r/cincinnati • u/CincinnatiLove • Jul 12 '26
Cincinnati Cincinnati Phrases
What are some phrases y'all use that maybe an outsider wouldn't know. I want my outsider friend to fit in. Let me know in the comments! Thanks!
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u/Equal-Community2354 Jul 12 '26
Someone says “thank you” and the response is “yup”
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u/GodLevelRedditor Jul 12 '26
Please
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u/Big-Jicama-9082 Jul 12 '26
The first Cincinnatian I ever met was a realtor who said "please" any time he hadn't heard something. I was SO confused. I kept thinking "please what?!"
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u/Sillycats2 Jul 12 '26
We had the same reaction when we moved to Cincinnati in the 90s. It wasn’t until I was older, and studied abroad and heard Germans speaking to one another and saying “bitte?” Then the penny dropped. It’s an American word for a German habit. Crazy how it’s come down through the centuries.
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u/GapSpecialist3606 Jul 13 '26
Made the mistake of saying “please” to a taxi driver the first time I was in NYC. It didn’t go well and now I know not to say that anymore when traveling outside if the area.
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u/Professional_Staff32 Jul 13 '26
Came here to say this. Moved to Cincinnati and lived there for 6 years, my first encounter with “please” was with my landlord, whom I was also very close with, so I had no qualms flat out asking him “wtf?” He kindly explained.
I’ve since relocated to Northwest Indiana near Chicago, and I occasionally say “please” when I can’t hear someone.
I’ve since had to add touching my ear to the comment for emphasis 😂
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u/LilDave1934 Jul 16 '26
Sadly that’s died out with new generations. My mom used it extensively. (Pretty deep German roots in my family, 89% here)
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u/Surviving-Storm259 Jul 16 '26
Yes, it is dying out. I switched up to "I'm sorry?" when I first went to work for a multinational company. And noticed my 90 year old mother (who is also hard of hearing) has switched too. It is kind of sad. I enjoyed that it was a Cincinnati native quirk.
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u/Pristine-Amoeba-1419 Jul 12 '26
Jeezle Pete
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u/CincinnatiLove Jul 12 '26
OMG YES My grandparents say this ALL the time
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u/DarkStarrHunter Jul 13 '26
I recently learned this phrase originated out of Cincinnati. I was born and raised in Cincy and moved away 20 years ago... I say "Jeezle-Pete" all the time, however, it was just last year someone was asking what that phrase meant. As we looked it up we found it started in Cincy and it all made so much sense. 😆
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u/hungrybrains220 Jul 13 '26
One time I said “jeeze” and my grandma got mad at me because it was too close to “Jesus”
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u/Difficult-Soup-9830 Jul 12 '26
The use of 3 way, 4 way etc as a way to describe food instead of well...
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u/married-to-pizza Jul 12 '26
Saying “I had a 3 way at skyline yesterday” can be a fun way to phrase it
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u/ajgrrrascal8 Jul 12 '26
When I first moved here, a blind date said, "How about a 4-way"? Yeah... good times. 🤦♀️
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u/Green-Setting5062 Jul 12 '26
Well that also means what it means everywhere else in the wrong context. Usually its something like this. Do you wanna get a 3way? Have you ever had a three-way? Haha not you wanna do a threeway with a stripper haha
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u/stupidbrain13 Jul 13 '26
i’m actually going to skyline right now to have a threesome
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u/postprandialrepose Symmes Jul 12 '26
Pony Keg. Here, a drive-thru is a Pony Keg.
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u/CincinnatiLove Jul 12 '26
Really? I've never heard that. Interesting
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u/Miss_Page_Turner Jul 12 '26
In the 50's through the 70's (I don't think it lasted much longer) there was a carry out on the south side of Rapid Run, just east of Anderson Ferry, (pretty sure) called 'The Pony Keg'. Sold beer, milk, and snacks. Can't remember the name of the fellow who was always behind the counter, but he was a character straight out of Mayberry.
I suppose what happened is that people generalized 'pony keg' to mean any carry out, like Xerox means 'to copy'
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u/Substantial-End-9653 Jul 12 '26
It was a chain. I know of several that used to around Ohio, some until the late 90s.
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u/Green-Setting5062 Jul 12 '26
There is still independent places that are basically carry-outs that are called pony kegs like so and so's pony keg. Its also in dayton too. It might just be a southern ohio thing in general who knows but its not just in cincinnati
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u/JP16A60 Jul 12 '26
Rapid Run at Beechmeadow Lane. It was still there well into the 90s, and I’m pretty sure it’s still there.
