The Language and Slang of Chicago
Slang can range from referring to animals, to commenting on the view, to what the locals call the main street in town. Foods can be called different things in different places. In Michigan, for example, the word ‘hamburger’ is almost always shortened to ‘hamburg’, when ordering. In Chicago, one of the popular sandwiches in town is an Italian beef sandwich. “Gimme a beef” is the popular terminology for ordering such a sandwich.
Want a beer? Call for a ‘brewski’ and that’s what you’ll get. Ordering a bratwurst? Ask for a brat and pronounce it ‘brought’. Want a polish sausage? Just call it a polish. Some places offer grilled wieners, but the local vernacular for such is called a ‘char-dog’. A cheeseburger is pronounced ‘cheeseborger’. Note that if you order some sandwiches with ‘everything’, you’ll get literally everything, including sauerkraut. Many sandwiches don’t feature ketchup, however, and you’ll have to specify that particular condiment.
Language differences are apparent after visiting any town, and as with traveling abroad, it pays to know a little something about the local slang. In Chicago, the living room or family room is referred to as the ‘front room’. If you’re mentioning something about a residential building – one that has two apartments or more – you’ll refer to it as a ‘flat’. Two-flat, three-flat and four-flat buildings are just that – buildings with one, two or three apartments. If someone lives in a basement apartment it’s referred to as a garden apartment instead.
Rather than say that someone ‘said’ something, the slang in Chicago is ‘goes’. For example, instead of saying “Then he said okay”, you’ll say “Then he goes okay”. Another popular slang phrase is ‘you guys’ when referring to any group of people, regardless if they’re male, female, or a mixture of both. Whereas some people might call a person a ‘dude’, in Chicago, the phrase is ‘joe’.
As in most towns, there are nicknames for various parts of the city. In Chicago, there’s even nicknames for the town itself, like Chi-Town, Windy City, or City of Big Shoulders. Chicagoland is the term for Chicago and all its suburbs. The ‘Cashbox’ is the language used when describing a toll booth.
Cal Sag Channel is what the residents call Calumet Saginaw Channel, on Chicago’s south side. Cal City is the shortened term for Calumet City. Boys Town describes an area on Halstead Avenue, between Belmont and Addison, known for the gay bars and establishments.
The Alley is a popular store on Clark, near Belmont Avenue, where many teens shop. You can purchase Chicago tourist items as well. The Argyle is a nickname for an east-to-west street in the north part of town, mainly occupied by the local Asian community.
Boul Mich refers to the nickname the locals have for Michigan Avenue. Bucktown is the reference used to describe a growing neighborhood next to Wicker Park. Need to travel around the town? Take the El – Chicago’s elevated transit system.
Other vernacular for the city of Chicago include ‘Cubbies’, referring to the Chicago Cubs, ‘do you want to come with?’, meaning “would you like to take along?”, ‘goofy’, used to describe bad or stupid things, ‘gool’, which describes “base” or “safe” in a child’s game, ‘jays’, often meaning potato chips, ‘the lake’, referring to Lake Michigan, ‘the river’, meaning Chicago River, ‘the loop’, meaning downtown Chicago, which loops around the area, ‘pop’, meaning any kind of soft drink, ‘sliders’, meaning White Castle hamburgers, ‘true’, meaning “through” (this slang of leaving out the ‘h’ in words is common place in some areas of the city), and ‘The World’, referring to the Tweeter Center in Tinley Park.
Knowing some of the local slang will help you fit in better, and as with any travels, will help you enjoy your stay even more. Brush up on the Chicago vernacular before visiting this year, and they’ll never know you’re a tourist.
