The Most Common Slang Word in Every State

Besides an accent, one of the giveaways of where a person hails from in America are slang words or expressions that are particular to a state or region. (Here are some once popular slang terms nobody uses anymore.)

To compile a list of the most common slang terms in every state, 24/7 Tempo reviewed an online survey conducted by the gaming company PlayNJ. The survey, the goal of which was to explore the language barrier within the United States, was responded to by more than 2,000 Americans. 

Some of the terms uncovered in the survey aren’t really slang (a peck is a unit of dry volume; the Potato Drop is an annual event in Idaho), some of them have other meanings (occasionally NSFW), and some are rarely heard today – but all help represent the linguistic variety of these United States.

Americans put their state or regional imprint on things such as food, locations, travel and distance, and outsiders, among others. (Things get even more complicated when you cross a border. Consider these Canadian slang and phrases Americans just don’t understand.)

What’s to eat for lunch? How about some apizza in Connecticut, maybe washed down with a red beer in Nebraska. For dessert, indulge in an awful awful (milkshake) in Rhode Island, and wash it down with coffee from Dunks in Massachusetts. 

Names for locations can make for colorful references. Naptown is shorthand for Indianapolis. Because it’s the hub of country music and has become a bit glitzy, Nashville is called Nashvegas by tourists. 

Expressions for travel and distance are indicators of where one is from. In Michigan, a Michigan left is a gap in a road permitting cars to make U-turns. Speaking of U-turns, to make one in New Hampshire, you bang a uey. In Alabama, a ways is a long distance.  

There are specific references to outsiders in some states and regions, and not all are terms of endearment. Bennies is the derogatory name for people from North Jersey or New York who swarm the beaches and restaurants of the Jersey Shore in the summer. A novice or thoughtless skier in Colorado might be dissed as a gaper. Hawaiians identify pale-skinned tourists on the beach as shark bait.

Alabama

• Most common slang: A ways
• Meaning: A long distance
• Example: I live a ways from the city.

Alaska

• Most common slang: Outside
• Meaning: The lower 48 states
• Example: She just got back from outside with a suntan.

Arizona

• Most common slang: Chizhii
• Meaning: Rough, as in skin
• Example: He got all chizhii from the wind.

Arkansas

• Most common slang: Arkansas toothpick
• Meaning: A large knife
• Example: He claims he killed a wild boar with his Arkansas toothpick.

California

• Most common slang: Hella
• Meaning: Very
• Example: After the concert, we had a hella good time hanging out with the band.

Colorado

• Most common slang: Gaper
• Meaning: Derogatory term for a novice or thoughtless skier or snowboarder
• Example: Check out the way that gaper wears his helmet.

Connecticut

• Most common slang: Apizza
• Meaning: Neapolitan pizza, New Haven style
• Example: Sorry, but Modern Apizza is better than Pepe’s.

Delaware

• Most common slang: Baggin’ up
• Meaning: Laughing
• Example: He was baggin’ up when his friend fell down.

Florida

• Most common slang: The stingray shuffle
• Meaning: Shuffling your feet on the ocean floor so you don’t step on a stingray
• Example: If he’d been doing the stingray shuffle, he wouldn’t have gotten stung.

Georgia

• Most common slang: Quit being ugly
• Meaning: Change your attitude
• Example: Quit being ugly and go to the movies with us.

Hawaii

• Most common slang: Shark bait
• Meaning: Pale tourists who might draw sharks
• Example: Hope that shark bait has good medical insurance.

Idaho

• Most common slang: Potato Drop
• Meaning: The slow descent of a gigantic potato at the state capitol on New Year’s Eve
• Example: Let’s go watch the Potato Drop.

Illinois

• Most common slang: Grabowski
• Meaning: A hard-working blue-collar individual
• Example: That pipe-fitter is a real Grabowski who never takes a break.

Indiana

• Most common slang: Naptown
• Meaning: Ironic moniker for busy Indianapolis
• Example: What’s going on in Naptown today?

Iowa

• Most common slang: Puppy chow
• Meaning: Snack made with cereal and often chocolate and/or peanut butter
• Example: Well, you have to admit she makes really good puppy chow.

Kansas

• Most common slang: Yums
• Meaning: Snacks or treats
• Example: I’m starving. Let’s go get some yums.

Kentucky

• Most common slang: The ‘Ville
• Meaning: The city of Louisville
• Example: Wanna go see a movie in the ‘Ville?

Louisiana

• Most common slang: Pass a good time
• Meaning: Have a good time
• Example: We’ll pass a good time in New Orleans.

