Underduck vs. Underdog

A few weeks ago, I asked a question about pushing a swing and running under it. Where I'm from it is called an underduck. Apparently, here in MN, and I guess in Upper MI, it is called an underdog. I did a little investigation and both terms are used.

Underduck definition
Who says what in Ontario
More Canadian definitions (scroll down or search page for underduck)
Comments on Google Answer about the term underdog
Urban Dictionary definition of underdog

Comments

[Nokturnl]

My wife and I have this same ongoing debate. I believe the correct term is underduck, since you "duck" under the person you push on the swing. She believes it is underdog and has nothing to back it up. She has never heard of the cartoon either. Different friends of ours go either way on this. We live in the southern half of MI.

[Question]

Thanks for your comments. I'm from SE Wisconsin (north of Milwaukee) and I never heard the term underdog until I moved to the Twin Cities. I'll have to ask people around here about the cartoon.

[Jen Stoner]

I also grew up in SE Wisconsin and I, and all of my friends, called it an Underdog.
I just said it today (at age 35) while pushing my son on the swing and told my husband who is from St. Louis that I was "giving Andy an underdog on the swing" and he had absolutely no idea what I was talking about...

[Question]

Thanks for contributing to the underdog vs. underduck debate. I like dialects and language regionalisms. If you want to read about a very large study on the topic click here: http://www.finnie.org/dialect/ and here: http://cfprod01.imt.uwm.edu/Dept/FLL/linguistics/dialect/

[Under Duck]

We were just talking about underduck and underdog last night. I'm from the La Crosse, WI area and I grew up with giving underducks. My husband is from Beloit (with his mother from Milwaukee area) and he grew up with calling it a underdog.

[Question]

Thanks for chiming in. I wonder what people in different parts of the country say? For example, the south west or deep south.

[joan Martin]

My husband is from Memphis and recalls no word for this. I am from NJ where it is definitely "underduck"

[Connie Harvey]

I am from Eastern Ontario and I call it an Underduck. My husband is from Southern ontario and he calls it an Underdog

[Michael]

I'm from Pennsylvania and my Father always called it an underdog.

[jacq]

I am from Oklahoma and we called in "underdog". I have never heard anyone call it "underduck" before!!

[Sarah]

My husband and I just had this argument last night, when my son asked for an Underduck, I said what the heck is an underduck, and then my husband showed me, I said that's an underdog not an underduck, he had never heard of underdog other than the cartoon and movie, but I had never ever heard of underdog before, and the worst part is he called it an underdog when our oldest daughter now 10 1/2 was 2 years old. He grew up in Theresa, WI north of Milwaukee, I grew up in Fox Lake, Il and moved to Wisconsin in 1992.

[Question]

Thanks to all of you for participating in the discussion. What's funny, is that I was talking to my brother recently and he now calls it an underdog. Somewhere along the line, he changed terms and doesn't remember underduck. He's lived in various places throughout WI and did a short stint in PA. His wife, who is from a northern suburb of Chicago calls it an underdog.

[Jennifer Menke]

Toooo funny. This debate popped up in Watertown, MN among friends. I was the lone "underduck" and was being mercilessly mocked by 5 "underdogs". Ironically my husband walked up and agreed it was underduck. Once HE said it, they started to wonder if maybe THEY were wrong. I had my iPhone so I googled it. How funny that this was the top hit! I was so happy to be right!! It's UNDERDUCK! Duh!!

[george]

people are crazy!! underduck? that's just wierd

[Ashley]

From Missouri. Always called it an Underdog. My boyfriend from Vegas had no clue what I was talking about.

[Daniel Andre]

It's an underDog.

I'm from St.George Ontario, and hadn't heard "Underduck" untill last night at my girlfriend's in Victoria BC

I know it's called UnderDOG for a few reasons:

1) The Cartoon SuperDog, and flying.

2) It starts unexpectedly, and to great effect, boosting them to greatness (not unlike the victory of an underdog in a story).

3) It's often given to small children who can't pump their legs on the swing by themselves very well, giving them a fighting chance in "how high can you swing" competition with older siblings.

4) Dogs walk between your legs.

5) Ducks don't use swings :) (and Yes, Dogs DO)

[Daniel Andre]

It's an underDog.

I'm from St.George Ontario, and hadn't heard "Underduck" untill last night at my girlfriend's in Victoria BC

I know it's called UnderDOG for a few reasons:

1) The Cartoon SuperDog, and flying.

2) It starts unexpectedly, and to great effect, boosting them to greatness (not unlike the victory of an underdog in a story).

3) It's often given to small children who can't pump their legs on the swing by themselves very well, giving them a fighting chance in "how high can you swing" competition with older siblings.

4) Dogs walk between your legs.

5) Ducks don't use swings :) (and Yes, Dogs DO)

[Air Jordans]

It's so lucky for me to find your blog! I am very glad, and welcome you visit mine.

[Emma]

It's UNDERDOG not underduck do the math heres why

1 you go under the swing like a dog would

2 it is like the cartoon

3 uderduck sounds soooooo retarted

If you haven't noticed you people are crazy if you think its underduck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[KaylaNicoleMcCormick]

I think its UNEDERDOG not underduck because

1.You go under the swing like a dog does when its going under something.

