How to talk right in Chicago

August 20, 2003 | from an e-mail

[Chi-townChief]

1. Grachki (grach'-key) is Chicago for "Garage Key" as in, "Yo, Theresa, waja do wit da grachki? Howmy supposta cut da grass if 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; 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. The definite article is a key part of Chicago speech, as in "da tree bears" or "da Mare" -- the latter denoting, or as long as he wants it to, Richard M. Daley, or Richie, as he's often known.

5. Jewels. Not family heirlooms or a tender body region, but a popular appellation for one of the region's dominant grocery chains, to wit, "I'm goin' to da Jewels to pick up some sassage." As in most Chicago pluralizations, the "S" is pronounced with a hissing sound, rather than the usual "Z" sound of American pluralization.

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

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. i.e. "over by there," a prolix 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. Perhaps the high concentration of ethnic Poles makes people want the White Sox to be playing in this mythical ballpark, rather than in their true home, Cellular Field formerly known as Comiskey Park.

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 south of the zoo and north of Soldier Field near the lake.

14. BoysTown: A section on Halsted Ave., between Belmont and Addison, which is lined with gay bars on the west and east sides of the street. "Didn't I see uze in Boystown in front of da Manhole?"

15. Braht: Short for Bratwurst. "gimme a braht wit kraut"

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

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

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

19. Pop: A soft drink. Don't say "soda" in this town. "what kinda pop you got?"

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

21. The Taste: The annual Taste of Chicago Festival, a huge extravaganza in Grant Park featuring samples of Chicagoland's fine cuisine.  Takes place around and before the Fourth of July holiday.

22. "Jieetyet": this is used to ask "did you eat yet"?

23. Winter and Construction: Punch-line to the joke, "what are the two seasons in Chicago?"

[tiamat]

So deadly and yet so GOOODDDDD!

Yum!

Tia

Rats. And here I am out in the country, my kid's asleep and I am at least half an hour from the nearest Slider Palace.......

[sharkhawk]

Garfield Goose was good, but Ray Rayner always made my morning. Get up in the morning and watch Clutch Cargo, then Ray with the sports highlights and cartoons while eating breakfast. I wish I still had my 4 foot tall cuddly duddly doll.

[Charles Henrickson]

Ping.

[Milwaukee_Guy]

"How about when a GTO drove by in the mid-60s: "HEY, nice GOAT!! DAT is FINE!!"

Senior year of High School and "da ol' man" still wouldn't let me have a car. Neighbor gal just got a bright Red GTO with the "Slap Stick" tranny (transmission) and drove me to school every morning.

She was quite a sight with her new car and her 44D rack. (chest) Used to be legendary how fast she drove.

The kicker was she was so horribly farsighted all her daring driving exploits were due to her bad eyesight which was finally diagnosed when she put da Goat in da ditch.

Doz were da daiz!

[sharkhawk]

Monkey ward's--The late lamented Montgomery Wards

[Charles Henrickson]

Wisconsin: Chicago's summer resort (Lake Geneva, the Dells, Door County, etc.).

[X-FID]

And I'm closer to one than I really want to be, I could have a 'crave case' here in minutes, and I'm making myself hungry thinking about it.

[Kozak]

Yo, why don'tcha walk east till your hat floats?

[tiamat]

X-FID wrote: Just make sure you NEVER try the 'jalepeno slider', even though it is tasty.

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Oh..... THOSE are just the best! <p. Tia <p. ( With cast-iron innards, apparently! ;-) )

[1rudeboy]

I have lived in either the South Loop or the West Loop for years, and I haven't heard this language anywhere.

[Kozak]

Another one: BUBBLER (a/k/a a water drinking fountain.)

NO WAY. NOT a Chicagoism. NEVER heard it till I moved to the Appleton Wi (actually Neenah) area.

[Petruchio]

Ping from Mr_Magoo

[July 4th]

I brought this up on another thread the other day. Milwaukee's the main place where "bubbler" is used. Not Chicago...you're right on that one. But as I discovered last summer when I met some friends from Australia, they also use the term. Very weird. Check out this link: http://www.linguistlist.org/issues/5/5-1377.html

[tiamat]

sharkhawk wrote:

Monkey ward's--The late lamented Montgomery Wards

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there has GOT to be a lot of DEE-troit/ Chicago cross-over. A lot of this stuff is from where I grew up.....

Tia

[MinuteGal]

I'm up from Florida visiting family in my native Chicago suburb. First thing when I got here I had an Italian beef, extra joos, sloppy cooked green peppers. Can't find real Chicago Italian beef in the Sunshine State, drat.

Then had some Brown's fried chicken a couple days later. Heaven is.

There's a White Castle 6 blocks away and I had three sliders hot off the grill at 46 cents each for lunch today. Yum, yum.

On the way home, I dropped off some mail at the postovich.

Leni

[Charles Henrickson]

Fully kraeusened: What you want your beer to be. "Heileman's Old Style is fully kraeusened."

[Charles Henrickson]

The East Side: Way to detect a non-Chicagoan. There is no East Side.

[X-FID]

Oh..... THOSE are just the best!

Hehe, they are good but try putting 10 of them down in 1 session, holy cow they can be smokey!

[Milwaukee_Guy]

Pick and Save here at least has frozen Sliders. I have yet to find a decent 'Talian Beef anywhere here. MarketDay does sell a decent frozen Portillo's 'Talian Beef however either online or through our Church fundraiser.

Hey Der! How about a decent Gyro? Very few up here also.

I can remember going to the Parthenon and Dianna's House of Opa! on Halstead Ave when I lived in Chicago.

A bottle of Uzo, a bottle of Red Wine, fried smelt and cucumber sauce, Gyro's, anchovies and a nice Greek salad.

Now that was eating!

[tiamat]

Driving in/through Chicago scares hell outta me. and I'm a Detroit-born gal.... I don't scare easy!

Tia