Chicago Slang

[CaliSoxFanViaSWside]

CHICAGO SLANG

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. Field's: Marshall Field, a prominent Chicago department store. Also

Carson Pirie Scott, another major department store chain, is simply

called "Carson's."

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. KaminskiPark: The mispronounced name of the ballpark where the

Chicago White Sox (da Sox) play baseball. Comiskey Park was

renamed U.S. Cellular Field (da Cell).

9. 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."

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

11. Downtown: Anywhere near Da Lake, south of Da Zoo (Lincoln Park Zoo)

and north of Soldier Field.

12. The Lake: Lake Michigan. (What other lake is there?) It's often used

by local weathermen, "cooler by Da Lake."

13. 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?"

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

15. Goes: Past or present tense of the verb "say." For example, "Then he

goes, 'I like this place'!"

16. Guys: Used when addressing two or more people, regardless of each

individual's gender.

17. Pop: A soft drink. Don't 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

s***s."

19. The Taste: Da 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.

20. "Jieetyet?": 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 Mikey, dere any of dem beerz

left in da cooler over by dere?" "Yeh, a cuppa too-tree."

23. 588-2300: Every one in Chicago knows this commercial jingle and the

carpet company you'll get if you call that number -- Empire! (Famous for

their salesmen using 30 inch yard sticks to measure your home for

carpeting).

24. Junk Djor: 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 Chicagoland area are

usually known just by their 'name' and not their Interstate number: Da

Dan Ryan ("Da Ryan"), da Stevenson, da Kennedy, da Eisenhower (da

"Ike"), and da Edens.

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!

Edited July 19, 2008 by CaliSoxFanViaSWside

[Flash Tizzle]

Item 15 and 16 really can't possibly be exclusive to Chicagoans.

 

Also, and I'm sure many of our posters will agree, people outside of Calumet City (and even then I'm sure it's not very common) don't speak similar to the Superfans SNL skit. The one exception is frunchroom, which I've heard quite a few times. The references to places are true, though.

Edited July 19, 2008 by Flash Tizzle

[Balta1701]

Item 21 had me cracking up.

[CaliSoxFanViaSWside]

I'll add another one though its probably my family rather than a Chicago thing. Instead of saying flush as in " flush the toilet" we would say " pull da chain" or "who was da last one in da bathroom an didn't pull da chain " ?

Edited July 19, 2008 by CaliSoxFanViaSWside

[Rooftop Shots]

The big thing about us south-side Chicagoans is that we CRAM a bunch of words into making one big one.

Example: A normal person would ask, "Hey! Can I Go With You??" We say. (My personal favorite) ....."Hey, Ky-GoWitcha?"

Normal: "Hey, did you eat yet?" Us: "Hey. didjeet-jet?"

Scenario; As kids, you're playing catch with a league ball. Your griend wants to practice throwing a curve ball. You want to see how much it curves and if it will curve consistently every time.

A normal person would ask. "Will you throw me two or three of those?

We say: ...Wi-ya trow me two or tree-a-dows?"

 

Great thread! Bringing back a lot of memories!

[DrunkBomber]

I know SNL had success with Da Bears and everything but this whole saying Da in front of everything isnt true at all.

[daa84]

sewer caps

[CaliSoxFanViaSWside]

Since I've been in California I haven't heard the word Jagoff which was my older brother's favorite word or he'd shorten it to jag.

[CaliSoxFanViaSWside]

The big thing about us south-side Chicagoans is that we CRAM a bunch of words into making one big one.

Example: A normal person would ask, "Hey! Can I Go With You??" We say. (My personal favorite) ....."Hey, Ky-GoWitcha?"

Normal: "Hey, did you eat yet?" Us: "Hey. didjeet-jet?"

Scenario; As kids, you're playing catch with a league ball. Your griend wants to practice throwing a curve ball. You want to see how much it curves and if it will curve consistently every time.

A normal person would ask. "Will you throw me two or three of those?

We say: ...Wi-ya trow me two or tree-a-dows?"

 

Great thread! Bringing back a lot of memories!

 

Speaking of memories, when I was a little kid I often heard the phrase " Who died and left you boss ? " And I actually thought diednleft was a word that I didn't comprehend. Like maybe it was some German or Polish word. I'd often hear foreign words like babushka or Klotchski (sp) so when a word ran together like diednleft I just figured it was a foreign word. It wasn't until years later that I figured out it was 3 English words and I finally understood the whole phrase.

[shipps]

I must use alot of this slang unknowingly because whenever Iam out of town random people call me out on the way I talk.

[Controlled Chaos]

My wife gives me s*** for "use" all the time.

 

Whadda yous want to do?

[LosMediasBlancas]

Chicago is more about an accent than slang. We say the same things as everyone else, just the pronunciation is different.

