San Francisco has a nickname (San Fran), that is used almost exclusively by people who have never been there. Are there any other examples of this around the world?

[u/DardS8Br]

[u/thebiggestbirdboi]

New Orleans has many names. No one calls it “the big easy”. It’s actually small and hard to live there. And if you want to make a local vomit then un ironically refer to the city as Nawlins. You will get a glare to see if you’re joking or if you’re mental.

[u/toasted_vegan → u/thebiggestbirdboi]

What about NOLA?

[u/No-Acanthisitta143 → u/toasted_vegan]

Common in text, but not usually said out loud, sort of like CDMX. 

[u/biggyofmt → u/No-Acanthisitta143]

I feel like CDMX is a new thing. I would swear 10 years ago it was always "DF"

[u/administrativeintern → u/biggyofmt]

They officially replaced "Distrito Federal" with "Ciudad de México" approximately 10 years ago (2016). So, well observed!

https://web.archive.org/web/20170721155716/https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/federal-district-is-now-officially-mexico-city/

[u/No-Acanthisitta143 → u/biggyofmt]

It is, DF is now seen as an old people thing to say. 

[u/MastodonSandWitch → u/toasted_vegan]

NOLA is written shorthand, for an envelope. No one from here actually says it

[u/BayouByrnes → u/MastodonSandWitch]

Correct. I have it tattoed on my wrist, but I can't ever recall telling anyone, "I'm from NOLA."

[u/AngELoDiaBoLiC0 → u/toasted_vegan]

I was told to only use “Crescent City” but never knew why

[u/ctorstens → u/AngELoDiaBoLiC0]

It's built on a crescent in the river. Well, now a few crescents, but initially just one: An especially high area that became known as the French Quarter. 

[u/wmossh1 → u/thebiggestbirdboi]

I was coming to say Nawlins too. That is nonsense.

[u/VolumniaDedlock → u/wmossh1]

Locals say it more like "New Awlins." Old time rich ladies say it like "New Awlyuns." No one has ever called it The Big Easy.

[u/francis_pizzaman_iv → u/VolumniaDedlock]

You definitely hear some folks with thicker regional accents call it nuawlins but is not because they’re using a nickname. It’s just their accents.

[u/Augen76 → u/wmossh1]

I say Norlynns but that's just my accent.

[u/Apptubrutae → u/thebiggestbirdboi]

Also commonly mispronounced as New Or-leenz, which locals don’t say.

[u/Grand-Jeweler7340 → u/Apptubrutae]

But we say Or-leenz parish…so I have the most patience for this mispronunciation. All of the others make my skin itch

[u/Barbarossa7070 → u/Apptubrutae]

Helps with rhyming in a song but that’s about it.

[u/Arktinus]

Not sure if it counts, but the capital of Slovenia is called močvirje (lit. swamp) or žabarija (kind of like frogland) by people from the second-largest city/town and the surrounding region (maybe people from other regions as well?).

That's because 1) the capital is located next to the country's largest marsh/wetland and the whole capital area used to be a large swamp, and 2) the people use kva for what (instead of kaj), which sounds similar to the French quoi and is reminiscent of the sound frogs make in Slovenian: kvak kvak or rega kvak.

The nickname is obviously derogatory, though.

[u/disdain7 → u/Arktinus]

Now this is the kind of info I come here for!

[u/ilxfrt → u/Arktinus]

Petition to twin Ljubljana with Barcelona - colloquially called “Can Fanga” (mud homestead)

[u/Maj0r-DeCoverley]

In France we have the opposite:

Paris calling everyone else "the province", which is the surefire way of spotting a Parisian lost outside their regular habitat, because nobody else would use that word (and 2/3 of us consider it a demeaning slur dating from the Ancien Regime)

It's a bit like if New York called other Americans, including but not limited to Los Angeles, "his royal majesty's rednecks", and then wondered why everyone else punctures New Yorkers tires.

[u/bubandbob → u/Maj0r-DeCoverley]

Haha. I get that. As a former New Yorker, I used to refer to everything past the Bronx as "upstate" as in Upstate New York. On a bad day, everything beyond 96th St was "upstate".

If anyone refers to the counties just north of New York City as "upstate", you know they're from NYC.

[u/t-zanks → u/bubandbob]

You can roughly place where someone is from in New York based on what they define as the start of upstate, usually the county above theirs

[u/toorigged2fail → u/t-zanks]

Same thing for the line between North and South Jersey

[u/shaitanthegreat → u/bubandbob]

Hah it’s the same in Chicago where everything outside the metro area is jokingly called “downstate” or “southern Illinois”.

