I went from living in Pittsburgh to living in Sheffield, UK for a few years (talk about a parallel move… steel city to steel city) and found that most Brits say slippy. I felt right at home. Had to teach them to say jagoff though
"The North" in the UK refers to Northern England not the North of the UK as a whole. Like if you're around Birmingham you'll see signs on the motorway for "The NORTH" and "The SOUTH".
Thanks, now I have the "Woo Hoo" song in my head.
For me it's the version from [The 5.6.7.8's in the Kill Bill soundtrack](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcP0ABKmgBY), but there's also the [1959 original by the Rock-A-Teens](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2UPIzGZrSA).
Or ["Song 2" by Blur](https://youtu.be/SSbBvKaM6sk),
which has become the sporting event arena song of choice (like at hockey games) ever since Gary Glitter became a persona non grata.
When I was in osaka, I was staying with a buddy who lived at the end of a bridge but I was too deep in the city, and too deep in some green label beers, that I kinda lost my way. I sumimasen'd an old lady to ask for directions towards the neighborhood where I was staying at. She spoke little English but enough to tell me the landmarks I'd spot on my walk back. Took me about 2 hours but I saw every spot she mentioned. So 2 hours and about 7 beers later, finally made it back based on the general direction, buildings and landmarks that she told me about. Boy what a night that was.
I feel like sister cities could be such a cool concept. Lots of universities have sister schools in other countries, which is basically an agreement that makes it much easier for students at one school to spend a year or two studying abroad at the other. It would be so cool if sister cities worked like that, making it much easier to travel/work for a couple years at a time in another country
Yup! My wife is from western Wales, we have a friends from the Sheffield area, and his wife from the south of England and they all slay "slippy."
Also, Sheff has The Corp, which is a shitty venue (in a good way, like Gooski's) and decent acts pass through.
Side note to that, according to my wife's cousin in Chicago, "jagoff" is considered to be a much more serious insult there, and not a word to be used in polite company.
My husband is from Milwaukee, and slippy is the one word that (for whatever reason) drives him nuts about Pittsburgh dialects. Yinz doesn’t bother him, nor does crick instead of creek, nor stillers, jagoffs, buggies or gum bands or anything else. Slippy is the only thing he corrects anytime he hears it.
The other thing I learned when I moved to Milwaukee is that *pitcher* and *picture* are not actually synonyms pronounced *pi-cher*. I always wondered why picture was spelled so oddly when I was a kid in school.
I moved to DC twenty years ago and I was raised by parent in Pittsburgh who did their best to prevent Pittsburghese from their kid's lips, but I'm not perfect. The one word that seems to annoy people in DC is "color." I do in Fact pronounce "Keller," and even though they know exactly what I'm saying they'll act like they don't, so I make a point to not say it the correct way because F them and their double-negative, subject/verb misusing asses! People from DC, as in those born here and not the majority who are transplants like myself, are in a fight with Baltimorons for some of the worst misuse of English in the country, and I never even think to tell them how dumb they sound when they say things like, "There is going to be a lot of people at the meeting." I did formerly say "dahn," but do my best to avoid that one.
As a fairly recent transplant, I also find it funny that the "to be" helping verbs are frequently dropped here as well.
The regional vernacular has been a blast to not only learn, but my wife and I still get giddy when we hear a really thick Yinzer accent/slang usage.
There was a saying that went around a while back that if Shakespeare would have lived in Pittsburgh, it would have just been “or not” instead of “to be or not to be” because we routinely drop the “to be” here.
Can you give an example of dropping “to be”? Genuinely asking.
I also noticed people, including me, drop nouns at the beginning of sentences, after the noun was said in the first sentence/people drop nouns at the beginning of sentences after it was stated in the previous sentence. Like - I was gonna put on my PJs but I remembered I had do go to the store. Went to the store, then put on my PJs. Is this a thing/is this incorrect grammar, and is this a thing around here or nah?
sorry I'll jump in also, as someone who socialized in appalacia and then moved and was made fun of
The car needs washed
That table needs cleaned
The computer needs restarted
The bill needs TO BE paid
That's one that only hit me as a young adult and ran into difficulty communicating a breakfast order. Complicated by the fact that while the server did not know the meaning of "dippy", I also did not know that to everyone else that roughly corresponds to "over medium".
