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.