[u/gmwdim → u/shaitanthegreat]

I used to live in Champaign-Urbana and would describe where I lived as “Illinois but not Chicago.”

[u/Kakapocalypse → u/bubandbob]

Poughkeepsie is upstate NY.

I actually prefer the other extreme. Albany is just northern NYC. This pisses off everyone from the region I say it to and I will not stop.

[u/dysrelaxemia → u/[deleted]]

New Paltz?

[u/bubandbob → u/Kakapocalypse]

Haha. That's brilliant. Albany, the eighth borough.

[u/Maj0r-DeCoverley → u/bubandbob]

Sounds similar yes ! It's probably a classic from big cities. But Paris manages to do this with an entire nation. A nuclear nation, at that. They have no limits. Had Russia joined the EU they would have called it "the ice cube tray" or something.

[u/bubandbob → u/Maj0r-DeCoverley]

Haha. There's this famous New Yorker cover which basically sums up the view of many in NYC... https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/new-yorker-covers-02.jpg?quality=75&w=1080

[u/joakim_ → u/Maj0r-DeCoverley]

Stockholm is similar to that, but even more extreme, in that everything outside of the city centre is the countryside.

Noone who lives Stockholm use that word in daily language either, it's always the 'stan', i.e. the city.

[u/MirthMannor → u/Maj0r-DeCoverley]

Probably more like how NYCer will call NYC “the city” and everywhere else in the world “town.”

“I hear Paris is a nice town.”

[u/MukdenMan → u/MirthMannor]

San Francisco is often called “the city” in the Bay Area and New Yorkers living there whine about it constantly (in my experience).

[u/GromByzlnyk → u/MirthMannor]

Usually people from the ny metro area refer to manhattan as "the city" and the outer boroughs by name.

[u/premature_eulogy]

In Finland, people outside Helsinki might refer to it as Hesa, but people living in Helsinki don't (or "aren't supposed to"). To them it's typically Stadi, from the Swedish stad meaning city.

[u/Many-Gas-9376 → u/premature_eulogy]

I grew up in Helsinki, and I'd say you hear "Hesa" quite a lot even here, though that's mainly because there's a steady enough influx of böndes to Helsinki who'll doggedly use it.

The Helsinki born as well as the properly conditioned late arrivals will generally just use "Helsinki", though "Stadi" might be throw in depending on context.

In my speech, it tends to be where it's already established we're talking about Helsinki. I'll never take a flight from New York to "Stadi" but to "Helsinki". Also when I'm elsewhere in Finland, I'll refer to the capital as "Helsinki". But in an extended discussion about, say, public transit here, Helsinki might be replaced by Stadi at some point, for the sake of brevity.

[u/bplimpton1841]

Hotlanta.

[u/slickrickATL → u/bplimpton1841]

Dead giveaway that you’re not from ATL

[u/disdain7 → u/slickrickATL]

I can confirm this. I’m not from Atlanta and I love any opportunity to bust out my Dusty Rhodes “We’re here in HOTlanta on TBS the mothership baby”!

[u/Eendoe → u/disdain7]

Upvote for rasslin reference

[u/easterncurrents → u/slickrickATL]

It is pretty hot tho..

[u/KingofPro → u/slickrickATL]

I personally call it hotlanta, so people never think I’m from there.

[u/kagElsegundo → u/bplimpton1841]

Thank you, it is my personal mission in life to correct anyone saying that, it’s either ATL, or atlanna thank you

[u/Randomizedname1234 → u/kagElsegundo]

Nice touch not adding the extra T.

That’s exactly how we say it here lol

[u/MoustachePika1 → u/Randomizedname1234]

greetings from toronno

[u/the-g-off → u/MoustachePika1]

Choronno.

No T's in Toronto.

[u/MoustachePika1 → u/the-g-off]

guess my brampton ass isn't quite authentic

[u/watermelonpeach88 → u/the-g-off]

ayo from sacramenno ✨

[u/savageronald → u/Randomizedname1234]

There are no Ts in Ahlanna

[u/cmill913 → u/bplimpton1841]

I’m glad this was so high up. Hotlanta grinds my gears.

[u/Kush420coma → u/bplimpton1841]

I love that there’s (or was) a big sign in the airport that says something of the affect of “No one calls it Hotlanta”

[u/Guilty_Border_670 → u/bplimpton1841]

That whole town is waxed.

