Chicagoans have their own language!

Buckingham Fountain - Located downtown Chicago, near da lake.(Michigan, of course).
@fpd1955 (2074)
United States
April 18, 2007 11:37pm CST
CHICAGO SLANG-Some of my best friends really do talk like this! 1. Grachki (grach'-key): Chicagoese for "garage key" as in, "Yo,Theresa, waja do wit da grachki? Howmy supposta cut da grass if I can't git intada grach?" 2. Sammich: Chicagoese for sandwich. When made with sausage, it's a sassage sammich; when made with shredded beef, it's an Italian Beef sammich, a local delicacy consisting of piles of spicy meat in a perilously soggy bun. 3. Da: This article is a key part of Chicago speech, as in "Da Bears" or "Da Mare" (the latter denoting Richard M. Daley, or Richie, as he's often called). 4. Jewels: Not family heirlooms or a tender body region, but a popular name for one of the region's dominant grocery store chains. "I'm goin' to Jewels to pick up some sassage." 5. Tree: The number between two and four. "We were lucky dat we only got tree inches of snow da udder night."6. Over by dere: Translates to "over by there," a way of emphasizing a site presumed familiar to the listener. As in, "I got the sassage at Jewel s down on Kedzie, over by dere." 7. Frunchroom: As in, "Getottada frunchroom wit dose muddy shoes." It's not the "parlor." It's not the "living room." In the land of the bungalow, it's the "frunchroom," a named derived, linguists believe, from "front room." 8. Use: Not the verb, but the plural pronoun 'you!' "Where use goin'?" 9. BoysTown: A section on Halsted between Belmont and Addison which is lined with gay bars both sides of the street. "Didn't I see use in BoysTown in front of da Manhole?" 10. Braht: Short for Bratwurst. "Gimme a braht wit kraut." 11. Guys: Used when addressing two or more people, regardless of each individual's gender. 12. Pop: A soft drink. Don't say "soda" in this town. "Do ya wanna canna pop?" 13. Sliders: Nickname for hamburgers from White Castle, a popular midwestern burger chain. "Dose sliders I had last night gave me da runs." 14. "Jieetyet?": Translates to, "Did you eat yet?" 15. Winter and Construction: Punch line to the joke, "What are the two seasons in Chicago?" 16. Cuppa Too-Tree: is Chicagoese for "a couple, two, three" which really means "a few." For example, "Hey Mikey, dere any of dem beerz left in da cooler over by dere?" "Yeh, a cuppa too-tree."17. Junk Djor: You will usually find the 'junk dr aw er' in the kitchen filled to the brim with miscellaneous... but very important, junk. 18. Southern Illinois: Anything south of I-80. 19. Expressways: The Interstates in the immediate Chicagoland area are usually known just by their 'name' and not their Interstate number: Da Dan Ryan ("Da Ryan", da Stevenson, da Kennedy, da Regan, da "Ike", and da Edens.) 20. Gym Shoes: The rest of the country may refer to them as sneakers or running shoes, but Chicagoans will always call them gym shoes! ( I aleays call them gym shoes!) 21. JoeyBaggadoughnuts: Chicago Cop.
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• United States
21 Apr 07
Funny! I just moved back to Florida from Pittsburgh and they have their own language there too. My favorites were "yunz" for "you all" and "nubbing" for being nosey. Closets are cupboards, they have no family rooms in their houses, and they "bath" the children, they don't bathe them.
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