If you were born and raised in "the burgh," you understand that we have our own language here. Visitors and transferees can often be confused when asked "Jeetjet? How about a jumbo sandwich?" Of course, that jumbo would go great with an"arn." Since you won't find these pleasingly Pittsburgh statements in any of the dictionaries currently in publication, we decided to publish the following:

Discussions about food and beverages and more:

Arn: Locally brewed, its official name is Iron City Beer. " Do younz have arn on tap?"
Boilermaker: A combination of whiskey and beer, most often and "arn." Different from a shot and a beer because the shot glass is dropped into the beer.
Chipped Ham: AKA: Chipped chopped ham. Wafer thin slices of processed ham." I think I'll have a chipped ham sammitch."
City Chicken: A combination of pork and veal ( but no chicken) on a skewer. Often grilled and sometimes fried or broiled. "Mom is making city chicken for dinner tonight."
Dirty O: A restaurant in Oakland called "The Original Hot Dog Shop." You can get an arn there along with some great fast food.
Eat-n-Park: A popular restaurant. You don't actually eat and then park. You park, go inside and sit down for dinner.
Hoagie: A submarine sandwich sometimes known in other parts of the country as a hero. Often made by schools in the area as a fund raiser. "Our hoagie sale is next week"
Jeet: Also "jeetjet?".An inquiry into whether or not you have eaten. Jeetjet? If not, let's go get a hoagie."
Jyan Iggle: A popular grocery store chain, also known as "The Iggle" or "The Bird." Let's stop by Jyan Iggle and pick up something for dinner
Jumbo: Bologna, a lunch meat. Not necessarily large. If the jumbo is on party rye, a Pittsburgh native might comment, " Look at those tiny jumbo sandwiches."
Klondike: Not a frozen tundra, but rather an ice cream treat covered with chocolate. In the past, Klondikes were frozen on a stick and if your stick had the word "free" on it, you were awarded a free Klondike.
Mill: Breakfast, lunch or dinner. "My wife made a great mill tonight."
Pop: A carbonated drink. Known in some parts of the country as a soda. "How about a cherry pop?"
Sammitch: A sandwhich. "How about fixin' a jumbo sammitch?"
The Strip: A section of town where there are wholesale markets and warehouses. A popular place to shop for food. "We get all our fresh vegetables in the Strip."
Primanti's: A restaurant in the Strip. Go there and make sure you order a sammitch.

Just Talking:

Aht: Where you go when you leave the house; " I'm going aht for a little bit."
All right: O.K., fine, well. " Hey you all right?"
Anymore: The situation as it is today.. "Anymore, it seems like it's really hard to make a living."
The Arena: Pittsburgh's Civic Arena. A domed stadium at the foot of the Hill. (Pittsburgh's Hill District)
Carline: The place where the street car or trolley runs. "This house is on the carline."
Cellar: Basement. "The furnace is in the cellar."
Chitchat: To have a conversation. "We had a little chitchat about that."
Couttent: Could not. Closely related to "wouttent." "I couttent get here on time 'cause the car wouttent start."
Cupboard: A place to keep things. A closet. "Hang your coat in the hall cupboard."
Dahntahn: Downtown. "Dahntahn was rilly busy today."
Dill: A special price. " I got a good dill on the house." Also, to distribute. " It's your turn to dill the cards."
Fahr: Flames and smoke mixed. "We had a rilly good fahr in the fahrplace."
Filled: An empty outdoor space. "The kids play in the filled over there."
Filum: What you put in your camara. "I use 35mm fillum."
Gommed Up: Very dirty. "The carburetor was really gommed up."
Gum Bands: Rubber used to bind things with. "Put a gum band around the paper before you toss it on the porch."
The Hill: A section of Pittsburgh just outside dahntahn. Near the Arena.
Hans: The things at the end of your arm. "I had it right here in my hans."
Haas: The place where you live. "I can't wait to move into my new haas."
:I 'nnear: Local hospital that cares for people who have eye and ear problems.
Jaggers: Thorns. "Watch out! That rose has jaggers."
Lenth: A measure of distance. "You have to measure the width and the lenth."
Living Day Lights: An expression used when referring to being beaten. "He beat the living daylights out of the other boxer."
Mon: The Monongahela River. "The kids went to the Mon to fish."
Nebby: Nosey. "She sure is a nebby person."
Needs: An abbreviated expression meaning "needs to be," as in "This lamp needs fixed."
The Point: Point State Park where the fountain is and where the Allegheny and the Monongahela Rivers meet to form the Ohio River. "There is a great concert at the Point tonight."
Redd up: To clean, as in "This haas rilly needs redd up."
Rilly: Really. "This haas rilly needs redd up."
Sahside: A neighborhood south of dahntahn Pittsburgh. " Anymore, they have some rilly neat stores on the sahside."
Slippy: Slippery. "Careful! The ice is really slippy."
Spicket: Faucet. "The spicket on the sink is leaking."
Up Street: Up the street, usually to a neighborhood shopping area. "I had to go upstreet to the Iggle to get stuff for supper."
Wants: Replaces "wants to be" as in "Jim wants met when school is over."
What the cat drug in: A negative expression often referring to someone's appearance in a particular place. "Well, look what the cat drug in."
Worsh: To clean with water. Also, the laundry. "I rilly need to worsh the car" or " Put those dirty clothes in the worsh."
Yock: The Youghogheny River.
Younz: All of you. Pittsburghese for y'all. "What do younz want for dinner?"

For more information on how to speak like a Pittsburgher, we suggest Sam McCool's book Pittsburghese, available at bookstores and newsstands throughout Pittsburgh.

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