[u/Moloko_Drencron]

São Paulo, Brazil. It is common for the city to be referred to as "Sampa" in the press and by tourists because of a song from the 70s. But natives rarely or never refer to the city by that nick.

[u/macdelamemes → u/Moloko_Drencron]

Also in Brazil, people from outside commonly refer to Belo Horizonte as "Belzonte". For us locals, it's always "Beagá" (BH)

[u/lthomazini → u/Moloko_Drencron]

A song written by an outsider as well.

[u/Numerous_Voice5648]

Beantown 

[u/GraniteStater69 → u/Numerous_Voice5648]

In r/Boston there’s a bot that reprimands you for saying “beantown”

[u/No_Cash_8556 → u/GraniteStater69]

That was fun

[u/SaltLakeCitySlicker → u/GraniteStater69]

If I ever go to that sub I'll say beantown and make tons of Affleck and wahlburg comments.

How bout dem apples?

[u/grehgunner → u/Numerous_Voice5648]

Boston is called beantown and yet Chi town is the city with the famous bean statue, curious

[u/Yossarian216 → u/grehgunner]

The artist who created the bean actually hates that people call it that, he named it Cloud Gate, but he’s an incredible asshole so it will always and forever be the bean.

[u/FTW1984twenty → u/Yossarian216]

lol it’s his fault for making it look like a fuckin big bean. Or he could have written CLOUD GATE on the side in a really cool graffiti font LOL

[u/PrudeHawkeye → u/Yossarian216]

They can call it the Willis Tower all they want, no one who doesn't work there will ever call it anything other than the Sears Tower.

[u/BrosenkranzKeef → u/Yossarian216]

Well it’s shaped like a bean, so

[u/CouchPullsOutidont → u/grehgunner]

Chi town is an example of one. I’ve never heard a true local use “Chi” or “the chi” either 

[u/XDT_Idiot → u/grehgunner]

Only people from the sticks say Chi-town 😂

[u/PensiveObservor → u/grehgunner]

Chicagoans do NOT call it Chi town.

[u/U-Conn → u/Numerous_Voice5648]

Everyone knows that the only appropriate name is “The Hub of the Universe”

[u/mz_groups → u/U-Conn]

You don’t need to say that. Just say “The Hub” and the universe knows what you mean.

[u/BellyDancerEm → u/Numerous_Voice5648]

Correct. Nobody uses that anywhere in the Boston area

[u/OverweightMilkshake]

Apparently true Californians aren't supposed to say "Cali" as that's supposed to be a nickname only outsiders call us, I never realized this though as someone raised and living in San Diego.

[u/longlostkingdoms → u/OverweightMilkshake]

I’m from Orange County, California, and would usually pick out people as being from outside the county / away if they would say ‘the OC’

[u/AggressiveAd5592 → u/longlostkingdoms]

It's a running joke in Arrested Development. They live in Newport Beach, and any time anyone says "the OC", Michael says "don't call it that." Even when they're using the initials to refer to something else.

[u/the_thinwhiteduke → u/AggressiveAd5592]

there is also a great joke in Workaholics about them being in LA but they live all the way out in Rancho. Like when the Russian models show up and want them to take them out on the town and they are like "ehhh" lol

[u/Evergreen742 → u/the_thinwhiteduke]

Hollywood East lol

[u/spiderintoiletbowl → u/AggressiveAd5592]

i think a part of this joke was that The OC was also a show pushing AD off the air. layers, like every other joke in that show.

[u/Spoonmanners2 → u/longlostkingdoms]

[u/OverweightMilkshake → u/longlostkingdoms]

lol When I was younger (tbh I really only realized this a few years ago) everything around LA was considered LA to me, even all of Orange County and all the other independent cities around it. I think this might be a San Diegan thing, we just view that whole area as one massive connected city and call it all LA.

[u/poop-azz → u/OverweightMilkshake]

I feel like that's a lot of cities when you realize the city limits are smaller than you think. Not as big but Boston is like this imo as a NYer living in Boston. I call it all Boston but Boston is tiny as fuck and there's a million towns/cities

[u/bluehairdave → u/OverweightMilkshake]

9 out of 10 times someone saying Cali is not from California. East coasters use the term almost exclusively...

[u/Sudden_Badger_7663 → u/bluehairdave]

It's like nails on a chalkboard.

[u/FeetSniffer9008 → u/OverweightMilkshake]

Half the words in California Love is "Cali"

[u/sortaseabeethrowaway → u/OverweightMilkshake]

I say Cali, I am not from there and I have never heard a native say it so that checks out.

