Who Moved My Parking Chair?
DON'T BE A JAGOFF.
The Definitive Guide To Pittsburghese.
Everyone knows a Yinzer when they travel, but you need to know what a Yinzer is if you're moving to Pittsburgh - and all the other local slang and dialect because in Pittsburgh, we speak a different language.
Raise Your Jolly Roger
If you are relocating to Pittsburgh, you need to learn a few things about how Pittsburghers talk lest you be confused n'nat when someone tells you they need to red up, or they're making chipped ham barbecue for supper.
The art of Pittsburghese has been softened on younger generations who may be Pittsburgh natives and discovering things for the first time that great grandma said when she lived in the holler dahn the river in the Mon Valley.
Pittsburgher's also excel at the art of simply butchering words. A gyro - prounced in Pittsburgh as jai-row or Chicken Fajitas (fah-jai-tahs). But that might be a mute point here, err, moot.
A Western Pennsylvania Language Guide
How to Speak Pittsburghese
Pittsburgh has its own vocabulary, pronunciations, expressions, and grammatical patterns. Search this guide to learn what Pittsburghers mean when they say yinz, nebby, slippy, garbitch, redd up, and more.
Pittsburghese varies by neighborhood, age, family, and community. Not every Pittsburgher uses every term, and many expressions are also heard throughout Western Pennsylvania and nearby Appalachian communities.
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AhrnPronunciation
Meaning: A Pittsburgh-style pronunciation of iron.
Example: “Grab me an Ahrn City out of the fridge.”
It is most commonly associated with Iron City Beer and Pittsburgh’s industrial history.
Aldi’sGrammar · Shopping
Meaning: The Pittsburgh possessive form of Aldi.
Example: “I’m running to Aldi’s. Do yinz need anything?”
Pittsburghers frequently add an unnecessary possessive or plural ending to the names of stores and businesses.
BabushkaVocabulary
Meaning: A headscarf traditionally tied beneath the chin.
Example: “Grandma put on her babushka before church.”
In Pittsburgh usage, the word commonly refers to the scarf rather than a grandmother.
Bucs and BuccosSports
Meaning: Familiar nicknames for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Example: “The Buccos play at seven tonight.”
BuggyVocabulary · Shopping
Meaning: A shopping cart.
Example: “Grab a buggy before we go into the store.”
The Car Needs WarshedGrammar
Meaning: The car needs to be washed.
Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania speech often removes to be after words such as needs, wants, or likes.
More examples:
- The grass needs cut.
- The dog needs fed.
- The paperwork needs signed.
- The garbitch needs taken out.
Chipped HamFood
Meaning: Processed ham sliced extremely thinly, traditionally associated with Isaly’s.
Example: “Pick up a pound of chipped ham from the deli.”
It is also called chipped chopped ham and is frequently served with barbecue sauce.
ClickerVocabulary
Meaning: A television remote control.
Example: “Where’s the clicker? The Stillers are coming on.”
CrickPronunciation · Vocabulary
Meaning: Creek.
Example: “We used to catch minnows in the crick.”
DahntahnPronunciation · Places
Meaning: Downtown.
Example: “Yinz going dahntahn for the game?”
The vowel sound in words such as downtown, house, out, and South may become flatter in traditional Pittsburgh speech.
Dippy EggFood
Meaning: An egg cooked with a soft or runny yolk, usually served with toast for dipping.
Example: “I’ll have two dippy eggs with toast.”
Everything Gets an “S”Grammar
Pittsburghers have an unofficial habit of pluralizing business names, making them possessive, or changing one of their consonants.
In Pittsburgh, everything must either be pluralized or have at least one consonant changed.
| Official name | Pittsburgh version |
|---|---|
| Aldi | Aldi’s |
| Target | Targets |
| Giant Eagle | Giant Iggles |
| Kroger | Kroger’s |
| Walmart | Walmarts |
| Sears | Sears-es |
| Chipotle | Chipolte’s |
The added ending may reflect the older tradition of stores named for their owners, including Kaufmann’s and Isaly’s. Other changes simply make a word easier—or more entertaining—to say.
Fries on the SaladFood
Meaning: A Pittsburgh-style salad commonly topped with meat, shredded cheese, and hot french fries.
In Pittsburgh, fries may also appear inside sandwiches and on other meals that most regions serve without them.
