Chicago Grammar...

Apr 24, 2002
4,616
10
38
52
Chicago, Illinois
www.novembersdoom.com
This list made me laugh being from Chicago, but then I realized that I am guilty of a few of these, and I know some others that are as well...



Chicago grammar

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 Soldier 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!
 
Let me tell you, being that my girlfriend is from New York and lives with me now, this is something that we're constantly going back and forth about. Of course she has the New Yawk accent (though it's not too bad really, for whatever reason she doesn't have that thick of an accent) so I still tease her about certain things she says, but she loves to give me shit about stuff like "pop" and "gym shoes" and some of the other typically Chicagoan terms.
Another thing I say alot, that I'm told by friends from out of town is very typically Chicagoan, is "jagoff", lol. I think it's also in the way you pronounce it, too.

And yeah I say "heya" both in person and to start alot of my emails, I've noticed. Thanks for making me conscious of that one, Tom. Ya prick!! LOL
 
I have to add some ammendments as well...

The Italian beef sammich and sassage sammich were mentioned, but what if you have BOTH on a bun? Well, its a Cahmbo Sammich of course! "Lemme get a Cahmbo Sammich, make it wet, hot peppers on da side"

And the greatest faux pas in Chicago, is mispronouncing the name of Da football stadium. Anyone calling it SoldierS Field gets a beating. Its SOLDIER, not plural, haha.
 
I am guilty of a lot of those things mentioned on the list as well...

Seeing as I plucked myself out of the Chicago area and landed here in Houston, I've realised how much of an "accent" I have. I constantly get teased about things that I say. My boyfriend is notorious for it. It's alright though because I give it right back to him.

Lately though I've had to "adapt" since I started working at a grocery store part-time while I continue my seemingly never-ending search for decent full-time work here. I have to stop myself from saying things like "pop", because people don't know what the fuck I am talking about :tickled: . It's usually referred to as "soda" here, but I also have noticed a prevelance of everything being called a "Coke" no matter if it's a Sprite or Dr. Pepper or what have you. You know what, everything is not a COKE dammit!

There's certain things I won't say though...I'm still gonna call it a bag, it's not a SACK. If I say SACK it just makes me think of the male anatomy. I'm also not a checker, I'm a fucking CASHIER...if you don't like it, FIRE ME. :p

On that note, I have been dying for a BRAT. You can't get a decent one here.

I've also been craving some sliders. I almost peed myself though at work the other day because some lady came through my line with FROZEN WHITE CASTLES. Hell ya! Frozen beats nothing I suppose. There is a god, and he likes me.
 
ShadowLioness said:
I am guilty of a lot of those things mentioned on the list as well...

Seeing as I plucked myself out of the Chicago area and landed here in Houston, I've realised how much of an "accent" I have. I constantly get teased about things that I say. My boyfriend is notorious for it. It's alright though because I give it right back to him.

Lately though I've had to "adapt" since I started working at a grocery store part-time while I continue my seemingly never-ending search for decent full-time work here. I have to stop myself from saying things like "pop", because people don't know what the fuck I am talking about :tickled: . It's usually referred to as "soda" here, but I also have noticed a prevelance of everything being called a "Coke" no matter if it's a Sprite or Dr. Pepper or what have you. You know what, everything is not a COKE dammit!

There's certain things I won't say though...I'm still gonna call it a bag, it's not a SACK. If I say SACK it just makes me think of the male anatomy. I'm also not a checker, I'm a fucking CASHIER...if you don't like it, FIRE ME. :p

On that note, I have been dying for a BRAT. You can't get a decent one here.

I've also been craving some sliders. I almost peed myself though at work the other day because some lady came through my line with FROZEN WHITE CASTLES. Hell ya! Frozen beats nothing I suppose. There is a god, and he likes me.


Im good for Pop, Gym Shoes, and bag instead of sack myself. It's funny, I didn't realize Pop was a chi-town thing.
 
My woman also concurs with the whole "frunchroom" thing. Before I could even tell her that one was on the list, she brought it up herself lol I never realised that was a chicago thing, but I do now haha
 
"pop" isn't even just a chicago thing- it's kind of spread all over and doesn't really make sense where. i remember in high school we had this camp thing with kids from all over the state of missouri & the people from the southwest called it pop and the st. louis people called it soda. so when you work up a sweat after throwing eggs at Yakov Smirnov in Branson, you order a "pop" but when you're a Cubs fan getting your ass beat at a Cardinals game, you get "soda" dumped on your head.
 
TheNewChupe said:
"pop" isn't even just a chicago thing- it's kind of spread all over and doesn't really make sense where. i remember in high school we had this camp thing with kids from all over the state of missouri & the people from the southwest called it pop and the st. louis people called it soda. so when you work up a sweat after throwing eggs at Yakov Smirnov in Branson, you order a "pop" but when you're a Cubs fan getting your ass beat at a Cardinals game, you get "soda" dumped on your head.

Just be safe and order a "Soda-Pop." How horrible is that name? haha! That sounds so 1950's!
 
It's mostly soda up here with a few stragglers using soda-pop and pop. And if you're a cubs fan getting beat at a Brewers game you get a "beer" dumped on your head (if anyone can affoard to actually waste any).
 
I just call it a "dumb soda" because my buddy Nick uses that term all the time. No idea where that came from, you just have to know Nick and you'll understand lol "Hey lemme get a dumb soda from da fridge."
 
I speak with folks from the Chicago area all the time since I work as a customer service rep for SBC. Some people have intense accents while others seem to only hint at an accent. About the pop thing though.. I call it pop as well and I live in southern West Virginia. Hell, even my friend that lives on Vancouver Island calls it pop. A lot of these apply to my accent dominant in this area, with a major emphasis on Jieetyet.
 
One thing I've noticed that appears a lot (three times on this thread even!) is the tendency to say, "Let me get a" or "Let me have a" or "Let me tell ya". Why do you need someone else to let you do things? hahaha.

As for Brewskies, that name gets bandied around in Australia too, so I don't think it's a regional reference. Or at least, it isn't anymore.