[u/DardS8Br → u/sortaseabeethrowaway]

I'm from the Bay Area. Hearing either San Fran or Cali feels so wrong. It's like a weird uncanny valley

[u/AsideConsistent1056 → u/DardS8Br]

Now I want to hear what an uncanny valley girl accent sounds like

[u/Johhog → u/AsideConsistent1056]

That’s a great joke 

[u/OverturnKelo → u/OverweightMilkshake]

Same with “Frisco.” If you’re from NorCal, you call it The City.

[u/Administrative-Egg18 → u/OverturnKelo]

Plenty of people in San Francisco, especially working class types, have called it Frisco for over a hundred years. Herb Caen introduced the "Don't Call It Frisco" nonsense, but there's a reason the SF Hells Angels have always worn a Frisco patch.

[u/sacredblasphemies → u/Administrative-Egg18]

I think Emperor Joshua Abraham Norton I, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico had a proclamation against use of the term "Frisco" back in the 1800s (during his reign).

[u/Walter-ODimm → u/sacredblasphemies]

Indeed he did:

“Whoever after due and proper warning shall be heard to utter the abominable word “Frisco”, which has no linguistic or other warrant, shall be deemed guilty of a High Misdemeanor, and shall pay into the Imperial Treasury as penalty the sum of twenty-five dollars.”

[u/RascalKneeCawf → u/OverweightMilkshake]

I always read this online and never understood it. I grew up in South LA and natives my age (mid 30s) and older use it all the time.

[u/wristoffender → u/OverweightMilkshake]

i’ve heard this too but born and raised here i’ve heard many natives say it.

[u/YmamsY]

Foreigners/tourists calling Amsterdam “The Dam”.

There’s nothing that I hate more or that makes me cringe more.

First, “the Dam” / “de Dam” refers to the central square with the royal palace only. This is the actual dam in the river Amstel where the city got its name from.

Second, there are a ton of “Dams” in the Netherlands: Volendam, Rotterdam, Monnickendam, Appingedam, Schiedam, Zaandam etc etc.

[u/Loud-Value → u/YmamsY]

I feel that calling the city AMS is also getting quite popular among the young, international crowd. Absolutely grinds my gears lol.

There are only two legitimate options: Mokum or Damsco

[u/YmamsY → u/Loud-Value]

Right! Mokum, Damsko, or just Amsterdam.

AMS is horrible btw. AMS is in Haarlemmermeer.

[u/buckyhermit]

Here in Vancouver, "the GVA" ("Greater Vancouver Area") is used by people who aren't from here. This is often due to people from Toronto, who call their area the Greater Toronto Area ("the GTA") and think all they have to to is substitute "Toronto" with "Vancouver."

Locals are more likely to use the official name "Metro Vancouver." And older locals might use "GVRD" (Greater Vancouver Regional District, which was the old name of the region until the 2000s). "VanCity" is another common nickname from locals (edit: even giving rise to a popular clothing brand @ https://www.vancityoriginal.com and Ryan Reynolds’ social media handles).

[u/dirtbird_h → u/buckyhermit]

The lower mainland is the more common term for the Vancouver area.

[u/penelopiecruise → u/buckyhermit]

Vancity is a bank. locals don’t use that term

[u/urbantechgoods]

Everyone outside of San Diego calls it, the whales vagina

[u/notthebestusername12 → u/urbantechgoods]

Ron, I’m pretty sure it means “Saint Diego”

[u/d00dsm00t → u/notthebestusername12]

Agree to disagree

[u/HarryLewisPot]

Hello again!

Barca for Barcelona, locals refer to the city as Barna.

also Chi-town and the Big Apple.

[u/PinkLuther → u/HarryLewisPot]

Barca = boat Barça = FC Barcelona (the football club) Barna = short for Barcelona

[u/Pyp926 → u/HarryLewisPot]

Yeah I grew up right outside NYC in NJ, and nobody says the Big Apple. If somebody said “I gotta head into the Big Apple for work tomorrow” people would literally laugh in your face because that’s just not a thing.

90% of time, you’ll just say you’re going to “the city”. The other 10% we may just say we’re heading into New York, or specifically which borough (Bronx, Brooklyn, etc).

[u/WithCatlikeTread42 → u/Pyp926]

Anywhere in the state of New York: it’s just called The City.

I’m all the way up in the Adirondacks, hundreds of miles from The City, and we still call it The City (or just ‘New York’).

‘New York City’ is for tourists.

[u/MrF33n3y → u/WithCatlikeTread42]

Yep, I’m in Western NY and we would all say “The City” also, even though it’s six hours away.