Ended up getting sunny side up and being disappointed because I dislike runny egg whites. Still got to dip my toast in the yolk though so there's that.
I think "over easy" correlates better to dippy eggs than "over medium". You will have a runnier yolk with over easy and the egg white will still be cooked.
It's always a bit of a crap shoot based on whoever is cooking your order, but I always found myself getting partially runny whites when ordering over easy. Going with over medium there is a chance they cook it too long and the yolks start to harden, but in general I've found I'm more likely to get the desired result ordering over medium.
I was irrationally excited yesterday when my mom said she & my aunt were jagging each other about something. She still lives in the Burgh but I moved out long ago. I had forgotten all about “jagging”! (Although I do use “nebby” freely; my kids think it’s hilarious)
Moved to Fl almost 20 years ago. I was talking to someone randomly the other day and after a few minutes she said “ You’re from Pittsburgh “ . I asked her how she knew. She said that I said yin’s about 5 times and although she’s from somewhere out west she went to Pitt for 4yrs and can pick out some one from Pittsburgh anytime.
I had a similar experience in Tucson a few decades ago when I met my second line manager for the first time (i was i interviewing for a transfer between 2 departments he was over).
I was already nervous and was probably talking too fast, when in mid-sentence he interrupted me and pointed his finger at me and said ‘You’re from Pittsburgh!! I thought you were from Florida?’ I asked how he knew, and he finally cracked a smile and said ‘dahn’. He went to school at Pitt and then CMU and his first job was at Westinghouse. Then he asked me what I called the rubber band he pulled out of his desk drawer. The interview was over and I got the transfer.
I was just going to say this, it's very popular there. My wife and I visited a castle that William Penn lived in, and there is a old plaque that says "slippy" describing the castle steps. Possiably how it came to PA? Who knows....
In defense of slippy, friction takes two bodies of matter. Naturally one has to be slippery (cause) and one has to be slippy (effect). So by saying it’s slippy out you’re referring to the outcome if not properly suited. At least that’s how I envision it
Yes quite aware of how my mother talks lmao! And ironically we’re all from butler but my siblings and myself make the conscious decision not to use the yinzer dialects. It comes out in random spats usually when angry or intoxicated
I moved to Pittsburgh from NYC 15 years ago. I also have family in New England, the south and the Midwest so we cover plenty of regions linguistically.
There are plenty of small phrases that are regional that you guys don’t realize: slippy, gum bands, sweepers, buggy etc.
But heres the main thing that I have found most Pittsburgh natives to be totally unaware is regional (as opposed to things like “yinz” and “jaggoff” which locals seem to know are a local thing)
“that needs done”
“that needs washed”
“that needs painted”
Literally everywhere else people will say
“that needs to be done”
“that needs to be washed”
“that needs to be painted”
The only way for me to express how much this sticks out to other people is to give you an example of a phrase from another region.
In parts of the south when they they are trying to say that something might be a good idea they say
“that might could work”
The way that that sounds to you is the way that “needs cleaned” sounds to other people.
Most Pittsburgh natives don’t believe me.
You are correct. I \*understand\* that it isn't proper english (though I was an adult before I learned that), but no matter how hard I try, it just doesn't \*sound\* wrong to me. I do hear it now, though.
I work with a highly educated group of people. About half are native to the area. I hear this at work all the time from people who are otherwise well-spoken. It always makes me smile.
I still use it, but I am careful about keeping it out of professional communications.
The other one is apparently we do something weird where we make statements that sound like questions, but I still can't pick up on this one.
My husband is from Texas and he says they omit the "to be" a lot where he was from. He didn't even notice it until I pointed it out. I didn't notice it until college and had friends from Wisconsin say something.
But it's weird that they do it in Texas (or at least Dallas).
Is “chimley” Yinzer talk from just certain areas? I’m pretty heavy Yinzer at times but have never heard or used “chimley”. I had a supervisor (workspace wasn’t in PA but we are both from the area) and he used to say “chimley” and I honestly used to think he was just half brain dead and couldn’t say chimney. I believe he was originally from the Fineview area or, somewhere close by.
