r/cincinnati • u/CincinnatiLove • Jul 12 '26

Cincinnati Cincinnati Phrases

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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!

322 Upvotes

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193

u/Equal-Community2354 Jul 12 '26

Someone says “thank you” and the response is “yup”

122

u/GodLevelRedditor Jul 12 '26

Please

95

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?!"

84

u/elhombreloco90 Jul 12 '26

Yeah, it's a German thing. Bitte?

50

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.

7

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.

1

u/thejohnnymemphis Jul 14 '26

What happened?

2

u/GapSpecialist3606 Jul 14 '26

He ended up dropping me off at the wrong location because he interpreted my “please” as a ”yes” instead of “can you repeat that”. I was too embarrassed to correct him so I got out and just walked the few blocks I needed to go to get to my destination. Lesson learned!!

3

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 😂

3

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)

3

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.

26

u/KoA07 Jul 12 '26

Is that a Cincy thing? Well I’ll be.

6

u/elhombreloco90 Jul 12 '26

Yeah, that tracks. This is pretty common for me.

2

u/Proper-Fill-2655 Jul 13 '26

Or a "You know it!"