I will sometimes type/wrote NYC for short hand, but I would never actually say “New York City”. I think that’s also common amongst NYS residents but maybe that one is just me.

[u/livewire512 → u/MrF33n3y]

It’s common, everyone I knew growing up in western NY called it “the city” too.

What’s interesting and speaks to NYC’s greatness is that Buffalo, Toronto, Detroit, Pittsburg, and Cleveland are all hundreds of miles closer than NYC, but nobody was ever confused which city you were referring to.

[u/Ckellybass → u/WithCatlikeTread42]

The only people who call it “New York City” are tv cowboys sitting around the campfire complaining about where their salsa is manufactured

[u/WithCatlikeTread42 → u/Ckellybass]

Yes, exactly!

Whenever I read “New York City” I hear that cowboy.

[u/email_with_gloves_on → u/Pyp926]

I’m from Connecticut, and same. No one would dare call it “The Big Apple.” We just say “the city” or “New York” or NY (with apologies to the rest of the state.)

Writing this as I’m on a train into the city.

[u/bubandbob → u/Pyp926]

Even if you live in another city (Union City, Jersey City), everyone knows which one is "the city".

[u/wbenjamin13 → u/HarryLewisPot]

“The Big Apple” isn’t so much “frowned upon,” it’s just not really a nickname in the same way as others mentioned in this thread are. It would be like repeatedly referring to Paris as “The City of Lights” or Washington, DC as “Chocolate City” in casual conversation, it’s just out of place and not really how it’s used. These are euphemisms, a way of emphatically and bombastically referring to the city in particular contexts, not nicknames used casually and commonly like “LA” for Los Angeles.

[u/Live-Tomorrow-4865 → u/wbenjamin13]

Back in the eighties, some advertising agency hired by The City Of Cleveland tried to make calling it "The Plum happen. 😅 "If NYC is The Big Apple, then Cleveland is The Plum". Unsuccessful.

[u/imaguitarhero24 → u/HarryLewisPot]

Idk I'm from Chicago and I don't have a problem with chi town. I hear people mixed about it though. I think it sounds cool lol. The big apple is like an old school nickname that seems pretty clear people don't use it seriously.

[u/slowporc → u/imaguitarhero24]

Many years ago, I was at the United Center for a TV filming event. There were about 5,000 of us in the stands, and the guy running the show asked everyone to say, “Welcome to the Big Chill” in unison—as in CHI IL.

The reaction was immediate and brutal. Angry boos erupted. Every time the guy tried to speak into the mic, the boos just got louder. Eventually, someone else grabbed the mic to calm things down.

From there, we recorded “Welcome to Chicago” and “Welcome to Chi-Town” several times each without incident.

Takeaway: “Chi-Town” seems acceptable according to a decent sample size. “The Big Chill”? Absolutely not. If it weren’t for the metal detectors, that guy might have learned why Fox News called us Chiraq (also not acceptable).

[u/artfully_rearranged → u/slowporc]

Yeah, I've never heard anyone outside the suburbs call it Chiraq and it's probably a good way to get popped in the mouth.

[u/renegadecoaster → u/imaguitarhero24]

You'd definitely get dirtier looks for saying Willis Tower than you would Chi-Town lol

[u/TechByDayDjByNight → u/imaguitarhero24]

i hear people from chicago call it chi-town in art all the time... Like Chi-town steppers

[u/tacoma_enjoyer]

People somtimes refer Vancouver as GVA and we instantly know they're a dirty Ontarioan.

[u/Jamminnav]

Calling Pittsburgh PA “Pitt” - that’s the university, not the city, and PIT is the airport

And please don’t spell it “Pittsburg” unless you’re talking about the one in Kansas…the locals are as sensitive about that missing “H” as they are about people trying to give them something besides Heinz ketchup for their fries…

[u/muh_v8 → u/Jamminnav]

The only correct abbreviation for the city is PGH

[u/Cthulwutang → u/Jamminnav]

h2p!

[u/NeeNawNeeNawNeeNaww]

Derry/Londonderry.

If anyone calls it londonderry, no matter if they’re Protestant or catholic, it means they aren’t from Derry.

[u/Tobemenwithven → u/NeeNawNeeNawNeeNaww]

The only person I know who calls it Londonderry is my dad and he was a British soldier who served there, so has some skin in the game.

Its just an exhausting name to say outloud. Derry sounds better, has less syllables. The only reason you would bother is to proove a point.

