HOW TO TALK RIGHT WHEN YOU TALK TO A CHICAGOAN How to talk to a Chicagoan: 1. Grachki (grach-key): Chicagoese for garage key as in, Yo, Theresa, waja do wit da grachki? Howmy supposta cut da grass if I dont git intada grach? 2. Sammich: Chicagoese for sandwich. When made with sausage, its a sassage sammich; when made with shredded beef; its 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 hes often called. 4. Jewels: Not family heirlooms or a tender body region, but a popular name for one of the regions dominant grocery store chains. Im goin to Jewels to pick up some sassage. 5. Fields: Marshall Field, a prominent Chicago department store. Also Carson Pirie Scott, another major department store chain, is simply Called Carsons. 6. Tree: The number between two and four. We were lucky dat we only got tree inches of snow da udder night. 7. 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 Jewels down on Kedzie, over by dere. 8. Kaminski Park: The mispronounced name of the ballpark where the Chicago White Sox (da Sox) play baseball. Comiskey Park was recently renamed U.S. Cellular Field (da Cell). 9. Frunchroom: As in, Get outta da frunchroom wit dose muddy shoes. Its not the parlor. Its not the living room. In the land of the bungalow, its the frunchroom, a named derived, linguists believe, from front room. 10. Use: Not the verb, but the plural pronoun you! Where use goin? 11. Downtown: Anywhere near The Lake, south of The Zoo (Lincoln Park Zoo) and north of Soldier Field. 12. The Lake: Lake Michigan. (What other lake is there?) Its often used by local weathermen, cooler by The Lake. 14. Braht: Short for Bratwurst. Gimme a braht wit kraut. 15. Goes: Past or present tense of the verb say. For example, Den he goes, I like this place! 16. Guys: Used when addressing two or more people, regardless of each individuals gender. 17. Pop: A soft drink. Dont say soda in this town. Do ya wanna canna pop? 18. Sliders: Nickname for hamburgers from White Castle, a popular Midwestern burger chain. Dose sliders I had last night gave me da runs. 19. Da Taste: The Taste of Chicago Festival, a huge extravaganza in Grant Park featuring samples of Chicago land cuisine which takes place each year around the Fourth of July holiday. 20. Jeetyet? Translates to, Did you eat yet? 21. Winter and Construction: Punch line to the joke, What are the Two seasons in Chicago? 22. Cuppa Too-Tree: is Chicagoese for a couple, two, three which really means a few. For example, Hey Mike, dere any beerz left in da cooler over by dere? Yeh, a cuppa too-tree. 23. 588-2300: Everyone in Chicago knows this commercial jingle and the carpet company youll get if you call that number -- Empire! The other number everyone knows is NAtional 2-9000 but no one knows who it connects you to. 24. Junk Dror: You will usually find the junk drawer in the kitchen filled to the brim with miscellaneous, but very important, junk. 25. Southern Illinois: Anything south of I-80. 26. Expressways: The Interstates in the immediate Chicago land area are usually known just by their name and not their Interstate number: the Dan Ryan (da Ryan), the Stevenson, the Kennedy (da Kennedy), the Eisenhower (da Ike), and the Edens (just Edens but Da Edens is acceptable). 27. Gym Shoes: The rest of the country may refer to them as sneakers or running shoes but Chicagoans will always call them gym shoes! 28. Chicagos most famous address is, of course, 3535 N. Ashland Avenue and that, my friends, is Bert Weinman Ford. 29. Everybody knows wats at 1060 W. Addison (Elwood Blues home address)
Posted on: Fri, 08 Nov 2013 22:14:15 +0000
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