Maine

• Most common slang: Bazz on
• Meaning: Inebriated
• Example: Look out for Billy. He’s got a real bazz on.

Maryland

• Most common slang: Jimmy
• Meaning: Male blue crab
• Example: We’re going to go have some jimmies at Captain James.

Massachusetts

• Most common slang: Dunks
• Meaning: Dunkin’
• Example: Can we stop by Dunks for some coffee on the way?

Michigan

• Most common slang: Michigan left
• Meaning: Intersection design that allow cars to make U-turns
• Example: Take that Michigan left in about 500 feet.

Minnesota

• Most common slang: Oh, for…
• Meaning: Used before words for emphasis
• Example: Going to the mall? Oh, for sure.

Mississippi

• Most common slang: Fixin’
• Meaning: Getting ready to do something
• Example: I’m fixin’ to work on my car .

Missouri

• Most common slang: Sack
• Meaning: Bag
• Example: My grocery sack almost broke.

Montana

• Most common slang: Cowboy up!
• Meaning: Deal with a situation as an adult
• Example: Time to cowboy up and make a decision about your future.

Nebraska

• Most common slang: Red beer
• Meaning: Beer with tomato juice, Bloody Mary mix, or hot sauce

Nevada

• Most common slang: Long hauled
• Meaning: Being driven an unnecessary distance in a taxi
• Example: The tourist complained that he got long-hauled and it cost him 50 bucks.

New Hampshire

• Most common slang: Bang a uey
• Meaning: Make a U-turn
• Example: Bang a uey just past that gas station.

New Jersey

• Most common slang: Benny
• Meaning: Derogatory term for people who come to the Jersey Shore from North Jersey or New York in the summer
• Example: The Bennies are overrunning the beach at Avon.

New Mexico

• Most common slang: Christmas
• Meaning: Red and green chile sauce on the same dish.
• Example: You want your enchilada Christmas style?

New York

• Most common slang: Grill
• Meaning: Stare at someone
• Example: He grilled the guy who took his parking space.

North Carolina

• Most common slang: Late
• Meaning: Anytime after 6 p.m.
• Example: Good lord, 6:30 – it’s late.

North Dakota

• Most common slang: Dakrat
• Meaning: A type of ground squirrel native to North Dakota
• Example: There are dakrats all over the back porch.

Ohio

• Most common slang: Buckeye
• Meaning: An Ohio State football player, or any native Ohioan
• Example: The Buckeyes play Michigan today to see who wins the Big Ten.

Oklahoma

• Most common slang: Buggy
• Meaning: Shopping cart
• Example: That buggy has a bad wheel.

Oregon

• Most common slang: Hood
• Meaning: The state’s highest mountain
• Example: Climbing Hood is quite the challenge.

Pennsylvania

• Most common slang: Youse
• Meaning: You people
• Example: Youse guys must be Phillies fans.

Rhode Island

• Most common slang: Awful Awful
• Meaning: A milkshake made with ice milk instead of ice cream
• Example: You’ve got to go to Newport Creamery for an Awful Awful.

South Carolina

• Most common slang: Happier than a pig in mud
• Meaning: Experiencing extreme joy
• Example: He was happier than a pig in mud when the Tigers beat the Gamecocks.

South Dakota

• Most common slang: Pert near
• Meaning: Pretty near, pretty close
• Example: We’re pret near Mount Rushmore.

Tennessee

• Most common slang: Nashvegas
• Meaning: Nashville
• Example: Let’s go to that Lumineers show in Nashvegas.

Texas

• Most common slang: Kicker
• Meaning: Most persuasive reasoning in an argument
• Example: And here’s the kicker.

Utah

• Most common slang: Sluff
• Meaning: Skip class
• Example: The friends decided to sluff school and spend the sunny day at Silver Lake.

Vermont

• Most common slang: Flatlander
• Meaning: Someone not from Vermont
• Example: Here come the flatlanders for ski season.

Virginia

• Most common slang: Yonder
• Meaning: Within sight but not too close
• Example: The store you’re looking for is just yonder down the road.

Washington

• Most common slang: Pre-funk
• Meaning: Short for “pre-function” – drinking before an event
• Example: Before kickoff, let’s do a pre-funk in the parking lot.

West Virginia

• Most common slang: Peck
• Meaning: A measure equaling two dry gallons
• Example: The farmer harvested a peck of apples from his orchard.

Wisconsin

• Most common slang: Cripes
• Meaning: Exclamation of surprise
• Example: Cripes, I never saw that car coming.

Wyoming

• Most common slang: Couple two three’
• Meaning: A few
• Example: We’ll be there in a couple two three.