GarbitchPronunciation · Vocabulary
Meaning: Garbage.
Example: “Take out the garbitch.”
You may also hear: “The garbitch needs taken out,” combining the pronunciation with Pittsburgh’s omission of to be.
Giant IgglePronunciation · Shopping
Meaning: A traditional local pronunciation or affectionate name for Giant Eagle.
Example: “I’m going to the Giant Iggle for pop.”
GumbandVocabulary
Meaning: A rubber band.
Example: “Put a gumband around those papers.”
GutchiesVocabulary
Meaning: Underwear.
Example: “The kid ran outside in his gutchies.”
Spellings vary and may include gotchies or gutchies.
HoagieFood
Meaning: A long sandwich served on a roll.
Example: “We ordered an Italian hoagie.”
Other regions might call the same type of sandwich a sub, hero, or grinder.
JagVocabulary
Meaning: To poke, tease, irritate, bother, or mess with someone.
Example: “Quit jaggin’ me.”
Jagger BushVocabulary
Meaning: A thorny bush, briar, or patch of weeds.
Example: “The ball landed in the jagger bushes.”
JagoffVocabulary
Meaning: An irritating, inconsiderate, foolish, or obnoxious person.
Example: “Some jagoff blocked my driveway.”
It may be teasing among friends or insulting during an argument, depending on tone and context.
Jeet Yet?Pronunciation
Meaning: Did you eat yet?
Typical exchange:
“Jeet yet?”
“No, jew?”
Pittsburgh speech frequently compresses several words into a single, quickly spoken sound.
JumboFood
Meaning: Bologna.
Example: “Make me a fried jumbo sandwich.”
Kennywood’s OpenExpression
Meaning: Someone’s pants zipper is open.
The expression references Kennywood, Pittsburgh’s historic amusement park.
NebbyVocabulary
Meaning: Nosy, intrusive, or overly interested in someone else’s business.
Example: “Don’t be nebby.”
A particularly nosy person may also be called a neb nose.
New Jersey BarrierRoads · Vocabulary
Meaning: A concrete highway divider commonly called a Jersey barrier elsewhere.
Example: “Traffic was backed up where they put in the New Jersey barriers.”
Although the standard term is usually Jersey barrier, many Pittsburgh-area residents add New.
N’atVocabulary
Meaning: And that, and all that, and stuff, or and so forth.
Example: “We had burgers, hot dogs, chips n’at.”
Parking ChairTradition
Meaning: A chair placed in a street parking space to suggest that the person who shoveled the space intends to keep it.
The chair does not create legal ownership of a public space, but ignoring it may create a neighborhood disagreement.
PicksburghPronunciation · Places
Meaning: A traditional local pronunciation of Pittsburgh in which the first “t” sound is softened or omitted.
PopFood · Vocabulary
Meaning: A carbonated soft drink.
Example: “What kind of pop do yinz have?”
Positive “Anymore”Grammar
Meaning: Using anymore to mean nowadays or these days.
Examples:
- “Gas is expensive anymore.”
- “Everybody orders everything online anymore.”
Raise the Jolly RogerSports
Meaning: Celebrate a Pittsburgh Pirates victory.
Example: “The Bucs won in the bottom of the ninth. Raise the Jolly Roger!”
The phrase is closely associated with Pirates broadcaster Greg Brown’s victory call and the traditional skull-and-crossbones pirate flag.
Redd UpVocabulary
Meaning: Clean, organize, straighten, or tidy.
Example: “Redd up your room before company gets here.”
Ride MeGrammar · Vocabulary
Meaning: Give me a ride or drive me somewhere.
Example: “Can you ride me home?”
SahsidePronunciation · Places
Meaning: The South Side.
Example: “We’re meeting friends on the Sahside.”
South Side refers to the city neighborhood. South Hills describes a much larger area south of Pittsburgh.
SammichPronunciation · Food
Meaning: Sandwich.
Example: “Yinz want to go get a sammich?”
SlippyVocabulary
Meaning: Slippery.
Example: “Be careful on the steps. They’re slippy.”
SpicketPronunciation · Vocabulary
Meaning: Spigot or outdoor faucet.
Example: “Turn off the spicket when you’re finished.”
StillersPronunciation · Sports
Meaning: The Pittsburgh Steelers.
Example: “The Stillers play Sunday at one.”
