Ever traveled outside your state’s borders and heard a phrase that made you stop in your tracks and cock your head like a bewildered dog? Don’t worry. It happens to the best of us. Recently Buzzfeed asked its community to share which strange slang words are used from their home state. And from there they were able to unearth the most popular slang terms used in each state that’ll ensure you can get back to sampling the local cuisine without pulling out a dictionary every five minutes. You’re welcome.
50. Wyoming: “barking squirrels”
“In Wyoming, we call prarie dogs ‘barking squirrels’ because Wyoming” – Buzzfeed Community
49. Wisconsin: “bubbler”
“In Wisconsin, a water/drinking fountain is called a ‘bubbler.'” – Buzzfeed Community
48. West Virginia: “holler”
“Everyone in West Virginia calls roads ‘hollers.’ As in, ‘We’re gonna run up the holler to Tudors.'” – Buzzfeed Community
47. Washington: “hella”
“‘Hella’ is a Washington word!” – Buzzfeed Community
46. Virginia: “brick”
“‘Brick’ means a long time, far away, etc. Ex: ‘I haven’t seen you in a brick.'” – Buzzfeed Community
45. Vermont: “creemee”
“In Vermont, a soft serve is known as a ‘creemee.'” – Buzzfeed Community
44. Utah: “sluff”
“In Utah, instead of saying you skipped class, you say I ‘sluffed’ class. I don’t know where it came from, but that’s all any of us say.” – Buzzfeed Community
43. Texas: “y’all’d’ve”
“My personal favorite: ‘Y’all’d’ve’ = ‘You all would have.’ As in, ‘Y’all’d’ve loved the movie last night.'” – Buzzfeed Community
42. Tennessee: “buggy”
“In Tennessee, we say ‘buggy’ instead of ‘shopping cart.’ All of my friends in other (even southern) states make fun of me for it, but it’s the norm here.” – Buzzfeed Community
41. South Dakoa: “taverns”
“In South Dakota, sloppy joe’s are called ‘taverns.'” – Buzzfeed Community
40. South Carolina: “might could”
“I hear a lot of South Carolinians say ‘might could’ instead of just ‘could.’ As in, ‘We might could do that, if you want to.'” – Buzzfeed Community
39. Rhode Island: “bubbler”
“I’m from Rhode Island, and we say ‘bubbler’ instead of ‘water fountain.’ I wasn’t aware that wasn’t the term outside of New England until I met my friend from Florida.” – Buzzfeed Community
38. Pennsylvania: “jagoff”
“‘Jagoff,’ which pretty much means a douchebag.” – Buzzfeed Community
37. Oregon: “the coast”
“We refer to the beach as ‘the coast.'” – Buzzfeed Community
36. Oklahoma: “fixin’ to”
“‘Fixin’ to,’ which means ‘getting ready to.'” – Buzzfeed Community
35. Ohio: “please”
“We like to say ‘please.’ So, for example, if someone says something and you don’t hear them clearly, you say, ‘please?'” – Buzzfeed Community
34. North Dakota: “uff da”
“‘We use ‘uff da’ whenever you’re exasperated or surprised or upset.” – Buzzfeed Community
33. North Carolina: “yonder”
“In North Carolina, we refer to a place as ‘yonder.’ It can mean across the street or across town.” – Buzzfeed Community
32. New York: “deadass”
“In New York, we say ‘deadass’ a lot. It can be a question, a confirmation, or it can be used to to describe the severity of something.” – Buzzfeed Community
31. New Mexico: “all”
“In New Mexico, we say ‘all’ instead of words like ‘very,’ like ‘It’s all hot today’ or ‘He was all mad yesterday.’ We also end questions with ‘or no?’ or ‘or what?,’ like, ‘Do you want to eat, or no?'” – Buzzfeed Community
30. New Jersey: “down the shore”
“In New Jersey, we refer to the beach as ‘down the shore,’ which basically refers to every beach in South Jersey, including Long Branch, Lavalette, Long Beach Island, etc.” – Buzzfeed Community
29. New Hampshire: “wicked”
“In New Hampshire, and pretty much all of New England, we say, ‘wicked’ when something is really good or awesome.” – Buzzfeed Community
28. Nevada: “for sure”
“In Nevada, everyone always says ‘for sure’ – regardless of the situation.” –Buzzfeed Community
27. Nebraska: “you betcha”
“Nebraskans, when experiencing something good, are fond of declaring, ‘You betcha!’ So, the player hits a three-pointer, and the crowd roars, ‘Youuuuuuuu betcha!'” – Buzzfeed Community
26. Montana: “whisky ditch”
“Instead of ordering a ‘whiskey and water,’ we say ‘whiskey ditch.'” – Buzzfeed Community
25. Missouri: “hoosier”
“In Missouri, we always say ‘hoosier’ when describing a local” – Buzzfeed Community
