BuzzFeed video shows that people still don’t understand Philadelphia slang
Jawn. Wit. Chumpy. To us here in Philly, these local slang words and others collectively are known as “hoagiemouth.” But to people everywhere else, they’re just confusing.
Jawn. Wit. Chumpy. To us here in Philly, these local slang words and others collectively are known as "hoagiemouth." But to people everywhere else, they're just confusing.
At least, that seems to be the takeaway from BuzzFeed's recent look at Philly slang, which pitted area favorites like jawn against non-Philly residents in an attempt to define them. And, as you probably could guess, it didn't go great.
When it comes to the definition of "jawn," guesses ranged from "a joint" to "outhouse" and "a tool of some sort." But while all of those are technically correct answers in that those things are jawns, none of them are the definition of jawn (which, incidentally, is also a jawn).
"Drawlin'," meanwhile, came off as meaning "taking too long to get ready" and, alternately, "a Southern drawl." So, just no for this word.
"Widdout," the BuzzFeed version of "witout," was the most correctly guessed, though participants weren't sure whether it referred to cheesesteak toppings overall, or just onions. (Psst: It's just the onions.)
Oddly, though, "chumpy" was not included, though possibly because it is a synonym for "jawn." But judging by the guesses provided above, it seems like BuzzFeed might not know that.
Instead, however, BuzzFeed chose "Schuylkill," which is a proper name and not slang, and "ard," which apparently means "all right" around these parts. An odd choice, considering "aiite" — or "a'ight" — seems to be more or less the standard, but, OK.
So, with that, it appears that the rest of the world may never fully understand our own peculiar dialect. But it's not like it matters that much — you're probably going to be stuck with that hoagiemouth for life, anyway.
And no BuzzFeed jawn will change that. Ard?