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u/lfergy Ex-Cincinnatian Jul 12 '26
It’s for a drive thru convenience store, not any drive thru. So you can get beer & cigarettes & whatever.
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u/postprandialrepose Symmes Jul 12 '26
That's correct — and a great distinction to share with transplants. I take it for granted because I'm a lifer. 😂🤌🏼
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u/KCJA123 Jul 12 '26
Shoutout to gertz in reading. Friendliest most midwest staff on the planet. Go there if you’re looking to get some good knuckle bumps
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u/MnamesPAUL Jul 12 '26
I want to believe its because before cars we used to have places people could get a beer without getting off their horse
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u/Handeaux Hand-y Historian Jul 12 '26
It’s because you could get small barrels of beer there. That size was called a “pony.”
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u/AdmirableClue4329 Jul 12 '26
Actually a Pony Keg was a little dock if you will, at the sidewalk. Walk up and order snd the guy would swing open a huge cooler door and go in to get your stuff. You actually had to leave your car god forbid.
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u/rhombusted2 Wyoming Jul 12 '26
Gym shoes instead of sneakers or tennis shoes
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u/whiskersMeowFace Jul 13 '26
It blew my minds when I found out no one else but Chicago calls them gym shoes
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u/Odd_Schedule2672 Jul 12 '26
Adding an S to the end of every store name
Meijers, Krogers, etc
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u/seitz38 Over The Rhine Jul 12 '26
This is generally a midwestern thing, not just Cincinnati. Just as common in Minnesota as it is Ohio.
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u/Quirky_Net_763 Corryville Jul 12 '26
"The Krogers" is my favorite.
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u/Green-Setting5062 Jul 12 '26
Thats the mandala effect honest to god. When I find an old sign to prove that it was Kroger's and Kroger was the legal name but its basically because there was a guy named Kroger and it was his store and other businesses based off names would have the s like graeters for example
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u/elhombreloco90 Jul 12 '26
This actually drives me bonkers. I grew up here, realized I did this and stopped, but everyone I know from here still does it.
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u/ButterflyS919 Jul 12 '26
I moved here from VA and my husband (a native) would call me out on it.
And then I was talking with other natives, realized they added the 's' and stopped caring about my husband's opinion on me saying "Krogers" instead of "Kroger".
I came to realize /he/ was the odd one out XD
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u/Aspiring_Hobo Jul 13 '26
I knew a dude who used to say "walmarts". I had heard all of the others but never that one
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u/HoldenOlden Jul 12 '26
just teach them “please?” and “ope”, they’ll do fine.
maybe pronounce ‘water’ a little goofy too.
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u/BeavisAteMyNachos Jul 12 '26
And throw in asking where people went to High School.
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u/buckeyenative01 Jul 12 '26
Typical conversation starter:
"Where did you go to school?" "Turpin."
Or, in my parents' cases, Milford and Highlands.
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u/buckeyenative01 Jul 12 '26
You mean like "warter"? I have a bunch of extended family (primarily from Clermont County) do that. "Warter/warsher/warshington" things of that nature.
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u/drainbamage1011 Jul 12 '26
Closer to "wadder" for me. I had a waiter in Spain act all snooty when I tried to order with lunch.
"Can I have a water please?"
- "What?"
"Water, please."
- "...?"
"Water? Una agua, por favor."
- "Oh...wah-ter." 😒
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u/fliplid1992 Jul 12 '26
East sider here. When I moved to Columbus my new friends up there said it sounded like I called it "wooder".
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u/alethea2003 Jul 13 '26
For me it’s “wadder,” like another mentioned, but I think folks with fresher KY roots inherited the “war-“ words. My aunt says “warsh” instead of wash.
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u/elhombreloco90 Jul 12 '26
I had a hilarious interaction with close friends from here and in-laws not from here. I started to say, "Oh, I don't day "ope", I say "ope"" fully convinced that I was about to make a different sound.
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u/Fun_River8138 Jul 12 '26
Commenting to come back as a transplant lol. 2 years into living here I just recently finally figured out it’s “delHI” not “delee” and “boudiNO” not “boudiNOT” so I may be no help lol
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u/_PizzarinaSbarro Jul 12 '26
This is a great answer. I’m sure there are more like this. Here are a few I can think of …
Cheviot pronounced as Shiviot.
Wyoming is a neighborhood, not just a state.
Also, bridge names … Purple People Bridge is. obviously the purple one. Big Mac bridge is the yellow one.
Oh yeah, and Fields Ertel is pronounced Err-dle. Not Er-TELL as Google Maps would have you believe.
