{"id":1584,"date":"2016-07-14T09:06:55","date_gmt":"2016-07-14T09:06:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ssdcmoving.local\/?p=1584"},"modified":"2025-06-24T19:25:30","modified_gmt":"2025-06-24T19:25:30","slug":"how-to-sound-like-a-local-in-philadelphia-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.selfstorage.com\/blog\/how-to-sound-like-a-local-in-philadelphia-2\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Sound Like A Local in Philadelphia"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ask anyone who\u2019s lived in Philadelphia long enough, and they\u2019ll regale you with stories about how much this city has changed. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You\u2019ll hear about streets that no one would dare walk down at night 15 years ago that now play home to beer gardens, cutesy pocket parks and top-tier restaurants. They\u2019ll marvel at the flock of millennials choosing Philly over more expensive towns like New York City, turning once-downtrodden neighborhoods into veritable up-and-comers. Then there\u2019s the burgeoning entrepreneurs who are transforming this historic city into a hotbed of forward-thinking innovation. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But don\u2019t let all that new-fangled sheen fool you. When you get out on the streets you\u2019ll find that, underneath all the fancy new infrastructure, one thing remains firmly intact: that unflappable Philadelphia charm. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our Eagles fans are still insane, our cheesesteaks are Cheese Whiz-y as ever, and the local lexicon, well, it\u2019s one of a kind. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether you are a transplant or just visiting for an event like the <a href=\"https:\/\/demconvention.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2016 Democratic National Convention<\/a>, \u00a0here is a quick primer on Philly\u2019s quirky native tongue. <\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Don&#8217;t call it downtown<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you tell your cabbie you want to go downtown, he just may take you to Camden (and trust us, you don\u2019t want to go there). The heart of our town is called Center City. That\u2019s where you\u2019ll go to see Love Park, shop in Rittenhouse or grab lunch at our iconic Reading Terminal (pronounced \u201credding\u201d as in Otis Redding).<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">It\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/alwayssunny\">@alwayssunny<\/a> Is Filming in Center City on Friday <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/GNNJRX7xRF\">https:\/\/t.co\/GNNJRX7xRF<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/bFGXnMVYbH\">pic.twitter.com\/bFGXnMVYbH<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Philly Mag (@phillymag) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/phillymag\/status\/748187649152671744\">June 29, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>Go Ahead, Call it Philly<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unlike snooty-pants cities like San Francisco and Chicago who turn up their nose at people who call their city \u201cFrisco\u201d or \u201cChi-town,\u201d we are cool with pretty much any abbreviated pronunciation of Philadelphia. Most people go with \u201cPhilly,\u201d but you can also get away with \u201cThe 215\u201d if you\u2019re cool like that. <\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Native American Words<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Philadelphia\u2019s map is dotted with names we got from the Lenape Native American tribe who settled here before William Penn. Some of the stranger ones are Passyunk (<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pash-yunk)<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Nockamixon (knock-a-mix-en), Poquessing (poe-kess-ing) and Shackamaxon (shack-a-max-en). The one you\u2019ll reference (and misspell) most is the river that snakes through the city: Schuylkill, pronounced SKOO-kil. <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Philadelphia:  Passyunk Avenue. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/gEGstAnl0H\">pic.twitter.com\/gEGstAnl0H<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Seymour D. Fair (@seymourdfair) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/seymourdfair\/status\/749992384142905344\">July 4, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>A Tall Glass of Wooder<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In a restaurant, your waiter may ask you if you\u2019d like still or sparkling \u201cwooder.\u201d Don\u2019t be alarmed. That\u2019s how he pronounces \u201cwater.\u201d (Our tap wooder is great here, by the way. Have a glass!)<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">My first week of college.<br \/>Hall mate from Cali: &#8230;what?<br \/>Me: Wooder ice.<br \/>Her: WHAT ARE YOU EVEN SAYING?<br \/>Me: WOODER ICE. <br \/>Her: WHAT?!<br \/>Repeat.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Josh Kruger (@JoshKrugerPHL) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JoshKrugerPHL\/status\/753049779467354114\">July 13, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>A Primer on Jawns<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Besides funny pronunciations, we also like to make up our own words. Our favorite? <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jawn<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. A jawn is basically anything you want it to be\u2014an item, location, event, anything. For instance, you could ask, \u201cWhat time does that jawn get started?\u201d or \u201cI\u2019d like one of those jawns, please.