Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Talking Pennsylvanian


My dad sent this to me yesterday in an email.  Had to share it will all my P-A friends out there!!

Once a Pennsylvanian, ALWAYS a Pennsylvanian!

About Pennsylvanians:


  • You've never referred to Philadelphia as anything but "Philly" and New Jersey has always been " Jersey"
  • You refer to Pennsylvania as "PA" (pronounced Pee-ay). How many other states do that?
  • "You guys" (or even ‘youze guys’ or 'yinz', in some places) is a perfectly acceptable reference to a group of men & women.
  • You know how to respond to the question "Djeetyet?" (Didyoueatyet?)
  • You learned to pronounce Bryn Mawr, Wilkes-Barre, Schuylkill , the Pocono's, Tamaqua, Tunkannock, Bala Cynwyd, Duquesne & Monongahela.
  • You know what a "Mummer" is, and are disappointed if you can't catch at least highlights of the parade.
  • You know what " Punxsutawney Phil" is, and what it means if he sees his shadow.
  • And we know Lancaster is pronounced Lank-ister, not Lan-kaster.
  • You know how to get 'rid' of things and how to read up.
  • You can use the phrase "fire hall wedding reception" & not even bat an eye.
  • You can't go to a wedding without hearing the "Chicken Dance," at least one polka & either an Italian song (sung in Italian,) or "Hava Nagila."
  • At least 5 people on your block have electric "candles" in all or most their windows all year long.
  • You know what a "Hex sign" is.
  • You know what a "State Store" is, and your out-of-state friends find it incredulous that you can't purchase liquor at the mini-mart.
  • You own only 4 condiments: salt, pepper, mustard & ketchup.
  • Words like hoagie, crick, chipped ham, sticky buns, shoo-fly pie, pierogies whoopie-pies, & pocketbook actually mean something to you ... That's PA slang for purse!
  • You not only have heard of Birch Beer, but you know it comes in several colors: Red, White, Brown, Gold.
  • You know several places to purchase or that serve Scrapple, Summer Sausage and Hot Bacon Dressing.
  • You know the difference between a cheese steak & a pizza steak sandwich, and know that you can't get a really good one outside PA. Except Atlantic City on the boardwalk.
  • You live for summer, when street & county fairs signal the beginning of funnel cake season.
  • Customers ask the waitress for "dippy eggs" for breakfast.
  • You know that Blue Ball, Intercourse, Paradise, Climax, Bird-in-Hand, Beaver, Moon, Virginville, Mars, Bethlehem, Hershey, Indiana, Sinking Spring, Jersey Shore, State College, Washington Crossing, Jim Thorpe, King of Prussia, Wind Gap, and Slippery Rock are all PA towns … and the first three were consecutive stops on the old Reading RR! (PS – That’s pronounced Redd-ing.)
  • You know what a township, borough, and commonwealth is.
  • You can identify drivers from New York , New Jersey, or other neighboring states by their unique & irritating driving habits.
  • A traffic jam is 10 cars waiting to pass a horse-drawn carriage on the highway in Lancaster County. (And remember .. that’s Lank -ister!)
  • You know several people who have hit deer more than once.
  • You still keep kitty litter, starting fluid, de-icer, or a snow brush in your trunk, even if you now live in the south.
  • Driving is always better in winter because the potholes are filled with snow.
  • As a kid you built snow forts and leaf piles that were taller than you were.
  • Most of your graduating class consisted of mostly Polish, German, & Italian names.
  • You also know someone who lives "down the lane"
  • We don’t go to the beach, we go ‘down the shore.’

YEAH!! THAT'S "PA" AND WE LOVE IT

2 comments:

  1. Cute! My Dad claims I'm acquiring a yinzer accent, but I think I've got a long way to go ;)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love it! Makes me miss PA. This time of year is always the worst.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by today!!