Where Do You Stay?

It's time for another Southern cultural expression lesson!

What do you think when you hear the question, "Where do you stay?"

1. The thought is incomplete. You need more information, such as, "Where do you stay when you go on vacation to Gulf Shores?"
2. The person is asking, "Where do you live?"
3. It's a political question. The person wants to know your opinion on a certain issue.

The correct answer is 2, or at least that's what I've gathered it means in Memphis.

I was reminded of this phrase the other day when I was at Kroger. The checker was telling me a story about some twins she knows (because, you know, I want to hear everyone's twin stories all the time...). She mentioned that she stays in a townhouse - this was relevant information as the twins try to push each other down the stairs, apparently.

Then I remembered that last year, when we were car shopping, a sales guy asked us, "Where do you stay?" We were a little confused by the question. What he really wanted to know was what state we lived in for vehicle tax and registration purposes (Memphis is right on the border of TN/MS/AR).

In both of these examples, the speakers were African-American. According to the internet, this expression is more common in Black communities. Well, and also in Scotland. Interesting!