In The Know: Philly Lingo

No doubt inspired by the fearless innovation of our Founding Fathers, the Philadelphian people have invented a language all their own. Whether you’re ordering a cheesesteak or asking for directions, a mental encyclopedia of Philly lingo will certainly come in handy.

One of the more bizarre colloquialisms you’ll hear in The City of Brotherly Love is water ice. Much like Italian ice, water ice is crushed ice, sweetened with juice or artificial flavorings and served in a Styrofoam or Dixie cup. This lo-fi treat is mostly sold in corner stores or out of coolers, which independent vendors (a.k.a. anyone with a cooler) set up in front of their homes.

So now you know what water ice means, but you might not recognize the words when they’re spoken to you. That’s because Philadelphians pronounce water as wooder. It’s an alarming slant on a seemingly innocuous word, but the Philly accent is not discerning when it comes to its semantic victims. For example, “Over there” is “ovah deh,” “didn’t” is “dint” and “did you eat yet?” is “jeet yet?”

Perhaps the most widely used but least understood piece of Philly jargon is the ubiquitous jawn. Thought to be a strange mutation of joint, the word is basically a joker card for any noun. Examples include:

“You got that jawn tied up?” (You got that dog tied up?)

“Grab me two of those jawns from the fridge.” (Grab me two of those beers from the fridge.)

If you want to eat an authentic Philly cheesesteak, you’re going to have to order it the right way. A cheesesteak with onions and cheese wiz (a proud Philly tradition) is “wiz wit.” For provolone or American, it’s “Prov wit” or “American wit.” And if you don’t want onions, it’s “wiz widdout.”

And finally we arrive at this simple, puzzling and endearing Philly gem: plug. On a hot summer day in South Philly, you might hear a kid yell “the plug is third!” Some Philadelphians call fire hydrants plugs, and the term enjoys prominent usage during street baseball games.