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I remember that. For a while, right after the war, the iceman, who was also the milkman, had a horse. I waited for him every day, just to pet the horse and if we were really good, he always gave us a big hunk of clear ice. That was a treat on a hot summer day in central Illinois in the 40s.

We called it pop. A soda was an ice cream and soda water and syrup drink. And people would say:"Kin ya borry me a pin?" when they wanted an ink pen.

These distinctions aren't just in English. I had grandparents who spoke Yiddish. One said "Bradt" for bread and one said "Brodt". One said "Pitter" for butter and one said "Putter". We lived with them for awhile when my father was overseas and in order to get bread and butter at meals, I learned to ask for "bradt-brodt" and "pitter-putter". If you used the wrong word with the wrong grandparent, you got teased and they wouldn't pass it until you pronounced it the *right* way.

Now: is it an ice cream sunday or an ice cream sunduh?