24. Mississippi: “bless your heart”
“In Mississippi, ‘bless your/his/her/their heart’ means ‘fuck you/him/her/them.'” –Buzzfeed Community
23. Minnesota: “ohfer”
“‘Ohfer’ is literally ‘oh for,’ as in ‘Oh, for heavens sakes.’ We use it all the time with almost anything, especially as a way to emphasize what we’re trying to say: ‘Ohfer silly,’ ‘Ohfer stupid,’ ‘Ohfer nice,’ ‘Ohfer sure.'” – Buzzfeed Community
22. Michigan: “pop”
“We use ‘pop’ for soda.” – Buzzfeed Community
21. Massachusetts: “wicked”
“In Massachusetts, we say ‘wicked.’ It’s synonymous with ‘very.’ Ex: ‘Going to the Red Sox game yesterday was wicked fun!'” – Buzzfeed Community
20. Maryland: “sice”
“It means someone exaggerated something or you want someone to get you something: ‘She siced it’ or ‘Hey, can you sice me that?'” – Buzzfeed Community
19. Maine: “ayuh”
“We say ‘ayuh’ instead of ‘yes.'” – Buzzfeed Community
18. Louisiana: “cher”
“In Louisiana, ‘cher’ — pronounced, and sometimes written, as ‘sha’ — which means ‘cute’ or something endearing. Common use is ‘cher bebe,’ meaning, ‘what a cute baby.’ It originated from Cajun French.” – Buzzfeed Community
17. Kentucky: “coke”
“In Kentucky, all soft drinks/sodas are coke. ‘What kind of coke do you want?’ ‘Umm a Dr. Pepper.’ What if you actually want a coke, you ask? Then you call it ‘regular coke.’” – Buzzfeed Community
16. Kansas: “ornery”
“In Kansas, some people use the word ‘ornery’ to describe a trouble maker or curious kid/old person. Pronounced ‘Awwn-ree.'” – Buzzfeed Community
15. Iowa: “padiddle”
“‘Padiddle’ is what you yell when you see a car with one working headlight…then you promptly slap the roof of your car.” – Buzzfeed Community
14. Indiana: “sweeper”
“We call vacuum cleaners ‘sweepers.’ Ex: ‘I need to sweep the house’ (but with a vacuum).” – Buzzfeed Community
13. Illinois: “gym shoes”
“I’m not sure if this is specific to Chicagoans (or Illinoisans), but I was recently told that ‘gym shoes’ is not a universal thing. Like, everyone else calls them sneakers or something and I don’t think I’ve ever used the word ‘sneakers’ in my life before just now. It’s the shoes you wear in gym. Gym shoes.” – Buzzfeed Community
12. Idaho: “rig”
“A ‘rig’ is the word for basically any personal vehicle larger than a sedan, especially a large truck or SUV.” – Buzzfeed Community
11. Hawaii: “da kine”
“It’s a universal term for describing something, especially if you can’t remember the name of it. ‘Where’s my wallet?’ ‘It’s on da kine *points to table*.'” – Buzzfeed Community
10. Georgia: “get to gettin”
“‘Get to gettin’,’ which means it’s time to leave or go.” – Buzzfeed Community
9. Florida: “green”
“We describe someone as ‘flaw’ or ‘green’ when they do something messed up. Like, ‘that’s flaw af’ or ‘you greeeeen.'” – Buzzfeed Community
8. Delaware: “jeet”
“In northern Delaware (and Philly), we say, ‘jeet,’ which means ‘did you eat?’ We all kinda run it together fast.” – Buzzfeed Community
7. Connecticut: “packy store”
“In Connecticut, we call beer/liquor stores ‘package stores,’ and it confuses pretty much everyone outside of the state. During prohibition, you’d go to get bootleg booze at a package store where they’d wrap it up for you, so as not to be too conspicuous.” – Buzzfeed Community
6. Colorado: “fourteener”
“For Colorado, it’s got to be ‘fourteeners’ or ‘doing a fourteener.’ Aka a hike that takes you to 14,000 feet.” – Buzzfeed Community
5. California: “dude”
“As a person who has lived in both Northern and Southern California, I can confirm that ‘hella’ is purely Northern California. But I do think that ‘dude’ is a universal California slang term.” – Buzzfeed Community
4. Arkansas: “up yonder”
“In Arkansas, we say ‘up yonder,’ which could mean one mile or 20.” – Buzzfeed Community
3. Alabama: “roll tide”
“I know it’s super stereotypical, but we literally say ‘roll tide’ for everything. It’s a term used to greet someone, show agreement, or to show appreciation.” – Buzzfeed Community
2. Alaska: “lower 48”
“Alaskans refer to the rest of the US as the ‘Lower 48,’ not counting Hawaii.” – Buzzfeed Community
1. Arizona: “snowbirds”
“All these people who come in from the east coast for the sunny winters here in Arizona are called snowbirds” – Buzzfeed Community