-
1
Amped If someone from Philly says they’re amped, it means they’re determined or excited about something. To use this term properly, say it in moments where you are so excited about something that it feels hard to contain.
- If the Eagles are playing and you’re super excited to watch them take the field, impress your Philly friends by saying you’re amped.
-
2
Ac-a-me Philly natives call the ACME grocery store chain ‘ac-a-me.’
Advertisement
-
3
Being Joe If a Philly native says you’re being joe, they mean you’re being too friendly with people that you don’t know. For example, if you walked up to a stranger on the street and tried to strike up a deep conversation, your Philly friend would say “Woah, you being all Joe, relax.”
-
4
Boul or young boul ‘Boul’ and ‘young boul’ are both general descriptors that are used in place of boy. They are usually used when talking about people younger than you, but can be used to describe any other person.
-
5
Bid or bidding Bid is another word for “cracking jokes” or
“roasting.” When a group of Philly natives are joking around with each other, they’re bidding. If one of them thinks you’re funny, they’ll say “you bid.”
-
6
Bub or bubbing Bub is another word for fight, and bubbing is another word for fighting. Someone from Philadelphia who is trying to fight you would say “you tryna bub?!”
-
7
Center City Philly natives don’t say downtown, they say “center city.”
-
8
CHOP The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
-
9
Chumpy Chumpy is an older term used to describe a person, place, or thing. Although it’s been mostly replaced by “jawn,” you may still hear older Philadelphians using it.
-
10
Cheesesteak A cheesesteak, more commonly known as a Philly cheesesteak, is a hot sandwich with thinly sliced beef and cheese. You get a choice of cheese wiz, American cheese, or Provolone cheese.
[1]
- National Philly Cheesesteak Day is March 25.
-
11
Da Eagles Instead of calling their national football team the Philadelphia Eagles, Philadelphians simply say “Da Eagles.” Philly natives may pronounce “Eagles” as “iggles” or they may just say “Da Birds.”
[2]
-
12
Down-a-Shore Philadelphians use “down-a-shore” when they’re going down to the Jersey Shore.
-
13
Drawn/Drawlin’ When a Philly native says “you drawn” or “you drawlin’,” it is their way of saying you’re acting crazy or out of character.
- In their song, “Chips and Dip,” Philadelphia rapper, Lil Uzi Vert, uses the phrase, saying “you be drawn, this my Philly accent.”[3]
-
14
Early Early is a term that emphasizes someone’s point. It is usually used when someone wants to express urgency.
- If a Philly parent’s child is always late for school and the parent has had enough, they’d say “Get downstairs and get ready for school or you’re grounded. Early!!” to show that they’re not kidding.[4]
-
15
The El The El is what Philadelphians call their inner-city train system. El stands for Elevated Track.
-
16
Frauding When a Philly native says “you frauding,” they are saying that you’re lying. If they are trying to establish the truth, they’d say “No frauding” or “I’m not frauding.”
-
17
Gettin’ bizzy Gettin’ bizzy means to do something that is beneficial to you or makes you feel good. If you’re planning a vacation or going to an Eagles game, you’re gettin’ bizzy. Use this term when you are excited about the activity you’re about to do.
-
18
Grittin’ When someone in Philly is grittin’ you, they’re staring at you angrily. A Philly native may say “Young boul was grittin’ me on The El, I thought he was tryna bub,” if someone was staring at them like they wanted to fight.
-
19
Hoagie A hoagie is the official sandwich of Philadelphia. It is a sandwich on a long Italian roll with meats, cheeses, lettuce, onion, and tomato. Spices, olive oil, and vinegar are usually put on top.
[5]
-
20
Ice box Ice box is another word for refrigerator.
-
21
Jawn Philly natives use jawn to describe a person, place, or thing. For example, if someone from Philly is looking for something but doesn’t know what it’s called, they may ask you “Yo, you know where that jawn is?” You can also use “jawn” when talking about someone you’re interested in.
- Say, “You know that one jawn from West Philly? I think I like her,” to tell your friend you like a girl from the west side of the city.
-
22
Jimmies Instead of saying sprinkles, people from Philadelphia say jimmies. If you’re getting ice cream in Philly and want to get sprinkles, ask the server for some jimmies. For example, say “Can I get a double scoop of vanilla with a few jimmies?” if you want two scoops of vanilla ice cream with a few sprinkles on top.
-
23
Johnny Philadelphians use the word johnny to describe a stolen car.
- If someone you know was driving around in a car they stole, they’d be driving a johnny.