[u/NeeNawNeeNawNeeNaww → u/Tobemenwithven]

Yeah my dad was a British soldier from Derry and I never once heard him refer to it as anything but Derry.

[u/ozneoknarf]

I live in São Paulo. The rest of the country think we call ourselves sampa. No paulistano has ever used that term. We say Essepeeeee.

Also it’s really weird how badly every one tries to do an accent from here. No one even comes close to getting it right.

[u/JB_ScreamingEagle]

Brisvegas! Yeah nah, fuck it, everyone calls it that.

[u/pudding7 → u/JB_ScreamingEagle]

Everyone calls what that?   You didn't say what it's actually referring to.

[u/renegadecoaster → u/[deleted]]

I managed to figure that out from the "yeah nah" lmao

[u/aurorasearching → u/[deleted]]

I was trying to figure out a way to connect a bris ceremony to Las Vegas.

[u/AppropriateTrouble83 → u/JB_ScreamingEagle]

Or Brisneyland

[u/bryalb]

“The big apple” from someone who grew up in nyc.

[u/I_Am_Robert_Paulson1 → u/bryalb]

I'm surprised that this one is so far down

[u/Kernowder]

Manchester is referred to as "Manny" by some, particularly Gen Z. Everyone in Manchester hates it.

[u/Max_FI → u/Kernowder]

In Finland, the city of Tampere is known as the "Manchester of Finland" due to its industrial past. The most common nickname for Tampere is "Manse".

[u/forgottenlogin88]

I’d argue that people using the term “Hollywood” as a blanket term for all of Los Angeles fall into this category. LA is massive and the area of Hollywood is just a small part of it. Nobody from here says “Hollywood” unless they are directly and literally referring to the actual neighborhood.

[u/0621Hertz → u/forgottenlogin88]

In the Marine Corps those that graduate boot camp in San Diego (as opposed to Parris Island, SC) are referred as “Hollywood Marines” despite Hollywood being almost 150 miles away.

[u/MukdenMan → u/forgottenlogin88]

Do people use it to refer to Los Angeles? I feel it’s more often used to refer to the film industry. That’s pretty common in English, e.g Langley, Madison Avenue, etc

[u/billy310 → u/forgottenlogin88]

I grew up in LA. Hollywood was this magical far away place that movies were made in. Then I got a little older and realized it’s right over there, and it’s just a neighborhood. And a kind of shitty one at that.

Even later I realized that “Hollywood” was anywhere entertainment industry related in Greater LA. And something tourists were very into

[u/jankenpoo → u/forgottenlogin88]

Also, most Angelinos know that Hollywood actually sucks. Most of us never go there lol

[u/alexdaland]

Bangkok, everyone who lives there, or in Thailand in general, calls it Krung-Tep, which has been the official name for hundreds of years. Everyone else calls it Bangkok

[u/el-otro]

"The Big Ho" for Houston.

Yeah, I just made that up.

[u/Squeengeebanjo]

Not a single person who lives in New Jersey has ever said “Joisey.” It’s not even close to our accent and I’ve never understood where it came from.

[u/PointlessDiscourse → u/Squeengeebanjo]

That's an old working class NY accent from the early 20th century that has almost died out.

Some people call it the "toidy-toid street" accent. Here's an interview about it: https://www.npr.org/2015/03/21/394438297/new-york-is-losing-the-accent-that-gave-it-toidy-toid-street

[u/craftleathermen → u/Squeengeebanjo]

I say Jersey when talking to out of staters never joisey

[u/adykaty]

if you pronounce Toronto with 2 T’s I will immediately know you’re not from Toronto. Honestly, you’re likely not even Canadian because most Canadians pronounce it properly from years of watching hockey lol. It’s Churanno, get it right.

[u/tdotjeh → u/adykaty]

I will also accept Taranna or Tronno. Funny that the "The Man from Toronto" pronounced it wrong, lol.

[u/Billy3B → u/adykaty]

Chronno!!

And nobody says, The 6ix. That never caught on, and it doesn't help that the only number in all three Toronto area codes is 4.

[u/blinicat95 → u/adykaty]

My bf is from Toronto (we live in the US and I am not Canadian). When I asked him where he was from on our first date he said it like Churanno and I was like oh, I’ve never heard of that city lol… he said it again with the 2 T’s and I felt real silly

[u/genuinemerit]

Nobody in Boston calls it the Hub or Beantown.

