Pittsburghese (California: live, place, accent)

[Fiddlehead]

I am afraid I am going to have to pull a Fiddlehead here, since the "Most Annoying Thread.." was euthanized just before I could post this erudite and entertaining contribution.

A potentially useful side thread was distinctive Pittsburgh lingo. Jagoff was at issue. Funny, to me, that word has just the right amount of bile to blow off some steam as a fine insult. I plan to use it while driving. "Sure, ya jagoff, YOU don't need a turn signal, we can ALL read your mind." I think a$$w!pe works equally well, but is perhaps even a bit meaner.

It is an art to match the expletive with the situation. When I was in Sweden, for example, my buddies would get really steamed and blurt out. "For fan, javla skitstovel!!" Which means, roughly "For the devil, you devilish, *****boot!!" I always had to stifle a chuckle, because the Swedes, although often large and imposing, are just not great at insults. In Ireland, expletives are so common, they have often evolved into compliments. "You're a feckin cute ****!" Is a way of saying you are an uncommonly clever and charming person, and usually a male. If you are tall, you are "a long streak of pi$$.."

And that, apparently, is just the tip of the iceberg....

Irish Slang | Learn to swear like the feckin' oirish!

Any other great phrases that are the Primanti's of Pittburghese?

[Gotta go, the bird is starting to smell goooood! Happy Thanksgiving All!]

[Hopes]

Pittsburgese isn't really about insults. It's more about pronunciation and blending words together.

Here are some: Pittsburghese: phrases

The examples are in the column on the left and the definitions are the bolded in the column on the right.

[Impala26]

I will agree with Hopes here. Pittsburghese isn't really about unique words or anything (though it has quite a few, or at least sometimes words that have different meanings than elsewhere).

Pittsburghese is definitely about uniquely combining words with a specific pronunciation.

"Jagoff" is a great "venting" slur, because it has an inherent edge to it yet doesn't come off as dirty or crass as other words.

One of my favorite word combinations is for "down there": "dahn'ere". And one of the classic Pittsburgh words I use purposefully to throw out-of-towners off for fun is "gumband" instead of "rubber band". It never fails to amuse. The Pittsburghese "language" is simply fun to me. I don't speak it as a normal accent (though apparently I carry some of it according to some), it's one of those fun accents to slip into amongst friends. I have no doubt about that.

[dugdogmaster]

I used to date a girl that moved up here from Mississippi. The first time I used the word jagoff in front of her, not directed at her, mind you, I got the most confounded look of perplexity I have ever seen on a persons face. I then had to explain to her what the word meant.

But, Hopes and Impala are right, Pittsburghese is a dialect. A mighty strange one if you ask me, and I live here!

Another story of Pittsburghese I have is when I was in the Air Force. My buddies and I got around to talking about accents and dialects, for some odd reason, and they all agreed I had the weirdest accent of all of us. They thought I sounded like I arrived right off the boat from Ireland. My vote was for the guys from California.

Oooh, oooh! I just thought of a couple, boinker and sped!

[Honest Bob]

It's not jagoff, it's Jack off - you goof ball.

The most famous one is YOU'NS...

[BrianTH]

My wife couldn't stop cracking up after one of her female employees said to her, "My father rode me to work today."

[Johnny C]

Originally Posted by Internet Superman

It's not jagoff, it's Jack off - you goof ball.

Jagoff is the correct Pittsburgh slang tern, for what it's worth.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

My wife couldn't stop cracking up after one of her female employees said to her, "My father rode me to work today."

Was she tired?

Originally Posted by Johnny C

Jagoff is the correct Pittsburgh slang tern, for what it's worth.

Internet Superman's hand is in the gutter.

[BrianTH]

I've always assumed jagoff meant the same thing as jackoff, but it is obviously now a local point of pride to emphasize the "ag" sound in placed of the "ack" sound.

[Hopes]

Totally different meanings. Jackoff is masterbating. Jagoff is someone who jags (jokes) around. Jagoff can also mean d-ck for 'prick' derived from the jag in jagger bushes.