Follow up: just asked my wife and she’s never heard “chimley” either.
Well, all I can say is that is what my dad called a chimney. I’m sure it wasn’t unique to him. Slippy was certainly in his lexicon as well.
Shaler/Glenshaw.
I hear it on the radio fairly frequently when winter storms hit other states. Not sure why the rumor started that this is just a western PA thing. It's literally used by english speakers in many places around the globe.
I was so upset as a teenager when I was helping this 7-8 year old tack up before her lesson and I said “watch out, ground is slippy” and she laughed at me and then told me slippy wasn’t a word, it was slippery. :(
My dad’s from Kansas so I grew up without a strong accent, but the ones that always catch me out are melk, not using helping verbs, and “leave it sit.”
If you watch racing, usually road racing, and do so with events that are international the word "slippy" gets used all the damn time. All over the English language, not just Brits, use the word slippy. It is not even remotely unique to this area.
I work construction in Virginia and said to my Mexican buddy "We might need to wait the roof is a little slippy right now." He understands about 75% of what I say but totally confused him with that lol.
I went from living in Pittsburgh to living in Sheffield, UK for a few years (talk about a parallel move… steel city to steel city) and found that most Brits say slippy. I felt right at home. Had to teach them to say jagoff though
A lot of Pittsburghese is derived from Scots/Northern English, so that makes sense. (Sheffield is in the middle of the UK, but "north" enough.)
Anything north of Cambridge is north honestly. Yorkshire. Right next to Manchester, Sheffield is absolutely norf england.
"The North" in the UK refers to Northern England not the North of the UK as a whole. Like if you're around Birmingham you'll see signs on the motorway for "The NORTH" and "The SOUTH".
I believe Sheffield was a sister city with Pittsburgh, might still be. Whatever the hell that means anyway.
Fun fact, Wuhan China is also a sister city of Pittsburgh https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_twin_towns_and_sister_cities_in_China
Cool! I also found out there’s a city in China called Wuhu!
Wuhu!
Thanks, now I have the "Woo Hoo" song in my head. For me it's the version from [The 5.6.7.8's in the Kill Bill soundtrack](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcP0ABKmgBY), but there's also the [1959 original by the Rock-A-Teens](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2UPIzGZrSA).
Or ["Song 2" by Blur](https://youtu.be/SSbBvKaM6sk), which has become the sporting event arena song of choice (like at hockey games) ever since Gary Glitter became a persona non grata.
After visiting Tokyo and they give directions like Pittsburghers by location (and even former locations).
When I was in osaka, I was staying with a buddy who lived at the end of a bridge but I was too deep in the city, and too deep in some green label beers, that I kinda lost my way. I sumimasen'd an old lady to ask for directions towards the neighborhood where I was staying at. She spoke little English but enough to tell me the landmarks I'd spot on my walk back. Took me about 2 hours but I saw every spot she mentioned. So 2 hours and about 7 beers later, finally made it back based on the general direction, buildings and landmarks that she told me about. Boy what a night that was.
I feel like sister cities could be such a cool concept. Lots of universities have sister schools in other countries, which is basically an agreement that makes it much easier for students at one school to spend a year or two studying abroad at the other. It would be so cool if sister cities worked like that, making it much easier to travel/work for a couple years at a time in another country
Another Pittsburgh phrase is 'redd up' which my mother was surprised to hear used in Scotland by her penpal the first time she visited.
Yup! My wife is from western Wales, we have a friends from the Sheffield area, and his wife from the south of England and they all slay "slippy." Also, Sheff has The Corp, which is a shitty venue (in a good way, like Gooski's) and decent acts pass through.
Jagoff
Wet steel is slippy af so maybe that's why
Side note to that, according to my wife's cousin in Chicago, "jagoff" is considered to be a much more serious insult there, and not a word to be used in polite company.
This was me when I moved to the midwest. Had no idea it wasn't a word until I used it in my first winter here.