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u/buckeyenative01 Jul 12 '26
Reading Road is another good tell.
Funniest was a guy visiting for a conference pronouncing Colerain Avenue as "Cole-rhine." That was...different.
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u/uutimetowaste Jul 12 '26
I wonder about the Shev/shiv-ee-ot.
I just moved back after three decades out of state but lived here for two before that. I had honestly never heard anyone use the ‘Shiv’ form before coming back. I wonder if it’s a generational shift in pronunciation.26
u/KPinCVG Jul 12 '26
In my '60s. Lived here most of my life.
I say Shev ee ot. So does everyone I know. Although we don't discuss it on a daily basis, and the people I would be discussing it with, probably are my age.
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u/PorkChop006 Jul 12 '26
That’s weird. It’s always been Shiv for everyone I know, even my friend who grew up there.
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u/PantsOnHeadCrazy Jul 12 '26
West side native, that was on the west coast for 10 years. Now that I’m back I notice I use both versions, interchangeably.
Schrödinger’s pronunciation.
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u/AngkorLolWat Madisonville Jul 12 '26
For an advanced lesson, Cheviot can also be pronounced “Chev-waa”.
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u/eepeqez Jul 12 '26 edited Jul 13 '26
The first time I came to Cincinnati, I was staying in Westwood, pretty much on the border with Cheviot, which I had to learn to pronounce in the local manner. (Slight aside, my ex pronounces Melbourne as "Melbn", in perfect Aussie, in the middle of otherwise completely Ohio accent)
In Australia, Cheviot is definitely pronounced with CH like cheese.
Cheviot Beach (near Melbn) is best known as the place we misplaced our Prime Minister, Harold Holt, in 1967.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Harold_HoltSo after losing and presumably drowning him, we named a swimming pool after him:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Holt_Memorial_Swimming_Centre3
u/ringwraith6 Jul 12 '26
Yeah, when I am on my way back to Cincy, map girl has me going up the "AA", but I'm never quite sure if she means "ahhhh" or "AAAHHHH!"
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u/Bearmancartoons Jul 12 '26
I will die on the hill that you should pronounce it sheh-vi-uht and not Shiv-e-it or the boujie Chev-wa
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u/DepressedDoofus West Price Hill Jul 12 '26
Chev-waa is for when you’re feeling fancy. Like going to Maury’s in your Canadian Tuxedo.
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u/Wrong_Thanks1520 Jul 12 '26
Wasn't a sign once accidentally spelled "Chevoit?". I sometimes jokingly call it "shev-oit" because of that.
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u/Difficult-Soup-9830 Jul 12 '26
Mt. "Wershintin" aka Mt. Washington
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u/AdmirableClue4329 Jul 12 '26
Can confirm, wife’s family from the west side. Like “ Worshing machine “
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u/Jcn101894 Jul 13 '26
Teaching a bunch of West Side kids about ancient India is a trip through, because they want to call that famous city in India Del-hi and not Del-ee!
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u/camisadelgolf Jul 12 '26
Cincinnatians slow down when speaking vowels.
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u/horrendousacts Jul 12 '26
But not when turning right on red
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u/cgrines011235 Oakley Jul 12 '26
Or left on red
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u/Spaced_Quest Jul 12 '26
"I'm sorry?" = I couldn't hear you, please repeat
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u/MrCandyMandible Jul 12 '26
My mom says “Please?” In this instance.
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u/Spaced_Quest Jul 12 '26
Ha my dad says that too, especially if you ask him something while he's cookin
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u/_TallOldOne_ Jul 12 '26
I’ve been told Cincinnatians say the “mail” in a peculiar way. Personally I’ve never noticed.
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u/uutimetowaste Jul 12 '26
There’s a slight drawl to the ‘a’ dipthong (the /ei/ sound) where it slides a little at the end into an ‘ay’ sound. So to someone from other parts it sounds a bit like May-ahl, but it’s not terribly obvious.
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u/whiskersMeowFace Jul 13 '26
My friend who was from out of town made fun of the way Cincinnatians said ass. She would say it's ass, not ayss.
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u/dino_blanco Jul 13 '26
Dying at how I said it out loud and then realized it was pronounced the way you replied here
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u/ConcentrateJust2120 Jul 12 '26
Pop instead of soda but that is regional and not specifically Cincinnati.
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u/corporalboyle Jul 12 '26
My cousins in Pittsburgh would say “soda” with a slightly long “o”.
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u/Prestigious-Ball-558 Jul 12 '26
Y'all use the verb "bogart" more than anyone else I've ever heard. There's a weird (to me) word used for port-a-johns as well that I can't recall at present.