2.ducks dont bend there neck down that far by going under something.

3.UNDERDOG is a better way of saying it.

4.Most people know it should be UNDERDOG.

5.Its a better way to describe it.

6.You people are soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo crazy if you think its underduck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!HaHaHa!!!!

[IKnowMoreThanYou]

It's fun reading the discourse on this, especially the nonsensical arguments from the Underdog proponents like Daniel Andre, Emma and KaylaNicoleMcCormick. Regardless of which way you swing (pun intended), I'm sure everyone sees the lameness in their reasoning.
I am from Milwaukee and my wife is from Chicago's NW suburbs. We both say underduck. Our neighbor, also from Chicago's NW suburbs, says underdog. She is the subject of much derision for this, and many other things.
To me, underduck makes sense. You run under, then you duck to avoid getting hit in the head with feet. It has nothing to do with whether a duck or a dog use a swing, walk under a swing, or anything else.
Underdog really makes no sense.
One thing that I noticed is that our neighbor is about 10 years younger than we are. I believe that underdog is a more recent term, having been based on the original underduck.
It might have come from a two-year-old's attempt to pronounce underduck.
Anyway, I will stick with the venerable underduck.

[Tom]

I'd Agee with the last guy. It's definitely Underduck, it just makes no sense to say underdog. The term underduck accurately describes what the pusher has to do to pull off the manuever. Underdog? Really now, I can think of at least 10 other super heros I'd rather have push me on a swing. I find great pleasure in correcting the local kids at the park. I do not think it is so much a regional thing as it is a generation thing. If I were to place a time period where 'underduck' morphed into 'underdog', I would say early 1970's maybe. Most people I talk to over 45 say underduck but it seems like underdog has become the preferred term for the more recent generations. It's been a debate for my wife (a underdog prescriber) and i since our first trip to a park after we tied the knot. OK, on to other battles, on to other battles like people using the word 'heighth'.

[eve isk]

It might have come from a two-year-old's attempt to pronounce underduck.
Anyway, I will stick with the venerable underduck.

[Whitney]

it's amazing to me how upset people are getting over this.
i'm 24 and from washington state, and i've always called it an underdog. up until yesterday, i've never heard the term "underduck". my mom, and all the women she works with also call it underdog.
it does make sense, underduck, but it also sounds really strange to someone who's grown up calling it underdog.
(i think it's a little funny that this debate on this post is over 4 years old)

[Christie]

It's underdog.
My boyfriend just tried to grab the computer away from me to correct this, but I am sticking to my Southern Ontarian upbringing.

[Genaveve]

thats funny, i say underdog- I am from Mishawaka, IN and my husband says underduck he from 30 minutes away niles michigan, But he also says "headchange" instead of buzz...

[Paula Lee]

I grew up with underduck, having grew up in Viroqua, Wi (its by LaCrosse). We googled the question underduck v. underdog, because my children are calling it underdog. I keep trying to tell them they are wrong, but hey. We currently live in Little Rock, Arkansas, where it is, according to my children, always called an underdog. I blame this on raising children with Southern accents and the little kid trying to pronounce or mis- hearing underduck. They hear what they can understand you know. Thanks for having this discussion. We laughed all the way through!!!

[Sprite]

I live in central Ohio. We call it an "underdog" or "underdoggie" here. I've never head of an "underduck".

[B. Rossi]

I'm from the Green Bay, WI area, and its underduck. Again, because you duck under the swing. When the push is asked for you are asking the pusher to duck under you. Duck is the action, dog makes no sense.

[Wendy]

I'm from Ontario and have always said underDUCK. I think it's a classic case of someone mishearing underduck and voila, the term underdog is born.

[K]

I'm from western wisconsin and it is most definitely underduck!

[Steph]

Another spousal debate...
Southern Ontario - under doggie
Vancouver, BC - under duck

Its an ongoing debate in Vancouver...everyone from BC calls it duck (and is insistant it has no relation to an animal). All Ontariorites living here are with the doggie...the "gie" included.

Guess we will never know the truth...but ducks beware, us "underdog"s are defensive about the term, so best not to argue ;)

We also argue monkey in the middle (ON) vs. piggy in the middle (BC)

[The REAL McCoy]

My husband (from Green Bay) and I (from Minneapolis) were having this debate. He, like many in WI, calls it "Underduck". I grew up and still say "Underdog". The clear reason for that is that when your mom or dad would push you 'super high', you could pretend that you were the high flyin' cartoon hero "Underdog!" Underduck? Really? That's just lame. Now I will set out to teach kids that it should be Underdog! :)

[Molly]

I am also from Green Bay, WI and my sister and I (43 and 41 years old) always called it an underdog. My husband is from a suburb in Milwaukee and also called it an underdog. Another debate is what do you call the safe place in a game of tag? Ghool?

[Andrea]

I am from Omaha, NE and we call it underdog. My husband grew up in Sheboygan, WI (his family is from upper and lower MI) and he says underduck.

My husband called the safe place in tag ghoul. I had never heard of this.