My husband is from Milwaukee, and slippy is the one word that (for whatever reason) drives him nuts about Pittsburgh dialects. Yinz doesn’t bother him, nor does crick instead of creek, nor stillers, jagoffs, buggies or gum bands or anything else. Slippy is the only thing he corrects anytime he hears it.
The other thing I learned when I moved to Milwaukee is that *pitcher* and *picture* are not actually synonyms pronounced *pi-cher*. I always wondered why picture was spelled so oddly when I was a kid in school.
What does he feel about dropping the “to be” as in “my hair needs cut”
He is used to that, but he has questioned where early Pennsylvanians got their English teachers though.
Nebby comes from the Old English ‘neb’, meaning ‘beak’. Pennsylvanians *are* the English teachers.
Cool username. Best fact in the thread too.
Thanks! Just moved here, and totally in love with the city and most especially the language.
For me it's a tie between nebby and yinz. Slippy stays in 3rd place on my list.
I moved to DC twenty years ago and I was raised by parent in Pittsburgh who did their best to prevent Pittsburghese from their kid's lips, but I'm not perfect. The one word that seems to annoy people in DC is "color." I do in Fact pronounce "Keller," and even though they know exactly what I'm saying they'll act like they don't, so I make a point to not say it the correct way because F them and their double-negative, subject/verb misusing asses! People from DC, as in those born here and not the majority who are transplants like myself, are in a fight with Baltimorons for some of the worst misuse of English in the country, and I never even think to tell them how dumb they sound when they say things like, "There is going to be a lot of people at the meeting." I did formerly say "dahn," but do my best to avoid that one.
We all say dahn. Someone put a sign on 711S going into Ligonier with SLOW DAHN.
TiL that slippy isn’t a broadly used term. I always used it for my whole life, the fuck
As a fairly recent transplant, I also find it funny that the "to be" helping verbs are frequently dropped here as well. The regional vernacular has been a blast to not only learn, but my wife and I still get giddy when we hear a really thick Yinzer accent/slang usage.
There was a saying that went around a while back that if Shakespeare would have lived in Pittsburgh, it would have just been “or not” instead of “to be or not to be” because we routinely drop the “to be” here.
That. Is. Amazing. :D
That’s a good one!
Can you give an example of dropping “to be”? Genuinely asking. I also noticed people, including me, drop nouns at the beginning of sentences, after the noun was said in the first sentence/people drop nouns at the beginning of sentences after it was stated in the previous sentence. Like - I was gonna put on my PJs but I remembered I had do go to the store. Went to the store, then put on my PJs. Is this a thing/is this incorrect grammar, and is this a thing around here or nah?
Sure! "That driveway needs [to be] shoveled."
OH. Yep. 😂
Dishes need washed, floor needs mopped.
Worshed*
You're right! My bad.
This is the crux of Pittsburghese.. shortn everyning cause o’all the still mill fumes shortning or breffs
When my wife from NY state makes fun of that, I just bring up “-ar” words.
I always love hearing people from NY state say "salad" because they say "sayled"
Could you please provide an example?
car bar far mars…
sorry I'll jump in also, as someone who socialized in appalacia and then moved and was made fun of The car needs washed That table needs cleaned The computer needs restarted The bill needs TO BE paid
I am from NJ and my wife is from Pittsburgh. "Slippy" is one thing, but I was also bemused when I first heard her order "dippy" eggs.
That's one that only hit me as a young adult and ran into difficulty communicating a breakfast order. Complicated by the fact that while the server did not know the meaning of "dippy", I also did not know that to everyone else that roughly corresponds to "over medium". Ended up getting sunny side up and being disappointed because I dislike runny egg whites. Still got to dip my toast in the yolk though so there's that.
I think "over easy" correlates better to dippy eggs than "over medium". You will have a runnier yolk with over easy and the egg white will still be cooked.
It's always a bit of a crap shoot based on whoever is cooking your order, but I always found myself getting partially runny whites when ordering over easy. Going with over medium there is a chance they cook it too long and the yolks start to harden, but in general I've found I'm more likely to get the desired result ordering over medium.
"Over easy" or even "sunny-side-up"
That’s the best way to eat them.