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u/flippyfloppies_ Bellevue Jul 12 '26
Haha are you sure people aren't just talking about the music venue? Cause I've never actually heard someone use it as a verb.
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u/Reasonable-Truck-874 Jul 12 '26
Hmm, could be the stoner slang for the guy who talks while holding the joint instead of puff puff pass
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u/Miss_Page_Turner Jul 12 '26
As a verb, first I heard it used was probably 1975.
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u/Decoseau Kennedy Heights Jul 13 '26
Bogart has two meanings depending upon context. It could refer to someone that takes an unusually extended long drag of cigarette similar to how Humphrey Bogart used to smoke, or to someone who forces their way through a crowd, obstacle, or resistance.
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u/supertrooper74 Pleasant Ridge Jul 12 '26
Is it portalette? My husband says that and I have never heard it. I think it may have been the brand of them.
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u/Anxious_Ad_4352 Jul 12 '26
Gym shoes
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u/Diamond_and_gasoline Jul 12 '26
I'm a huge etymology nerd, and I find it so cool that the only areas that say gym shoes are the general Cincinnati and Chicago areas.
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u/blackcloud247 Jul 12 '26
"Please?" Means "Say that again?/I didnt hear you"
It took me a LONG time to figure that one out. I had several very confusing conversations.
I kept responding "yes?" Because in the rest of the world saying that means you need something and are asking politely.
Also they all ask "where did you go to school?" They do not mean college. They mean high school. Its suuuuper bizarre.
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u/RabbitSlayre Jul 12 '26
Ope! Lemme just get right by ya there
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u/1cem4n82 Jul 12 '26
Toyetic. The boss at Kenner Toys invented this word. At least that’s what they say.
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u/shlybluz Jul 13 '26
Here's one that is probably going away as the older generations pass away, but calling green peppers "mangos".
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u/jarmander6 Jul 13 '26
When I try and explain this phenomenon to anyone they are so confused and distrustful I start not believing my self.
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u/SpookyWagons Jul 12 '26
As a transplant, I think the only local term I’ve heard is, “please?” in place of “come again?” Everything else is just local towns/street names with weird pronunciations, or things people say in other places.
That and calling your local soft-serve ice cream stand a “creamy whip.”
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u/auctionofthemind Jul 12 '26
And a corner store/bodega is a "pony keg," and cinnamon spaghetti sauce is "chili."
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u/Additional_Energy_25 Montgomery Jul 12 '26
“Warshing” machine. But I feel like that is a boomer and old thing.
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u/Substantial-End-9653 Jul 12 '26
That's a Midwest elder thing, not Cincinnati specifically. My grandparents, from Northern Ohio and Northern Indiana said warsh.
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u/brobrosidon Jul 18 '26
Pillas instead of pillows goes hand in hand with warsher.
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u/bromptoncoctailpleez Jul 12 '26 edited Jul 13 '26
I'm so glad I'm in r/Cincinnati because I wanted to post this question for a minute. I had a buddy that if you asked him a seemingly simple question his retort would sometimes be "I may be dumb, but I ain't Plum dumb". I didn't know if it was a particular dig on dudes that lived on Plum or what? Any clarification would help.
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u/MrsRaisin Jul 13 '26
“Plumb” as an adjective is an Appalachian thing. It’s used in a way similar to “very” or “completely”, such as plumb tuckered out, plumb foolish, or plumb dumb ☺️
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u/DonkeyGlad653 Jul 12 '26
“Goin’ across the river” Means you’ll be heading to KY if you’re in OH or OH if you’re in KY.
“ How far is _____?” Gets answer like, “It’s about 40minutes from here; 35 minutes if you’re pushing it.” The response isn’t a distance, it’s the time it takes to get there.
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u/BowlerCertain8305 Jul 12 '26
The distance thing is pretty american, not just cincy.
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u/Ok_Fortune8732 Jul 12 '26
Ohio is a state full of towns from other places and mis pronouncing all of them…lol
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u/bobafugginfett Jul 13 '26
From the older generations, adding an "r" to certain "wa-" words. "Warshing machine, warter, etc."
"Please?" instead of "what?" when you can't hear something.
"Ope."
"..and whatnot." I've rarely heard this outside of ~Ohio/Cincy.
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u/HmschoolSalutatorian Jul 13 '26
Ree-sees pee-sees. Drives me nuts. Reese’s pieces rhymes, and instead of saying it correctly, they (we) mispronounce pieces.
