"Come again?"
"Pardon?"
"Huh?"
The majority of our readers, asked to pick the one thing that's soooo Cincinnati, responded with "Please?" Yep, in terms of total ballot mentions, most of you voted this dialectic oddity, this interesting idiom, this jumbled jargon, as the thing that defines us most from the rest of the nation, the thing that labels us uniquely and forever from Cincinnati, Ohio.
Many transplanted Cincinnatians told stories -- some even funny -- of their first encounters with the word. So we decided to pull out the "Please?" entries from the rest and give them their own sub-category in our contest.
First Prize
A friend of mine recently visited from New Mexico. He went out drinking one night and saw a nice-looking woman sitting alone at the bar. After buying her a few drinks, he asked her if she'd like to go back to his hotel and have sex. She said "Please?," which he took as an invitation, so he grabbed her to leave -- at which point she hauled off and slapped him hard across the face. He couldn't believe it. After all, she said, "Please."
-- Ric Young, 42, College Hill
Cincinnati's linguistic idiosyncracy of saying "Please?" instead of "What?" when one person doesn't quite hear what someone else says to them.
-- David Dressing, 34, Finneytown
"Please?" Meaning "Huh?"
-- Matt Dressler, 23, Clifton
"Please?"
-- Deb Henning, over 21, Covington
It's the P word.
-- Pat Haug, 54, Finneytown
"Please?"
-- Sally Sedgwick, 52, Upper Price Hill
Please, please, please. Can you stop me from saying "Please?" We mean "Pardon," or as they say elsewhere, "Huh?" On a trip to Seattle, I found myself speaking the Cincinnati "Please?" over and over. Needless to say, I wasn't pleasing anyone.
-- Eugene Spiegel, 49, Downtown
Dining at a restaurant in Cincinnati, my gracious table manners were a bit tested. My waitress asked me a typical question: "Do you want the house dressing with your salad?" I nodded my head and responded politely, "Please." The waitress then repeated her question, abruptly and unexpectedly louder: "DO YOU WANT THE HOUSE DRESSING WITH YOUR SALAD?"
-- Amy Warren, 31, Kennedy Heights
While working as a receptionist, one day a gentleman called in and asked if he could please speak with one of our executives. I didn't understand who he had asked for, so my reply was "Please?" He abruptly replied, "I said please!"
-- Janet Meeker, 39, Owensville
The cafeteria lady said, "Do you want cheese?" Being the polite Southerner I am, I replied "Please." Soon she was screaming "DO YOU WANT CHEESE?"
-- Sarah Haas, 29, Carthage
A friend and native Cincinnatian once took a trip with a buddy to Reno, Nev. In one of the casinos they found a boxing ring and began to play big-time wrestling. While they were slamming each other to the mat, two bouncers grabbed them and took them to see a mobster-looking dude sitting behind a large desk. The boss says in a thick New York accent, "I'm gonna havta ask yous two ta leaf da casino." My friend didn't understand him, so being a polite Cincinnatian he asked, "Please?" The boss, looking angry and then confused and finally resigned, replied, "OK, OK, please leaf da casino."
I've even participated in conversations that went:
"Please?"
"Pardon?"
"Please?"
"I beg your pardon?"
The conversation ended with us both dissolving in laughter.
-- Sharon Felton, 54, Avondale
Whatever happened to "Excuse me?" or "Could you repeat that?" or "What did you say?"
-- Matt Boken, 29, Blue Ash
And the Brainiacs Are:
Vince Aug, 53, of Hyde Park and David Dressing, 34, of Finneytown
Aug: People say "Please?" exactly the way the Germans say bitte when asking a person to repeat something that wasn't understood.
Dressing: Why so Cincinnati? Perhaps "Please?" is a legacy of our strongly Germanic past. The German word bitte can literally be translated as "Please" and is used in the same context in German. We'll not soon escape the inheritance of our forefathers, thankfully.
The really true explanation for "Please?" is provided by CCM linguistics professor Rocco DalVera in the article "How to Talk Like a Cincinnatian" (page 19). But Vince and David are close enough.
The following prize packages are awarded to these deserving readers (but only if they say "Please"):
Ric Young: $35 in food from Skyline Chili, $25 in food from Graeters, $10 in food from Frisch's and a Hudepohl souvenir pack.
Vince Aug: Two tickets to Esquire Theatre, two tickets to Mariemont Theatre, two tickets to the Cincinnati Zoo and a Turfway Park season pass.
David Dressing: Two tickets to Esquire Theatre, two tickets to Mariemont Theatre, two tickets to the Cincinnati Zoo and a Turfway Park season pass. ©
Printer-friendly version