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/GrowingUpinPhilly?src=hash\">#GrowingUpinPhilly<\/a> Shaking your head in digust when you see wanna-be trendy ad campaigns use &quot;jawn&quot; incorrectly. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/B5HVv4RY1Q\">pic.twitter.com\/B5HVv4RY1Q<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Marvin DeBose (@TheMindOfMarvin) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TheMindOfMarvin\/status\/749693564477669376\">July 3, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>Mummers the word<\/h3>\n<p>The Mummers Parade is an age-old Philadelphia tradition. Every New Year\u2019s, hundreds of everyday dudes, dress up in elaborate costumes and march down Broad Street. We\u2019re talking feather boas, sparkly headdresses, heels, the whole shebang. It\u2019s like one big drag show in the middle of the city, and our people eat it up.<\/p>\n<h3>Youse Come Back Now, Ya Hear?<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The South has \u201cy\u2019all,\u201d Pittsburgh has \u201cyinz,\u201d and Philadelphia has \u201cyouse.\u201d If you haven\u2019t guessed, it\u2019s our lazy way to reference a bunch of people without having to use exhausting multiple-syllable words or phrases like \u201cyou all\u201d or \u201ceveryone.\u201d Example: \u201cAre youse ready to go to the Mummers Parade?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>We Are The Iggles<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It may sound more like a Saturday morning cartoon than a rough-and-tumble NFL team, but locals reference their beloved Philadelphia Eagles as \u201cThe Iggles.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Pouring one out for Buddy. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/IGGLES?src=hash\">#IGGLES<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/iXGpvW1zzo\">pic.twitter.com\/iXGpvW1zzo<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Jefferson Burdick (@stalegum) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/stalegum\/status\/747764891268812800\">June 28, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>Yo, Yo, Yo<\/h3>\n<p>We use the word \u201cyo\u201d in a variety of ways. It could be an informal greeting, like \u201cYo, cabbie, take me to Center City,\u201d or a way to punctuate an expression of disappointment, like \u201cYo, the Iggles blow this year!\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>The Other Philly Sandwich<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our most famous sandwich may be the cheesesteak, but for a lot of Philadelphians, a hoagie is where it\u2019s at. What\u2019s a hoagie, you ask? You may know it as a submarine sandwich or a grinder. It\u2019s a sandwich on an Italian roll stuffed with your choice of cold cuts, veggies, cheese and seasonings. The best one you\u2019ll ever eat is at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.paesanosphillystyle.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Paesano\u2019s<\/a> in the Italian Market. (Say yes to the long-hots.)<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">It&#39;s National Hoagie Day. We started celebrating at 4am with some <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Wawa\">@Wawa<\/a> versions. Where is YOUR favorite spot? <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/nHJaqrHESZ\">pic.twitter.com\/nHJaqrHESZ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Bob Kelly (@bobkellytraffic) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/bobkellytraffic\/status\/728164973634043904\">May 5, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>Watering Hole Lingo<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you want to get plastered like a Philadelphian, order one of our signature <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thrillist.com\/drink\/philadelphia\/38-shot-and-a-beers-specials-in-philadelphia\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Citywide Specials<\/a>. It\u2019s basically a Jim Beam with a PBR chaser for around $3. If you want to try a locally brewed Yuengling Lager (say it \u201cying ling\u201d) , all you have to ask for is a lager. The barkeep will know what you mean.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The Philly Citywide Special Index: Whose combo packs the most punch? <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/qqdGw2CDIG\">https:\/\/t.co\/qqdGw2CDIG<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/mFZK6tlcnf\">pic.twitter.com\/mFZK6tlcnf<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Billy Penn (@billy_penn) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/billy_penn\/status\/689823546550300672\">January 20, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>Toot Your Own Horn<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sounding like a Philadelphian doesn\u2019t always involve what\u2019s coming out of your mouth. If you find yourself in a car while you\u2019re here, use that horn liberally. It\u2019s our way of saying \u201churry the you-know-what up!\u201d Bonus points if you learn to honk at the slowpoke in front of you a split-second before the traffic light turns greens&#8211;chances are they will have New Jersey plates.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ask anyone who\u2019s lived in Philadelphia long enough, and they\u2019ll regale you with stories about how much this city has changed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":1585,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[209],"tags":[81],"class_list":["post-1584","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-city-guide","tag-philadelphia-pa"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v23.9 (Yoast SEO v27.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ 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