where one person supposedly casts a spell over another:

CC15 When people say there are ghosts in a certain place, or when it gives you a creepy feeling to go near it: “They say that the old house is ________.”

CC16 A small light that seems to dance or flicker over a marsh or swamp at night:

CC17 Imaginary animals or monsters that people around here tell tales about—especially to tease greenhorns: (What are they like? What do they do?)

DARE Data Summary by Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.