-
24
Keep it a bean When a Philly native tells you to keep it a bean, they’re telling you to be honest with them.
- If a friend hears a rumor about you and they want to see if it’s true or not, they may say “Keep it a bean with me bro, is what I heard from so and so true?”
-
25
Kenzo Kenzo is short for Kensington, a neighborhood in southeast Philadelphia.
- In some cases, kenzo is used in a derogatory way to describe people from Kensington.[6]
-
26
Knock knock, zoom zoom “Knock knock, zoom zoom” is another name for Ding Dong Ditch, which is a prank where someone knocks on a door or rings the doorbell and then runs off before the person answers the door.
-
27
The Linc The Linc is another name for the Lincoln Financial Field, which is where the Philadelphia Eagles play.
-
28
MAC You might get confused when you hear someone ask if there’s a MAC machine around, but don’t worry, that’s just another word for ATM. MAC stands for Money Access Center, which is an old ATM network.
[7]
- Although Money Access Centers aren’t around anymore, the term MAC is still used around Philly.[8]
-
29
Machine In Philadelphia, “machine” is another word for car. If you’re going out with one of your Philly friends, you may be surprised when they tell you to “hop in the machine” instead of “get in the car.”
-
30
Mit Mit is another word for face. If someone stood in the face of a Philly native, they’d say “yo, why you all up in my mit right now?”
-
31
Mix If you hear mix in Philly, be careful, as it’s another word for fight. If a fight breaks out in the street, someone from Philly would say “Oh they mixin’!”
-
32
Not for Nothing When Philadelphians say “not for nothing,” they mean there was a very good reason behind something happening. It is usually used as a term of constructive criticism.
[9]
- A Philly native would say “not for nothing, but you just had a hoagie, let’s wait to eat,” if they are trying to convince their friend to wait for their next meal, since they just ate.
-
33
Nutty This is another way to describe a crazy person or a situation. To describe a crazy scenario, a Philly native would say “It was nutty.”
-
34
Oldhead Oldhead is a casual way to refer to someone older than you. If you were driving behind an old person and they were going slow, your Philadelphian friend may say “Come on oldhead! Speed up!”
-
35
Pock-a-book Instead of purse, Philadelphians say “pock-a-book.”
-
36
Plug In Philly, plug is another word for fire hydrant. It is usually used when playing streetball to establish a base or boundary.
-
37
Real rap When a Philly native says “real rap,” that means they are telling the truth. It's usually used before or after a statement to let someone know that you’re being honest. If you hear Philly native say “I’m not rapping,” that means they aren’t lying or kidding around.
[10]
- To let someone from Philly know you’re being serious about something, say “I swear that’s what happened, real rap.”
-
38
Salty When Philadelphians are feeling angry or bitter about something, they say they’re salty.
-
39
That’s a hike When something is too far and you don’t feel like making the trip, say “that’s a hike” and someone from Philadelphia will get the idea.
-
40
Thurl If a Philly native says something is thurl, they mean it’s good, valid, and/or thorough.
- If you’ve got a friend from Philadelphia and ask them their opinion on a movie, they’ll say “It was definitely thurl” if they enjoyed it.[11]
-
41
Turkey Turkey has a few different meanings. In some cases, when someone says "turkey," they’re talking about someone’s butt. In other cases, they are using “turkey” as an insult to describe someone who is a fool or acting unruly.
- If you hear someone say “it’s turkey time,” that means the situation is about to escalate, potentially into something dangerous.
-
42
Wifty If you hear a Philadelphian call something wifty, they’re saying that it isn’t concrete and it doesn’t hold a lot of weight.
-
43
Whiz Whiz is what Philadelphians call the cheese sauce that goes on a cheesesteak.
-
44
Whiz wit If you hear a Philly native say they want a “whiz wit,” it means they want a Philly cheesesteak with cheese and grilled onions. “Wit” specifically refers to a cheesesteak with grilled onions.
-
45
Yank Philadelphians call dollars yanks. If someone from Philly needs some money, they’ll say something like “Let me hold a couple yanks.”
-
46
Yams Yams is another word for butt.
-
47
Yuengling Yuengling is the national beer of Philadelphia. It is also the oldest beer in America, first being brewed in 1829 in Pottsville, Pennsylvania.
[12]
-
48
Yuuur/Yuuurp This is how friends in Philly greet each other. It is a casual greeting and reserved for people you’re especially close with. If you’ve got a best friend in Philly, they’ll shout “yuuur” when they see you.
Advertisement
Download Article
