Philly Slang (get credit, house, buy)

[Torresdale]

Originally Posted by Ohiogirl81

The one that confuzzles me most is "pavement" for "sidewalk." Where did that come from ...

It's a Britishism. I guess it just never left.

As for Philly slang, I can't think. The only one that pops out for me at the moment is "tap MAC" because I always I have to tap MAC when I go to Wawa.

[FindingZen]

I still say "jawn" at random times.

I suppose that makes me an "old head".

Originally Posted by phillyzoo

Just to calrify- Jawn is often used when describing a female. It can also be used to identify anything else. "did you hook up the jawn?" "that jawn is heavy." etc...

This slang is commonly used by the ol' heads and yun' bols. Ol' heads are generally identified as older men or sometimes younger guys with old souls, or just out of a sign of respect for a younger guy. yun' bols are just young males- usually African American in bosth cases.

[Finger Laker]

Originally Posted by Torresdale

It's a Britishism. I guess it just never left.

As for Philly slang, I can't think. The only one that pops out for me at the moment is "tap MAC" because I always I have to tap MAC when I go to Wawa.

yeah - tap the MAC

most other places don't have money access centers

when I moved to minneapolis they gave me a really hard time for this one - i was back in philly for a buddies wedding and took a photo of me and my friend MAC to shut them all up

[lititzman2003]

Ac-a-me.

[orrmobl]

So that MAC campaign wasn't national huh? I HATED those commercials and everyone saying it...then I gave in. Imagine my surprise when I learned civilized people call them ATMs!

It is weird how you can grow up somewhere and your family has all these words no one else uses.

Dungarees was a big one in my Mom's family, along with pock-a-book and pavement. How bout spigot? Sneakers? Rug instead of carpet? They so butcher the English language with asparagrus and icening...used to drive me crazy! How bout aks? I'm sure that's more universal.

And nexstore (next door) is one word...I didn't realize that when I was a kid...you just put the person's name in there like one big word and there you went!

I would hang out with guys from the old neighborhood and they would always have something new like "What's up Daddy?" That one always creeped me out...I think we've moved on to brother now instead of Daddy...

[tscrilla]

Originally Posted by BabyBluEyes1122

Oh this one is kind of fun. I can tell you a few. "yous guys" is big for us instead of your saying "ya'll", my family says the word "won" as in the past tense of "win", like won ton soup. I get ragged on a lot for the way I say "phone, home, coke, boat" things like that. It's a hoagie, not a sub. Wawa is heaven. It's a crick instead of a creek. Pavement instead of sidewalk, It's Philly, not Philadelphia, It's Jersey, not New Jersey, is PA -- like the letters, not Pennsylvania, Punxsutawney Phil is a groundhog that predicts how long till spring, the first day of buck and doe season are a really big deal, Water Ice is pronounced Wooder ice -- it's Italian Ice, We have beer stores, and liquor stores. They are seperate and individual stores, sticky-buns are pieces of rolled up dough with cinnamon and a sweet icing, it's a pocketbook not a purse, pierogies are yummy potato filled things of dough and make a great side dish to a Philly Cheesesteak!!!! Cheesesteak is chopped steak with melted cheese mushrooms, onions, and sauce (sawce) =] Funnel cake is a big deal because it means fairs and carnivals, dippy eggs mean either sunny side up or over easy, girls here pump their own gas, own and use jumper cables, and can change their own oil, "Djeetyet?" means (Didyoueatyet?), Bryn Mawr, Wilkes-Barre, Schuylkill, Bala Cynwyd, Conshohocken, and Monongahela are cities that we all can pronounce. Blue Ball, Intercourse, Paradise, Bird-In-Hand, Climax -- these are all towns that really do exist and we laugh at their names, Not uncommon to hear a 2nd grader use the "F" word, we eat cold pizza for breakfast, don't order scrapple unless you know what it is, listen close when someone says "my dogs", because they might mean the animal that you walk on a leash, or they may be referring to their friends, also known as their peeps... ok thats all I can think of! Hope this helped!!

So true. When I lived there people didn't say "hi" they said "how ya feel?" and the response they always gave was "alright now". Even when I said Hi the response was "alright now". What a great city, wish I was back there.

[JHG722]

Jawn is definitely #1.

[otters21]

I lived in South Philly from 1980 to 1992. What I heard quite often is this: "Kids, dinner is on the table. We are having "macaroni(pasta) "and "gravy (red or marinara sauce)" with meatballs. Before all yo's come into the kitchen ,make sure you "close " (turn off )the TV in the parlor(living room). Need I say more?

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by Bookmen

The one that amuses me is "down the shore." Even the newscasters say it.

Which makes me want to scream every time I hear it. Did the English teachers all check out of the area?

[IZthe411]

Jawn is probably the one slang I still use, and it's an universal adjective, it's mainly for girls, but insert it anywhere, and people who know will understand!

That's what's up- started in Philly and has been picked up in NY and other places- pretty much a term for positive approval.

Bul- used to describe another male.

Like somebody mentioned- young bul is used to describe those younger than you, but can also be a term of disrespect. Oldhead is used to describe those older than you, or act older than you and can be used as a term of respect.