Chicago Grammar

[Chad Michael Murray]

I just got SUCH a kick out of this, and it's so true. There are a few things on there I may not say or do, but I sure as hell have heard them a lot over the years. If you'll notice, pop also makes an appearance on here. I know there are a few people here from the Chicago area, so I hope you guys enjoy it, as well as the people who aren't!

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. Uptadaendada (up-ta-da-en'-dada):
Chicagoese for 'up to the end of the' as in, "Joey, you kin ride yur
bike uptadaendada alley but not acrost the street or I'll bust yur
butt."

3. Sammich:
Chicagoese for sandwich. When made with sausage, it's a sassage sammich; when made with shredded beef, it's an Italian Beef sammich, a local delicacy consisting of piles of spicy meat in a perilously soggy bun.

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

5. 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 da Jewels to pick up some sassage."

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

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

8. Prairie:
A vacant lot, especially one on which weeds are growing.

9. Over by dere:
Translates to "over by there," a way of emphasizing a site presumed familiar to the listener, as in, "I got the sassage at da Jewels down on Kedzie, over by dere."

10. KaminskiPark:
The mispronounced name of the ballpark where the Chicago White Sox (da Sox) play baseball. Comiskey Park was recently renamed U.S. Cellular
Field (yuck!).

11. Frunchroom:
As in, "Getottada 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 named derived, linguists believe, from "front room."

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

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

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

15 BoysTown:
A section on Halsted between Belmont and Addison which is lined with gay bars both sides of the street. "Didn't I see use in BoysTown in front of da Manhole?"

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

17. Cashbox:
Traffic reporter slang for tollbooths. "Dere's a delay at da cashbox
on da Skyway."

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

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

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

21. Sliders:
Nickname for hamburgers from White Castle, a popular Midwestern burger chain. "Dose sliders I had last night gave me da runs."

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

23. "Jieetyet?":
Translates to, "Did you eat yet?"

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

25. Cuppa Too-Tree:
Chicagoese for "a couple, two, or 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."

26. 588-2300:
Everyone in Chicago knows this commercial jingle and the carpet
company you'll get if you call that number -- Empire!

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

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

29. Expressways:
Elgin-O hare expressway dosent go to or thur Elgin or O hare and is not known by any other name or number.
The Interstates in the immediate Chicagoland area are usually known just by their 'name' and not their Interstate number: The Dan Ryan ("the Ryan"), the Stevenson, the Kennedy, the Eisenhower (the "Ike"), and the Edens.

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

[Steve M.]

Originally Posted by Chad Michael Murray

3. Sammich:
Chicagoese for sandwich. When made with sausage, it's a sassage sammich; when made with shredded beef, it's an Italian Beef sammich, a local delicacy consisting of piles of spicy meat in a perilously soggy bun.

Good sandwich - I had one when I visited Chicago - but not as good as a Philadelphia steak sandwich. Yo!

Originally Posted by Chad Michael Murray

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

Originally Posted by Chad Michael Murray

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

Great stores. Is it true that Field's is being taken over by - and renamed - Macy's?

Originally Posted by Chad Micahel Murray

8. Prairie:
A vacant lot, especially one on which weeds are growing.

Well, Chicago is on the prairie.

Originally Posted by Chad Michael Murray

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

I thought downtown was just the Loop - i.e., the area looped around by the Els and the area immediately around that.

Originally Posted by Chad Michael Murray

14. The Lake:
Lake Michigan. (What other lake is there?)

Lake Calumet. I know, it's an industrial zone.

Originally Posted by Chad Michael Murray

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

Same here in Jersey.

Originally Posted by Chad Micahel Murray

26. 588-2300:
Everyone in Chicago knows this commercial jingle and the carpet
company you'll get if you call that number -- Empire!

Diito here in the greater NYC area. Annoying as hell, that ad!

Originally Posted by Chad Michael Murray

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

Here, anything north of I-80 is considered a backwater (except Bergen County, NJ)!

Originally Posted by Chad Michael Murray

29. Expressways:
Elgin-O hare expressway dosent go to or thru Elgin or O hare and is not known by any other name or number.
The Interstates in the immediate Chicagoland area are usually known just by their 'name' and not their Interstate number: The Dan Ryan ("the Ryan"), the Stevenson, the Kennedy, the Eisenhower (the "Ike"), and the Edens.

