Tangier Islanders have a distinctive dialect -- and a distinctive way of saying things. Here are a few phrases you might hear if you visit (with the translations in parentheses):

"He's in a kelter!" (He's visibly very upset!)

"She can talk the flood tide down!" (She never stops yapping!)

"That wind's kyowking, let's go gunning!" (It's really blustery, let's go duck-hunting!)

"It's softening down." (It's hot and humid.)

"Mom said I could tick some cherry lounies." (Mom said I could charge some sweets.)

SOURCE: Bruce Gordy, author of
"Tangier Talk"