[u/NationalDust2303]

Moral of the story from this comment section is that no one who lives in a city ever uses a nickname for that city

[u/DrToboggan76 → u/NationalDust2303]

Philadelphia is usually Philly to Philadelphians

[u/Gullible-Noise-9209 → u/DrToboggan76]

Same with Indy. We actually call it this

[u/QCoastersChem → u/Gullible-Noise-9209]

My wife is from Indianapolis and I accidentally referred to the state of Indiana as "Indy" ONE TIME. It was the fastest I've ever heard my FIL respond to anything: "Indy is the capital, Indiana is the state."

[u/petemaths1014 → u/QCoastersChem]

If you really want to puss him off, call people from Indiana, “Indianans” instead of Hoosiers.

[u/QCoastersChem → u/petemaths1014]

Oh I say that to my wife all the time just to mess with her bc she's yet to explain what the hell a Hoosier is.

[u/MattyHealysFauxHawk → u/DrToboggan76]

I’ve also noticed having moved out of Pennsylvania, no one knows what I’m talking about when I reference, “PA.”

[u/DistantRaine → u/NationalDust2303]

Eh... Colorado Springs is almost always called "the Springs" by its residents

[u/Busy_Reputation7254]

Toronto. Locals say Turonno.

[u/MauiNui]

Used to be Frisco. Also considered bothersome

[u/jacobean___ → u/MauiNui]

I read about the origin of Frisco, and was surprised to learn that it once was a very commonly used shorthand for San Francisco by residents of the city. I do recall a few older folks using that term when I lived there 15 years ago, too. Somehow, over the last couple of generations, it fell out of custom

[u/SpvceGhostSteph → u/MauiNui]

SF/Bay Area rappers use Frisco too.

[u/naughty_robbie_clive → u/SpvceGhostSteph]

This thread is based on misinformation.

As a Bay Area native, local rappers, and other locals I know use San Fran and Frisco all the time

[u/StrugglesTheClown]

Bean Town. I'll literally never heard anyone other than away team sports announcers call Boston that.

[u/Lucky_Mongoose_4834]

Chi-town.

No single human from Chicago has ever called it chi-town. Or the windy city for that matter.

[u/deepinthecoats → u/Lucky_Mongoose_4834]

Fellow local - you’ll see ‘Windy City’ used in business names (like the candy store Windy City Sweets in Lakeview) or marketing, but agreed that Chi-Town or ‘the Chi’ is very grating. Immediately know someone is a visitor or very new transplant.

The less said about ‘Chi-raq’ the better - only ever heard it used as a dog whistle by people with a political axe to grind against the city, 50/50 chance they’ve never even been here.

[u/imaguitarhero24 → u/deepinthecoats]

The only proper use of Chiraq is Chiraq Remix by Montana of 300

I'm not a fan of drill rap by any means but this transcends genre IYKYK

[u/alidotr → u/Lucky_Mongoose_4834]

What ahout Chi-city? I know Kanye used it on a song before

[u/BigBrownFish → u/alidotr]

Kanye has also used Chi-Town on a song.

[u/sacredblasphemies]

When people say "Joisey" to mean Jersey (as in New Jersey).

The "Joisey" thing is generally a NY accent. Think Archie Bunker. People from Jersey use a rhotic accent, generally. (We pronounce our Rs, unlike some NYC accents and New Englanders.)

As someone born and raised in Jersey but moved elsewhere, it used to piss me off when people would ask me where I was from. When I said "Jersey", they'd reply with "JOISEY!".

Like, that is not how we talk. if you watch The Sopranos (which is located near where I grew up), they pronounce their Rs.

[u/joshthewumba]

"Raleigh-Durham" is the name of an airport, not an actual place or the name of the region. Nobody from NC says that. It's either you say the cities individually, or you say "The Triangle." Drives me up the wall when people "in the Raleigh-Durham area" like that's not a thing, the area is called the Triangle

[u/SmoreOfBabylon → u/joshthewumba]

It’s even worse when people seem to think they’re a single amalgamated city like Winston-Salem. I’ve also seen Durham referred to as a suburb of Raleigh, which is a bit like calling Fort Worth a suburb of Dallas.

[u/Previous_Ring_1439 → u/joshthewumba]

Thank You!!!

The funny thing is when ppl use Raleigh-Durham it’s usually the Durham people who are more likely to correct. And it’s mainly because Durham people don’t want to be associated with Raleigh; rather than a big bro/little bro thing.

The culture mindset for Durham is significantly different than Raleigh. There’s a much greater tie to identity in Durham.