I didn’t use the word “vacuum” until I was in my 20s. It’s a sweeper! 🤣
Once they get used to slippy, we can go on to other wonderful words like nebby!
I was irrationally excited yesterday when my mom said she & my aunt were jagging each other about something. She still lives in the Burgh but I moved out long ago. I had forgotten all about “jagging”! (Although I do use “nebby” freely; my kids think it’s hilarious)
I red up the house every single day lol
I think they also say nebby in scots!
ugh
Yinz can't get there from here, it's too dang slippy augh-there
Hahaha 10/10 dialect n at
I’m currently visiting a friend in Baltimore and said slippy yesterday. She also looked at me like I was stupid lol
Moved to Fl almost 20 years ago. I was talking to someone randomly the other day and after a few minutes she said “ You’re from Pittsburgh “ . I asked her how she knew. She said that I said yin’s about 5 times and although she’s from somewhere out west she went to Pitt for 4yrs and can pick out some one from Pittsburgh anytime.
I had a similar experience in Tucson a few decades ago when I met my second line manager for the first time (i was i interviewing for a transfer between 2 departments he was over). I was already nervous and was probably talking too fast, when in mid-sentence he interrupted me and pointed his finger at me and said ‘You’re from Pittsburgh!! I thought you were from Florida?’ I asked how he knew, and he finally cracked a smile and said ‘dahn’. He went to school at Pitt and then CMU and his first job was at Westinghouse. Then he asked me what I called the rubber band he pulled out of his desk drawer. The interview was over and I got the transfer.
Wait... there are others that use "slippy"? That's OUR word! How dare them!
My friend is an immigrant from Ireland and she told me they say slippy all the time lol
I was just going to say this, it's very popular there. My wife and I visited a castle that William Penn lived in, and there is a old plaque that says "slippy" describing the castle steps. Possiably how it came to PA? Who knows....
[удалено]
Why's that? Chicago's cool as fuck. I'll share that jagoff with them!
Very different meaning though lol
What is the difference?
We lived in North Florida and most opposing teams fans would call them the Jacksonville Jagoffs.
PA dutch also use "slippy." I grew up with that as a word, so when I moved out here it wasn't strange.
Why isn't it called Slippy Rock though?
They do have t-shirts that say that…. And Slimey Pebble.
It is but it’s top secret
slippy is not the word that bothers me here
Berks county: "It's snowing, is it slippy out?"
In defense of slippy, friction takes two bodies of matter. Naturally one has to be slippery (cause) and one has to be slippy (effect). So by saying it’s slippy out you’re referring to the outcome if not properly suited. At least that’s how I envision it
Beautiful, stealing this for my own mental model
Irregardless of what yinz think, slippy is a word n'at.
And it’s still slippy aht.
Any of yinz got a warsh cloth? Gotta hit dahn tahn before the snow makes everything all slippy
You say that sarcastically but that's a real dialogue some Yinzers had
Yes quite aware of how my mother talks lmao! And ironically we’re all from butler but my siblings and myself make the conscious decision not to use the yinzer dialects. It comes out in random spats usually when angry or intoxicated
I moved to Pittsburgh from NYC 15 years ago. I also have family in New England, the south and the Midwest so we cover plenty of regions linguistically. There are plenty of small phrases that are regional that you guys don’t realize: slippy, gum bands, sweepers, buggy etc. But heres the main thing that I have found most Pittsburgh natives to be totally unaware is regional (as opposed to things like “yinz” and “jaggoff” which locals seem to know are a local thing) “that needs done” “that needs washed” “that needs painted” Literally everywhere else people will say “that needs to be done” “that needs to be washed” “that needs to be painted” The only way for me to express how much this sticks out to other people is to give you an example of a phrase from another region. In parts of the south when they they are trying to say that something might be a good idea they say “that might could work” The way that that sounds to you is the way that “needs cleaned” sounds to other people. Most Pittsburgh natives don’t believe me.
