Since I was a kid, those bugs that light up at night — have always been called “lightning bugs.”
But it turns out that is because I grew up here in Chicago. Had I been born elsewhere, I very well might be calling them “fireflies.”
Josh Katz is a linguist who surveyed the country on how they talk. The following are just a few of the maps he put together a few years ago. For example (and thanks to RD.com):
— [eric]