AKA, repsectively, I-90/94, I-55, I-90/94 again, I-290, and I. . . 57? In southeastern New York State and Long Island, expressways are also known by their names rather than by their numbers, but in New Jersey 80 is called 80 (part of it is called the Bergen-Passaic Expressway, but no one calls it that), 280 is called 280, 287 is called 287 (in Westchester County, NY 287 is the Cross Westchester Expresway). . . you get the idea. We don't bother with the "I" around here. We do call the Garden State Parkway the Garden State Parkway. . . because it doesn't have a number! The New Jersey Turnpike (which is part of 95 north of exit 10) is just called the Turnpike north of Camden and Philadelphia (near where the New Jersey Turnpike meets the Pennsylvania Turnpike).

In Essex County, NJ, as in Chicago, we have highways named for the 34th and 35th Presidents, but they're local parkways, not expressways. Eisenhower Parkway is sometimes called the Ike Pike, and Kennedy Parkway is called JFK, like the airport out in Queens. Eisenhower and Kennedy Parkways are respectively numbered County Routes 609 and 649, but no one calls them that. County numbers aren't popluar in Essex.

[Chad Michael Murray]

Wow, it sounds like New York and Chicago are a little more alike than I thought!

And yes, it's true...I believe it's this Fall that Field's will officially "end" and be renamed Macy's.

[Steve M.]

31. East Side - refers to the block or so of luxury apartments between Grant Park and the mouth of the river, presumably borrowing the cachet of Manhattan's East Side, but also refers to an industrial area next to Hammond, Indiana!

32. Big Stan - the Amoco (formerly the Standard Oil) Building

33. Big John - the John Hancock Tower

34. Sears - the Sears Tower

35. Congress Douglas - the rapid transit line serving what's left of Congress Street (largely displaced by the Eisenhower Expressway), which goes out to Douglas Park

[Steve M.]

Originally Posted by Chad Michael Murray

Wow, it sounds like New York and Chicago are a little more alike than I thought!

And yes, it's true...I believe it's this Fall that Field's will officially "end" and be renamed Macy's.

That sucks. . . all the New York stores are taking over everywhere else and destroying local identities. They did it to northern New Jersey (Bamberger's is now Macy's), Philadelphia (Wanamaker's is a Lord and Taylor!), and other places. Oh well, I like the Field's State Street store, anyway.

[dawsongirl]

Keep that accent in Chicago! Don't let it spread west!

[Chad Michael Murray]

Originally Posted by dawsongirl

Keep that accent in Chicago! Don't let it spread west!

Why I oughta...*Shakes fist*

[Tuesday Weld]

Originally Posted by Chad Michael Murray

Wow, it sounds like New York and Chicago are a little more alike than I thought!

I was just going to say that.

[Steve M.]

36. Da Fountain - the Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park (huge sucker!)

[Chad Michael Murray]

Originally Posted by Steve M.

36. Da Fountain - the Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park (huge sucker!)

When I was in 3rd grade, we went on a field trip to Buckingham Fountain, and for a while I was confused. I always thought Buckingham Fountain was located near the Queen of England before that!

[Nighthawk76]

People from Illinois never could talk right.

[theshark8777]

Originally Posted by Chad Michael Murray

Wow, it sounds like New York and Chicago are a little more alike than I thought!

And yes, it's true...I believe it's this Fall that Field's will officially "end" and be renamed Macy's.

All the Kauffmanns here are turning to Macy's this fall as well. Federated Department stores bought out May Company.

[swedeace]

I almost went to Chicago. This was the week a co-worker and I were supposed to go, but our associate dean didn't act quick enough for the budget money. I'm still pissed over that. pissed: I suppose I will go one day....

[Yooch]

Chicago is one place I've never been to, but I'd love to see, ride on the EL train, eat real deep-dish pizza. When I was a kid, I sort of remember driving by Komisky (sorry 'bout the spelling) Park on I-80 while my family was making a car trip to California. That's all I've ever seen of Chicago, other than from thousands of feet up flying over Lake Michigan. I'd really like to get into the city and check it out. Sounds like a great place, from what people have told me. And the accent, when I hear it, it reminds me of the Chicago Bears (da bears!) and people like Dick Butkus.

[Chad Michael Murray]

Forget Butkus--this town is about, and always WILL be about Ditka!!