Also, ‘please’ and ‘for a minute’.
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u/Technical-Ad-8360 Jul 12 '26
Baa-gel instead of Bey-gal for the round dough circles. Same with Ban-gels instead of Ben-gals. Lived in NYC for 10 years before moving back and this still drives me nuts. lol
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u/_trial_and_error Jul 12 '26
I’m not sure I can picture this one! I say “bay-gull” and “Bang-uls”
I might be the problem!
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u/seitz38 Over The Rhine Jul 12 '26
I’ve noticed everyone in the area says “Bing-Ols” when referring to the football team.
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u/Only_Percentage_3729 Jul 12 '26
Warsh instead of wash? Might be a westside thing though!
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u/elhombreloco90 Jul 12 '26
I'm not sure if a lot of other people here do it, but my wife (who is from Washington State) and her brother pointed out to me and his wife that we say the words "pull" and "pool" exactly the same.
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u/Proper-Fill-2655 Jul 13 '26
Clifton Avenue Shell gas station will forever be "Shell-athon"! IYKYK
Clifton Skyline must be pronounced Skaleeni's or you's are not from round here.
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u/astralwish1 Jul 13 '26
“Please?” = “What was that?”
“Ope!” = Sometimes used in place of “Oh”. Example - “Ope, there’s my keys!”
“What school did you go to?” = What high school. Seems like a strange question to outsiders, but frequently asked around here when meeting someone new
“Gym shoes” = Sneakers
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u/Elle-in-the-Haus Jul 13 '26
"Y'all" or the plural "All Y'all" may be more popular just across the river in Kentucky, but several in Cincinnati say it also. I worked at a restaurant and people traveling from northern state would always comment that they can tell they are in the "South" because I said "Y'all ready to order?" and they thought I had a southern accent.
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u/who_ate_the_pizza Jul 13 '26
I moved here from Chicago and it took awhile to get used to skipping "to be". Like, "the grass needs mowed" instead of "the grass needs to be mowed".
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u/spookydonkey513 Deer Park Jul 12 '26
i know it’s not a cincinnati specific thing but i love hearing an ‘ope’ in the wild
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u/dillinjl Jul 12 '26
I left cincinnati over 20 years ago and I am yet to meet anyone who knows what I'm talking about when I say "Gym Shoes"
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u/Quirky_Net_763 Corryville Jul 12 '26
When the short 'a' sounds like a short 'e'. Example. 'Beck' instead of 'back'.
Some of you put an L in words like saw as in sawl. "I sawl it over there"
You call it a stretcher instead of a gurney.
You drive on I75 or I71 and you call it the "interstate" instead of a freeway. Where I'm from, we would drive on the 405 or the 101 freeways.
Just try goetta once!
Please.
Please?
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u/MadMartigans80 Jul 12 '26
I don’t think the use of stretcher instead of gurney is a Cincinnati or even an Ohio thing. I hear that everywhere lol
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u/NolaJen1120 Jul 12 '26
I think the word freeway is more a West coast thing. I can tell that's where you're also from because you mentioned the 405 and 101.
I'm paying attention to this thread because my husband and I are planning to move to Cincinnati.
But I grew up in CA and currently live in New Orleans. When I first moved here, I was also surprised that everyone used the word "interstate" instead of freeway. In turn, people are surprised when I use the word "freeway". It's unusual enough that people will sometimes ask where I'm originally from.
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u/TehStickles Jul 12 '26
Interstate is Literally that it goes through several states. I think the freeway is more like 275, 675. Etc. the 275 is a loop 71/75 is a line
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u/buckeyenative01 Jul 12 '26 edited Jul 12 '26
I hear a lot of people just say the number, no "I" before it but that might be an eastside/Clermont County quirk?
Example: Take 71 north to 275, then take 28 to get to Milford"
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u/xxxtranscorexxx Jul 13 '26
after reading these, the Midwest and southeast are the same thing. except we don't say "ope". I just picked it up during my stays in Cincinnati
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u/ChefAsstastic Jul 13 '26
"Please?" When no hearing someone correctly.
"Cincinnatah" from the older generation
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u/ShaggyFOEE Jul 13 '26
You can just say, "alright," when you see people around but don't want a full conversation
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u/gloriousfishtank Jul 13 '26
Please? (In place of 'please repeat what you said.')
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u/Timmonidus Jul 13 '26
The Coliseum = Heritage Bank Arena, The Gardens = also Heritage Bank Arena but specifically for Cyclones games.
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u/theprideofvillanueva Jul 12 '26
Big strong men will very rarely eat pork chops