ALLIGATOR PEAR - Avocado.

ANYWAYS - And, then; and, so.

AWRITE - While "Where Y'at" is usually thought of as the common greeting in New Orleans, "awrite" is much more universal. A man may say "Where Y'at" to a friend he psses by on the street, but he'll say "awrite" to a stranger. This is the South, after all; one doesn't merely brush past someone else when walking down Carondelet St. without saying hello. We don't want to be impolite, yet we don't usually waste time on strangers, so "awrite" is a fair compromise. Usage: One man walking down the street comes upon another man going the other way. The first man says "a write; the second responds "awrite."

AWRITE, HAWT - A variation on the standard greeting,
but using an endearment usually reserved for a friend,
usually female.

AX - Ask. Usage: "Dey axed for you down by da VFW Hall
last night ad Madeline's cousin's daughta's weddin'."

BANQUETTE - The sidewalk. Pronounced "BANK it".

BERL - To cook by surrounding something in hot, bubbling liquid;
the preferred method for cooking shellfish. For example, many a
New Orleans student learned in World History that a great defense
of a castle under attack in the middle ages was to dump
"berlin' erl" on the attackers.

BOO - A term of endearment......Believed to be Cajun in origin.

BRA - A universal name for a male, usually one with whom you are
not acquainted. Usually used in this manner: "Awrite, bra" The
greeting "Say, bra" is usually heard from white guys who think they're
talking like a black guy.

BY MY HOUSE, BY YOUR HOUSE, etc. - Analogous to the
French terms "chez moi"; "chez toi"; etc. Usage: "He slept by my
house last night." "At" is never used in this sense.

CAP - A universal name for a male, usually one with whom you are
not acquainted. Women generally do not use this term. See also
PODNA and BRA.

CATLICK - As in Roman Catholic, the predominant religion in
New Orleans.

CEMENT - A standard English word, but with a special
pronunciation. Yats say "SEE ment"

CHARMER - The quintessential female Yat. Pronounced
"CHAW muh"

DA - The.

DAT - That.

DAWLIN' - A universal form of address. Women use it universally
to both sexes, men use it toward women. See also HAWT.

DEM - Them.

DESE, DOSE - These, those.

DIS - This.

DRESSED - When ordering a po boy, "dressed" indicates lettuce,
tomatoes, pickles and MYNEZ on it. (See NUTTINONIT)

EARL -
1. A vegetable product used for cooking, sautéing, making roux, etc.
2. A petroleum product used to lubricate the engine of your car.
3. Your Uncle Earl. (Most New Orleanians have an Uncle Earl.)

ELLESHYEW - Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge.
Occasionally preceded by the term, "Go ta hell..."

ERSTERS - Oysters.

ESPLANADE - Walkway

FAUBOURG - A suburb or outlying neighborhood, as in Faubourg
Marigny. A neighborhood is considered outlying in relation to the
original neighborhood, the French Quarter. Metairie would never be
a Faubourg, because it wasn't part of the city in the first place.

FLYIN' HORSES - Accented on the first syllable. A merry go round,
sometimes specifically describing the merry go round in City Park,
but also used in general.

FOR - a preposition used by New Orleanians instead of "at" or "by"
when referring to time. E.g., "Da parade's for 7:00, but we betta get
dere for 6 if we wanna find pawkin'." This one tends to be
particularly confusing to non-natives.

F'SURE! - 1. A statement of agreement. 2. An excellent (but out of
print) book by Yat artist Bunny Matthews, featuring cartoons with
actual dialogue heard on the streets of our metropolis.

F'TRUE - When phrased as a question, it means "Is that so?" or "Ya
kiddin'!!" When phrased as a statement, it's an affirmation, a
shortened version of "Nuh uh, I ain't lyin' ta ya ..."

GAWD - A supernatural deity, worshipped by most New Orleanians.

GRIPPE - The flu.

GRIS GRIS - Pronounced GREE GREE;. Noun, A (voodoo) spell.
Can be applied for nefarious purposes ("to put a gris gris on
someone"), or as a force to ward off evil, like wearing a gris gris bag (the
folks at the Voodoo Shop on Dumaine will make one to order for about
$20).

HAWT - A term of endearment.

HOUSE COAT 'N CURLAS - The preferred dress for charmers
while shopping at Schwegmann's.

I'LL TAKE ME A... - May I have a...

KAY BEE - The drugstore, as in (K&B, Katz and Besthoff). The
ampersand always is silent.

LAGNIAPPE - Pronounced LAN yap. A little something extra. Also,
the name of the entertainment pull out section of the Friday
edition of The New Orleans Times Picayune.

