Slang Idioms Expressions Personality Differences

What's for supper tonight:  

• Taco salad--lettuce, ground beef, tomatoes, refried beans, taco shells, cheese, green peppers, salsa, sour cream-- and fruit.

I grew up in the South where supper and dinner generally mean the same thing. The main meal on Sunday (around lunchtime) is also called dinner if it is substantial (more than sandwiches).  I enjoy hearing idioms from other parts of the country.  Accents and regional dialects are interesting also, but it's the words that really make the difference.   Do you say soda, pop or Coke when you refer to a carbonated beverage?  Do you use the lavatory, restroom, powder room or toilet?  Do you sit on a sofa, a settee (usually a specific piece) or a couch?  Do you go grocery shopping or food shopping?  The origins of words and slang have always been a fun topic for me.  Sometimes I even check out a book or two  from the library to skim through these items of interest.  I know...very strange, but it's the differences that make us special. or unique. or one-of-a-kind.  :)  

We know that people can be different in many ways as well, generally in the way they think and process information, in their abilities to multi-task or not and in their emotional makeup.  Children in the same family with the same parents often are total opposites from each other. My husband and I (Mars and Venus) have a few things in common but for the most part we are like night and day.  We have to look for the twilights and dawns, the blending times or common interests, to balance the relationship.   Watching and observing, talking and listening help us learn much from each other and others as well. When I meet someone new, I try to listen a bit to get their general makeup and pay attention to where conversation goes.  It often takes just a few encounters with someone and I can understand them fairly well if I've paid attention.  There's often much more below the surface and I discover new pieces of the puzzle, so to speak. It just takes some digging to get there. With long-term relationships you keep adding another piece with each encounter and over a lifetime get to  see just about the total picture of someone; with brief relationships we only get to see a small part of the puzzle put together.  Honestly though, sometimes it takes more energy than I'm willing to give but I am still learning to be a better lover of people and to appreciate their differences rather than criticize or judge them.