Since I've been in Cali., everyone points out that I skip over my T's. Instead of Bill ClinTon, it's Clint-n, instead of buTTon, it's buh-n.

[zimne piwo]

Ordering a pizza with "cheese and sausage", "cheese and pepperoni", etc. despite the fact that it already comes with cheese.

[DrunkBomber]

Ordering a pizza with "cheese and sausage", "cheese and pepperoni", etc. despite the fact that it already comes with cheese.

In cant say Im familiar with that one either.

[DrunkBomber]

I think for the most part that thing that people recognize as a Chicago accent is the long "a" like Chicaaaaaaaaaaaago

[farmteam]

I think for the most part that thing that people recognize as a Chicago accent is the long "a" like Chicaaaaaaaaaaaago

 

Yeah I get confused with this one. What do non-Chicagoans say?

 

And really, is combining a bunch of words together just a Chicago thing? I thought everyone in every language has a tendency to not put many spaces in when they talk, because people understand it.

 

Also, don't forget Cut the Grass vs. Mow the Lawn.

Edited July 20, 2008 by farmteam

[shipps]

Chicago expressions are so embedded in my way of talk that I dont even realize what ones are not used in other places.

[DrunkBomber]

Yeah I get confused with this one. What do non-Chicagoans say?

 

And really, is combining a bunch of words together just a Chicago thing? I thought everyone in every language has a tendency to not put many spaces in when they talk, because people understand it.

 

Also, don't forget Cut the Grass vs. Mow the Lawn.

I have noticed that when I go out of town I will have people ask me if Im from Chicago or Boston which is weird because I dont think the accents are wicked similar.

[Texsox]

I quickly changed use guys with y'all when I moved, I also notice I call it soda almost 100% of the time now. I've had a couple groups from Iowa in camp and a few of them said pop and my trading post clerk was confused, I said I speak yankee and asked use guys want some snickers with that? lol

[zimne piwo]

Pronouncing the word "can" (as in "I can do that") so it sounds like "ken". Back in grade school I remember this used to drive my English teacher crazy, and to break us out of it she would tell us "Ken is Barbie's boyfriend".

[dasox24]

Also, don't forget Cut the Grass vs. Mow the Lawn.

Which phrase do Chicagoans use? Just curious b/c those are pretty interchangeable with me, but I definitely say "mow the lawn" more often. And while I'm not from Chicago, the rest of my entire family is, so I assume I picked up one of those phrases from my Chicago roots.

[DrunkBomber]

Which phrase do Chicagoans use? Just curious b/c those are pretty interchangeable with me, but I definitely say "mow the lawn" more often. And while I'm not from Chicago, the rest of my entire family is, so I assume I picked up one of those phrases from my Chicago roots.

mow the lawn

Edited August 9, 2008 by DrunkBomber

[T R U]

I quickly changed use guys with y'all when I moved, I also notice I call it soda almost 100% of the time now. I've had a couple groups from Iowa in camp and a few of them said pop and my trading post clerk was confused, I said I speak yankee and asked use guys want some snickers with that? lol

 

Oh you disgust me, I will NEVER say yall and I cant stand how everyone here does that... "yall" "fixin" man I will never talk like Texas people..

 

I still say you guys no matter how many people it is and no matter the gender, and I catch a lot of s*** for the A sound as well (ex. Chicaaaaago)

 

I also apparently say these words funny as well

 

Word: Eggs

I Say: Aigs

 

Word: Greg

I say: Craig

 

Word: Crayons

I say: Crans

 

Im sure there is more, I get a lot of s*** about the way I talk.. Most of the time they say "because your from ChicAAAAAgo" and try and be funny and make that drawn out A sound

[farmteam]

Oh you disgust me, I will NEVER say yall and I cant stand how everyone here does that... "yall" "fixin" man I will never talk like Texas people..

 

I still say you guys no matter how many people it is and no matter the gender, and I catch a lot of s*** for the A sound as well (ex. Chicaaaaago)

 

I also apparently say these words funny as well

 

Word: Eggs

I Say: Aigs

 

Word: Greg

I say: Craig

 

Word: Crayons

I say: Crans

 

Im sure there is more, I get a lot of s*** about the way I talk.. Most of the time they say "because your from ChicAAAAAgo" and try and be funny and make that drawn out A sound

 

I do the exact same thing and get made fun of for it. Crayons=Crans, Greg=Graig, Egg=Aig, Leg=Laig, Keg=Kaig, etc.

 

[Jake]

I do the exact same thing and get made fun of for it. Crayons=Crans, Greg=Graig, Egg=Aig, Leg=Laig, Keg=Kaig, etc.

 

Isn't that the right way to say those words?