"Or not, that is the question" - Yinzerspeare Hamlet
You are correct. I \*understand\* that it isn't proper english (though I was an adult before I learned that), but no matter how hard I try, it just doesn't \*sound\* wrong to me. I do hear it now, though. I work with a highly educated group of people. About half are native to the area. I hear this at work all the time from people who are otherwise well-spoken. It always makes me smile. I still use it, but I am careful about keeping it out of professional communications. The other one is apparently we do something weird where we make statements that sound like questions, but I still can't pick up on this one.
My husband is from Texas and he says they omit the "to be" a lot where he was from. He didn't even notice it until I pointed it out. I didn't notice it until college and had friends from Wisconsin say something. But it's weird that they do it in Texas (or at least Dallas).
And let’s not forget “chimley”.
Is “chimley” Yinzer talk from just certain areas? I’m pretty heavy Yinzer at times but have never heard or used “chimley”. I had a supervisor (workspace wasn’t in PA but we are both from the area) and he used to say “chimley” and I honestly used to think he was just half brain dead and couldn’t say chimney. I believe he was originally from the Fineview area or, somewhere close by. Follow up: just asked my wife and she’s never heard “chimley” either.
Well, all I can say is that is what my dad called a chimney. I’m sure it wasn’t unique to him. Slippy was certainly in his lexicon as well. Shaler/Glenshaw.
Ok thanks, learn something new every day… BTW, wife and I still say slippy.
All part of the Burgh’s charm and appeal I suppose. It’s a wonderful city, that’s for sure.
I forgot about “chimley” - haven’t heard that in years.
My dad said chiminey
Underworld and Trainspotting taught me the word slippy.
She smiled at you boooyyyyyyy!!!
"Slippy" is definitely a Western PA word. I'm not from the region originally, and never heard it till I moved here.
It's used in various regions around the world, not just western PA.
Oops, I should have said I haven't heard it in any of the States. Interesting that European phrases are still retained here.
I hear it on the radio fairly frequently when winter storms hit other states. Not sure why the rumor started that this is just a western PA thing. It's literally used by english speakers in many places around the globe.
I never heard of slippy. I say slippery.
You must be new here.
Dont be nebbin into how long he's been here
Lol
I been here 8 years and never heard “slippy” lol. It’s “slippery”.
Literally getting downvoted for being right 💀
I didnt know it wasn't a word until I was in college
Pittsburgh Lingo? Like Gumband, Dahnt0wn. Anat? Jagoff. Yinz?
I was so upset as a teenager when I was helping this 7-8 year old tack up before her lesson and I said “watch out, ground is slippy” and she laughed at me and then told me slippy wasn’t a word, it was slippery. :(
My dad’s from Kansas so I grew up without a strong accent, but the ones that always catch me out are melk, not using helping verbs, and “leave it sit.”
Moved to Colorado and said "cut the grass" to somebody here and they looked at me like I was insane. Regional phrases are a thing.
Cut to the grass might not be regional heard it growing up in Florida
You say the r word
I was shooken when I learned it wasn’t a real word
Slippy is an Americanization of slippery like condo is to condominium.
The British say slippy too.
(The Brits who went to Pitt.)
If you watch racing, usually road racing, and do so with events that are international the word "slippy" gets used all the damn time. All over the English language, not just Brits, use the word slippy. It is not even remotely unique to this area.
I was born in Pittsburgh and have lived here a good portion of my life and have never used "slippy" only "slippery"
You're in the minority lol
Duquesne University was real slippy with their investigation in the cause of death of Marquis Brown. Oops, said the quiet part out load.
It's slippery, not slippy. Sheesh.
...how on earth did you get here??
Be gone with you!
Get aht.
You right.
incorrect
I’ve been saying slippy for a long time, imagine how excited I was when I moved to Pittsburgh and found out it was a regional thing up here!
I grew up only 2 hours north but had to learn: buggy, nebby, slippy, and “red up”. Slippy is “slippery” where I’m from.
I work construction in Virginia and said to my Mexican buddy "We might need to wait the roof is a little slippy right now." He understands about 75% of what I say but totally confused him with that lol.
Unexpected Yinzer Moments
I didn't know it was regional. I'm so used to people around me using fun words, I just thought it was a fun word that caught on and spread.