Skyler ChunMilwaukee Journal Sentinel
"Why are Sloppy Joe's called Hot Tamales inWisconsin?"
“I used the term ‘parking ramp’ the other day and received a deer in the headlights look initially before getting a room full of derision for using that term. Are we alone in this usage?”
"Living in Milwaukee, theterm 'aintah' or 'aint’a' was amazing to hear. It seems liketheusage is fading in time and generations.Whatisthebackground of this term?"
These are just some of the dialect questions we've received through What the Wisconsin? — where reporters take on questions about our state, our communities and the people in them.
In the past, we've covered soda v. pop, TYME machine v. ATM, the origin of "bubbler" and more.
Here's a breakdown of some other Wisconsin-isms and unique terms.
More: 17 words only a true Wisconsinite knows how to pronounce
More: What happened to 'Milwaukee-ese'? It hasn't gone anywhere, but it has changed.
Aintah/Aint'a: a quintessential 20th century term
“Aint’a” was used in the 20th century, generally at the end of a sentence.
It's similar to a tag question such as “hey,” or “eh,” which is more common in Canadian usage, Steven Hartman-Keiser, associate linguistics professor at Marquette University, said. Tag questions tend to invite opinions during a conversation.
The phrase is often trotted out as “quintessentially Milwaukee-ese,” Hartman-Keiser said — though it's no longer widespread in the city.
At least, he has never heard the term used in the 20 years he has lived here.
And University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee professor Gary Davis hasn’t either.
“Aint’a (or aintah) is not as common, but it could easily vary from place to place,” Davis said. “And my subjective impression is that that's more of something you would hear from the north rather than, say, in Milwaukee.”
Parking ramp vs. parking garage
While parking garage seems to be used more universally, "parking ramp" tends to be used locally in Wisconsin.
"You typically drive up into these multi-story things, so 'ramp' makes as much sense as 'garage,' Hartman-Keiser said. "Why 'ramp' stuck as the term of use in this area is a great question, but once a word is in place, why change?"
He said it takes time and changes in society and social attitudes to dislodge a word and replace it with another.
With phrases like "parking garage" or "parking ramp," Davis said you can basically use these words to figure out where somebody is from — similar to something like a password. These are called shibboleth terms.
"(Shibboleth) is a term that's used in the Bible and it's kind of morphed into a word that's used in language study," Davis said. "There are words that are used locally and different words used in some other place. And so it's like 'Are you one of us or are you from somewhere else?'"
A similar example of this is "bubbler" vs. "drinking fountain" or "water fountain," which varies based on state or location.
Sloppy Joe or Hot Tamale? These origins may get a bit messy
Davis said that, for him, these two foods are different things: tamales are some kind of meat with vegetables wrapped up in a corn husk, while a sloppy Joe is a hamburger meat with tomato sauce.
But if you show Wisconsinites a photo of a sandwich of loose meat and seasoned tomato sauce and ask them what they call it, their answers are likely to vary.
In a previous USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsinpoll with 116 responses that included hometown information, we found what different areas of Wisconsin call this sandwich.
Hot tamales were the top response overall, with many of these Wisconsinites growing up in Manitowoc or Sheboygan cities. Sloppy Joe was next, with answers scattered through the state.
How "hot tamale" became the name for sloppy Joesin these Wisconsin communities is so far a mystery. The name was solidified through decades of Sheboygan and Manitowoc school lunch menus, though "sloppy Joe" has come into use now.
And the fight isn't restricted to hot tamales vs. sloppy Joes. Some in southeastern and central Wisconsin call these "barbecue" sandwiches. Forthose who say Spanish hamburger, there's a good chance they grew up in the Fox Cities.
Outside of Wisconsin, sloppy Joe is the dominant name. Multiple competing origin stories for the "Sloppy Joe" name date back to the 1920s, with two beginning in Iowa and a third in Cuba.
What is What the Wisconsin?
Is there something about Milwaukee or Wisconsin that's been puzzling you? We've got experts who know how to find answers to even the smallest (and sometimes the most interesting) questions. When we can, we'll answer with stories. Submit your question at bit.ly/whatthewisconsin.