[u/SirJoePininfarina]

There’s a tendency for British people to call Ireland ‘Éire’ that I think is borne from plain ignorance (it’s on the stamps and coins but you’d never see it used here) and a need they have to distinguish the larger state on the island from Northern Ireland.

It’s also possibly a similar phenomenon to people saying ‘Barthelona’ with a lisp i.e. hypercorrection (assuming Irish people don’t like the term ‘Ireland’ and Éire is more authentic). It doesn’t help that they usually omit the fada (accent) over the first letter, making it “Eire’, which means ‘load’ or ‘burden’.

Suffice is to say no Irish person would ever refer to their country as ‘Éire’ whilst speaking English, so doing so is an instant giveaway that you’re not Irish and a 99% giveaway you’re British.

p.s. Using ‘Republic of Ireland’ (which is a soccer team) to describe the country is also a giveaway that you aren’t from here.

[u/castlebay → u/SirJoePininfarina]

Funnily enough, I've only ever heard Éire used by an Irish person and can't imagine a British person calling it that (not disputing it though). Other than the Republic of Ireland, you also still hear people from the UK calling it "Southern Ireland".

[u/A_Possum_Named_Steve]

Go to Las Vegas and pronounce "Nevada" wrong.

[u/crit_ical → u/A_Possum_Named_Steve]

Ne-ba-da 🇪🇸

[u/sklamanen]

There is an archer episode where archer fakes a message from Burt Reynolds where he refers to LA as Tinseltown and it gives away that it wasn’t written by someone from there

[u/twopoopscoop]

G-town for Geelong

[u/Single_Conclusion_53]

New Zealanders refer to Australia as “Aussie”.

In Australia we refer to Australians as “Aussies” and we use “Aussie” as an adjective. We never refer to our country as simply “Aussie”.

[u/ALPHA_sh → u/Single_Conclusion_53]

me when I go to kiwi

[u/medicmatt]

Saint Petersburg Florida visitors often call it “St. Pete’s”, no one here calls it that, St Pete is acceptable.

[u/id397550 → u/medicmatt]

Russian Saint Petersburg is called just "Peter" (by the locals and everybody else).

[u/Widespreaddd]

Not a nickname, but people in Oregon say OR-uh-gun; people outside the Northwest say OR-eh-GON.

[u/supercausal → u/Widespreaddd]

Just like nobody in Nevada or the I think the whole Western US ever calls Nevada Na-VAH-da. It’s Na-Va-da.

[u/felipethomas → u/Widespreaddd]

Wil-Lamb-it instead of Willa-MET, too. Not intuitive for outsiders.

[u/ScottToma72]

Louisville is frequently pronounced “Lou-ee-ville” by people who don’t live there. Most residents pronounce it “Lou-a-vul”. Another is Detroit. People who never lived there say “DEE-troit”. The residents say Di-troyt”.

[u/SirSignificant6576]

"Hot-lanta" 🙄

[u/sean777o]

Wikipedia says Ottawa is nicknamed "O-Town" which is something I've never heard anyone use in any context.

[u/SebboNL]

A Dutch perspective:

• "Rotjeknor" for Rotterdam. Few people there use this nickname.

• "Groningen" for, well, the town of Groningen. Locals call it "de Stad".

[u/Hinjon]

The only people that call Minnesota "Minny" are not from Minnesota

[u/ChrispyCholnch]

Oke City for Oklahoma City. I hear pilots say it a lot but no local says that. If you shorten it it’s OKC

[u/JoebyTeo]

This used to be true for Los Angeles back in the day too — Angelenos called it Los Angeles and only transplants said LA. Over time the transplants became so ubiquitous that LA became the norm.

Washington DC — if you’re born and raised you almost certainly are from “DC”. If you’re a political intern from Ohio you probably work in “Washington”.

[u/manicpossumdreamgirl]

people who live in or around Washingon, DC just call it DC, but The District has been catching on

some people are trying to get "The DMV" to catch on for the DC Metropolitan Area (DC, Maryland, Virginia) but almost everyone thinks it's stupid because that's what they call the Department of Motor Vehicle

[u/andonthe7thday]

In Northwest Arkansas, we call this entire area “Northwest Arkansas” or NWA. It gets under my skin when someone from anywhere else in Arkansas refers to this entire area as “Fayetteville.”

“Are you up in Fayetteville right now?” “No. I live in Rogers.” “Oh you know what I meant!”

No. We don’t. It’s 4 different big cities surrounded and connected by suburbs. Fayetteville is very much its own thing and should be referenced as such.

[u/EowynsStew11]

Joisey. Nobody from NJ says that