SWouth Side Dictionary

[FlaSoxxJim]

Having been so far away from the ancestral home, my friends still on the South Side periodically check to see I haven't lost my South Sidedness. One of them was kind enough to email this dictionary and says I better bone up on it so I can feel at home during my upcoming summer visit. Are there any good ones he missed?

 

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1.  Grachki (grach'-key):  Chicagoese for "garage key" as in, "Yo, Theresa, waja do wit da grachki?  Howmy supposta cut da grass if I don't git intada grach?"

 

2.  Uptadaendada (up-ta-da-en'-dada):  As in, "Joey, you kin ride  yur bike uptadaendada alley but not acrost or I'll bust yur butt."

 

3.  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.

 

4.  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.

 

5. 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 da Jewels to pick up some sassage."

 

6.  Field's: Marshall Field, a prominent Chicago department store.  Also Carson Pirie Scott, another major department store chain, is simply called "Carson's."

 

7. Tree:  The number between two and four.  "We were lucky dat we only got tree inches of snow da udder night."

 

8.  Prairie: A vacant lot, especially one on which weeds are growing. 

 

9.  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 da Jewels down on Kedzie, over by dere."

 

10. KaminskiPark:  The mispronounced name of the ballpark where the Chicago White Sox (da Sox) play baseball.  Comiskey Park was recently renamed U.S. Cellular Field (yuck!).

 

11. 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."

 

12.  Use: Not the verb, but the plural pronoun "you."  "Where's use goin'?"

 

13.  Downtown:  Anywhere near The Lake, south of The Zoo (Lincoln Park Zoo) and north of Soldiers (with an "s") Field .

 

14.  The Lake:  Lake Michigan.  (What other lake is there?)  It's often used by local weathermen, "cooler by The Lake."

 

15.  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?"

 

16.  Braht: Short for Bratwurst. "Gimme a braht wit kraut."

 

17.  Cashbox:  Traffic reporter slang for tollbooths.  "Dere's a delay at da cashbox on da Skyway."

 

18.  Goes:  Past or present tense of the verb "say."  For example, "Then he goes, 'I like this place'!"

 

19. Guys:  Used when addressing two or more people, regardless of each individual's gender.

 

20.  Pop:  A soft drink.  Don't say "soda" in this town.  "Do ya wanna canna pop?"

 

21.  Sliders:  Nickname for hamburgers from White Castle, a popular Midwestern burger chain. "Dose sliders I had last night gave me da runs."

 

22.  The Taste:  The Taste of Chicago Festival, a huge extravaganza in Grant Park featuring samples of Chicagoland cuisine which  takes place each year around the Fourth of July holiday.

 

23.  "Jieetyet?": Translates to, "Did you eat yet?"

 

24.  Winter and Construction:  Punch line to the joke, "What are the two seasons in Chicago?"

 

25.  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."

 

26.  588-2300:  Everyone in Chicago knows this commercial jingle and the carpet company you'll get if you call that number --

Empire!

 

27.  Junk Djor:  You will usually find the 'junk drawer' in the kitchen filled to the brim with miscellaneous, but very important, junk.

 

28.  Southern Illinois: Anything south of I-80.

 

29.  Expressways:  The Interstates in the immediate Chicagoland area are usually known just by their 'name' and not their Interstate number:  the Dan Ryan ("the Ryan"), the Stevenson, the Kennedy, the Eisenhower (the "Ike"), and the Edens.

 

30.  Gym Shoes:  The rest of the country may refer to them as sneakers or running shoes but Chicagoans will always call them gym shoes.

[cwsox]

Da Mare for Richard M?

 

Surely you suggest.

 

That was the title Royko gave to Richard J many years ago

 

which leads to a dumb joke:

 

DePaul used to be called The Paul until Mayor Daley became mayor

 

 

I will grant you prairie (I used to play in one where the SCORE/XRT tower is and I look at that lot and think we called that a prairie...), pop and gym shoes, the Lake, sliders, Fields, guys, and braht

 

on the NW side we always said Jewel

 

 

I think southern Illinois is anything south of the 95th and Dan Ryan el stop and anything north, west, or south not in "Chicagoland" is "downstate"

 

I have a hell of a time (helovatim) giving directions to anyone not from Chicago or getting suburban directions because to me all the expressways have names not numbers

[Flash Tizzle]

Good reading.

 

I see people outside of Chicago still believe we all talk Jerko (ESPN 1000) or Bill Swartski's Super Fans (From SNL). I want to know one person in Chicago that says "tree" instead of "three" or "DA" in everyday conversation.

 

Other then the pronunciantion of words: 5-6,19-22,24,26,29,30 are about right.

[HighHeat45]

"Dose sliders I had last night gave me da runs."

how true, how true

[CubsSuck1]

Its my dad

[southsider2k5]

Good stuff FSJ. And yes I hear people who talk like this everyday. We call it, the Bridgeport gene.

[NUKE_CLEVELAND]

I LOVE IT

 

So true and extremely accurate.

[Texsox]

I am so homesick you bastard