SweeperVocabulary
Meaning: A vacuum cleaner.
Example: “The sweeper is in the hall closet.”
The SwifterVocabulary
Meaning: A Swiffer Sweeper.
Example: “Get the Swifter so I can redd up the kitchen floor.”
The product name gains a consonant and becomes a simpler Pittsburgh household word.
TelepoleVocabulary
Meaning: A telephone pole or utility pole.
Example: “The car slid into a telepole.”
The InclinePlaces
Meaning: Usually the Duquesne Incline or the Monongahela Incline connecting the riverfront and Mount Washington.
Because Pittsburgh has two operating inclines, you may need to ask which one.
The ParkwayTransportation
Meaning: One of Pittsburgh’s major expressways.
- Parkway East: Interstate 376 east of Downtown
- Parkway West: Interstate 376 toward the airport
- Parkway North: Interstate 279 north of Downtown
“Take the Parkway” may not provide a newcomer with enough information.
The PointPlaces
Meaning: Point State Park, where the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers meet to form the Ohio River.
The StripPlaces
Meaning: The Strip District.
Example: “We’re going dahn the Strip Saturday morning.”
The TTransportation
Meaning: Pittsburgh’s light-rail system.
Example: “We’ll take the T dahntahn.” Pittsburgh once had a robust Trolley system that the T replaced, and the T is a nod to when it was the Trolley.
WarshPronunciation
Meaning: Wash.
Example: “I need to warsh the clothes.”
You may also hear warsher for washing machine. While more commonly used to refer to laundry, you can also warsh the car, warsh the dog, warsh behind your ears n'at.
YinzGrammar · Vocabulary
Meaning: Pittsburgh’s plural form of you, comparable to you all or y’all.
Example: “Are yinz coming over for the game?”
YinzerLocal Identity
Meaning: A person from Pittsburgh or Western Pennsylvania, particularly someone strongly associated with local speech and culture.
The term may be teasing, critical, or proudly self-descriptive, depending on context.
You’unsGrammar · Vocabulary
Meaning: You ones or all of you.
Example: “Are you’uns staying for dinner?”
This older or more rural form is related to yinz.
How Pittsburghese Changes a Sentence
Pittsburghese
Jeet yet?
No, jew?
Nah. Yinz wanna go dahntahn and get a sammich?
I gotta redd up the hahse first. My nebby neighbor’s coming over n’at.
Awright. Be careful on the steps. They’re slippy.
Standard American English
Did you eat yet?
No. Did you?
No. Do you all want to go downtown and get a sandwich?
I have to straighten up the house first. My nosy neighbor is coming over and everything.
All right. Be careful on the steps. They’re slippery.
Pittsburgh Place-Name Pronunciations
| Place | Common local pronunciation |
|---|---|
| North Versailles | North Ver-SALES |
| Duquesne | Doo-KANE |
| Monongahela | Muh-non-guh-HEE-luh, or “the Mon” |
| Youghiogheny | Yock-uh-GAY-nee, or “the Yough” |
| Chartiers | SHAR-teers |
| Carnegie | Car-NAY-gie |
| Zelienople | Zee-lee-EN-oh-pul |
| Charleroi | Shar-luh-ROY |
| McKees Rocks | Muh-KEES Rocks, or “the Rocks” |
| East Liberty | East Liberty, or traditionally “S’Liberty” |
Pittsburghese Frequently Asked Questions
Is Pittsburghese a real dialect?
Yes. Linguists recognize Pittsburgh speech as a variety of Western Pennsylvania English with identifiable vocabulary, pronunciation, and grammatical patterns.
Does everyone in Pittsburgh say “yinz”?
No. Many residents use it, but others rarely or never do. Pittsburgh speech varies among families, neighborhoods, generations, and communities.
What does “nebby” mean?
Nebby means nosy, intrusive, or overly interested in someone else’s business.
Why do Pittsburghers say “the car needs washed”?
Western Pennsylvania English often omits the words “to be.” “The car needs washed” means “the car needs to be washed.”
What does “Raise the Jolly Roger” mean?
It means the Pittsburgh Pirates have won and it is time to celebrate their victory. This rarely happens though after Bob Nutting bought the team and destroyed it by being the cheap jagoff that he is who won't invest money in players n'at. If Bob nutting had a parking chair, you are permitted to move it.
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