Chicagoese/English Dictionary

Frank Szewzyck, a member of my Blackhawks email group, posted this partial list of common Chicago slang terms and their translation. It sort of makes me homesick for the Greatest City in the World:

CHICAGO SLANG
1. Grachki (grach'-key): Chicagoese for "garage
key" as in, "Yo, Theresa, waja do wit da grachki?
Howmy supposta cut da grass if I don't git intada
grach?"

2. Sammich: Chicagoese for sandwich. When made
with sausage, it's a sassage sammich; when made
with marinated beef, it's an Italian Beef sammich,
a local delicacy consisting of piles of almost absurdly
delicious meat in a perilously soggy bun (also known
as simply "a beef-" and available "dry" as well-
meaning with a less soggy bun- REW)

3. Da: The definite article, a key part of Chicago
speech, as in "Da Bears" or "Da Mare" -- the latter
denoting the Hon. Richard M. Daley, or Richie, as he's
often called.

4. Jewels: Not family heirlooms or a tender body
region, but a popular name for one of the region's
dominant grocery store chains. "I'm goin' to Jewels
to pick up some sassage."

5. Field's: Marshall Field, a prominent Chicago
department store. Carson Pirie Scott, another
major department store chain, is simply called
"Carson's."

6. Tree: The number between two and four. "We
were lucky dat we only got tree inches of snow da
udder night."

7. Over by dere: Translates to "over by there," a
way of indicating a site presumed familiar to the
listener, as in, "I got the sassage at Jewels down on
Kedzie, over by dere." ("By" is a term meaning, "In
the vicinity of," or merely, "In a location associated
with," as in, "I'm going over by Jim's"--REW).

8. Kaminski Park: The mispronounced name of the
ballpark where the Chicago White Sox (da Sox) play
baseball. Comiskey Park was recently renamed U.S.
Cellular Field (da Cell).

9. Frunchroom: As in, "Get outta da frunchroom wit
dose muddy shoes." It's not the "parlor." It's not the
"living room."In the land of the bungalow, it's the
"frunchroom," a name derived, linguists believe, from
"front room."

10. Use: Not the verb, but the plural pronoun 'you!'
"Where use goin'?"

11. Downtown: Anywhere near The Lake, south of The
Zoo (Lincoln Park Zoo) and north of Soldier Field.

12. The Lake: Lake Michigan. (What other lake is
there?) It's often used by local weathermen, "cooler
by The Lake."

14. Braht: Short for Bratwurst. "Gimme a braht wit
kraut."

15. Goes: Past or present tense of the verb "say."
For example,"Den he goes, 'I like this place'!"

16. Guys: Used when addressing two or more people,
regardless of each individual's gender.

17. Pop: A soft drink. Don't say "soda" in this town.
"Do ya wanna canna pop?"

18. Sliders: Nickname for hamburgers from White
Castle, a popular burger chain. Virtually bite-sized
burgers- fried on only one side, since five holes in
each slice of a pre-formed ground beef loaf permit
hot grease mixed with chopped onions to cook
both sides at once- and much favored by truckers,
having an aftertaste reputed to last from Chicago
to Columbus, northern Wisconsin, Cape Girardeau,
or Sioux City, depending on direction. Belches
emitted after consuming sliders have been known
to sustain starving human beings for days.
Curiously addictive, sliders are at the same time
known to possess strange laxative properties: "Dose
sliders I had last night gave me da runs."

19. The Taste: The Taste of Chicago Festival, a
huge extravaganza in Grant Park featuring samples
of Chicagoland cuisine which takes place each year
around the Fourth of July holiday.

20. "Jeetyet? Translates to, "Did you eat yet?"
(Sometimes contracted to simply, "Jeet?"
-REW).

21. Winter and Construction: Punch line to the
joke, "What are the two seasons in Chicago?"

22. Cuppa Too-Tree: is Chicagoese for "a couple,
two, three" which really means "a few." For
example,"Hey Mike, dere any beerz left in da
cooler over by dere?" "Yeh, a cuppa too-tree."

23. 588-2300: Everyone in Chicago knows this
commercial jingle and the carpet company you'll
get if you call that number -- Empire!

24. Junk Dror: You will usually find the 'junk
drawer' in the kitchen filled to the brim with
miscellaneous, but very important, junk.

25. Southern Illinois: Anything south of I-80.

26. Expressways: The Interstates in the
immediate Chicagoland area are usually known
just by their names. and not their Interstate numbers:
the Dan Ryan ("da Ryan"), the Stevenson, the Kennedy
(da"Kennedy"), the Eisenhower (da "Ike"), and the
Edens (just "Edens," but "Da Edens" is acceptable).

27. Gym Shoes: The rest of the country may
refer to them as sneakers or running shoes.
But Chicagoans will always call them "gym
shoes!"

A cuppa too-tree more, from Yours Truly:

28. Bomber: A slider with cheese on it.

29. Gangway: The area between two apartment
buildings often used as a playground/community
center.

30: Da Hawk: The wind coming off Da Lake,
much remarked-upon for its wintertime
coldness and ferocity.

31. Da Hawks: The Chicago franchise in the
National Hockey League, by no means to be
confused with the Atlanta franchise in the
NBA, and still less with the various athletic
teams representing the University of Iowa, of
which institution most Chicagoans are barely aware.

32. Chicagoland- The greater Chicago area; that
region on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan
referred to by Shakespeare in his play about the
current Mare, Richard II:

...Dis blessed plot, dis eart', dis realm,
Dis Chicagoland.