LOCKA - Where you hang your clothes, analogous to the English
word "closet". Example: "Mom MAH! Where my shoes at?" "Looka
in ya locka!" See LOOKA.

LOOKA - The imperative case of the verb "to look". Usually
accompanied by a pointing gesture. Often used as a single
exclamation: Looka!"

LOOKIT DA T.V. - To watch T.V.

MAKE GROCERIES, MAKIN' GROCERIES - To do grocery
shopping.

MARRAINE - Your godmother.

MIRLITON - A vegetable pear or chayote squash, which grows wild in
Louisiana and in backyards throughout New Orleans. Pronounced MEL
lee tawn, and wonderful when stuffed with shrimp and ham dressing.

MISTA - As in "Throw me somethin' mista". Never used in any other
context; "bra" or "cap" is used regularly.

MYNEZ - Mayonnaise.

NEUTRAL GROUND - The grassy or cement strip in the middle of
the road. The terms "median" and/or "island" are NEVER used in New
Orleans. Use of one of those foreign terms instead of "neutral ground'
is a dead giveaway that you ain't from around here, or anywhere close.
If you're lucky, you live on a street with a neutral ground big enough
to play football on.

NEW ORLEENS - The way silly tourists pronounce "New Orleans".
Natives do not do this. Exception song lyrics, as in "Do You Know
What It Means to Miss New Orleans", for example, and when omitting
the "New", as in "Orleans Parish", which is always pronounced or
LEENS. Confusing, isn't it? More on this below.

NUTTINONIT - A po-boy that is not dressed, which only contains
the main ingredient.

OR WHAT - Pronounced "r WUT," and placed at the end of a
question: "You gonna finish eatin' dat , 'r what?"

OVA DA RIVER - Across the river.

OVA BY - A general replacement for the prepositions "at" and "to",
particularly when referring to someone's home, or a destination in
general. "Where ya goin'?" "Ova by ma mamma's."

PARISH - A Louisiana state administrative district, analogous to the
American "county". When used by Yats in the phrase "da parish", it
generally means St. Bernard Parish specifically, which is suburban to
New Orleans.

PARRAINE - Your godfather.

PASS BY - To stop at a place, for a visit or to accomplish something.
"Ya gonna be home later? I'll pass by ya house." It doesn't mean just
to drive by in our car and keep going ...

PO BOY - The quintessential New Orleans lunch, a sandwich on good,
crispy New Orleans French bread. This definition doesn't begin to
describe what a po boy is all about, so if you really don't know you
need to get one soon.

PODNA - A universal form of address for a male. Frequently used in
the emphatic statement, "I tell you what, podna ..."

'SCUSE ME PAWDON ME - Polite _expression when trying to get
by somebody or moving through a crowd, spoken as one word.

SHOOT DA CHUTE - A playground slide.

STOOP - Usually expressed as "da stoop". The front steps to your
house, particularly if it's a shotgun duplex. What ya go out and
sit on to chat wit'ya neighbas (an' ta keep an eye on 'em).

SUCK DA HEAD, SQUEEZE DA TALE -
1. The technique for eating crawfish. If you've never done this, have
someone demonstrate.
2. A song by the Radiators.

SUG - A term of endearment used primarily by Yat females.
Pronounced SHOOG; with a soft "oo"; as in "book".

TURLET - A device for the sanitary disposal of human waste
and for nasty food ya snuck away from da table as a child (like
ma mamma's roast beef...yuck).

UPTOWN SIDE, DOWNTOWN SIDE, LAKESIDE, RIVERSIDE –
The four cardinal points of the New Orleanian compass.
"North, south, east, west" do not work in New Orleans.

VALISE - Suitcase.

VEDGE A TIBBLE - Neither animal nor mineral. What ya mamma
used to make ya eat before ya could leave the table when ya were a
kid. The word has four syllables.

WHERE YA STAY (AT)? - Where do you live?

WHERE Y'AT? - The greeting. The proper response is, "Awrite."

WRENCH - To clean something under running water. "Aw baby, ya
hands 'r filthy! Go wrench 'em off in da zink." See ZINK.

YA - You, your.

YA MAMMA - Your mother. Used in a variety of ways, usually
endearing. Also usable as an insult, specifically as a simple retort
when one is insulted first; simply say, "Ya mamma." Be prepared
to defend yourself physically at this point.

YAMAMMA'N'DEM - A collective term for your immediate family,
as in "Hey dawlin', how's yamamma'n'dem?" Spoken as one word.

YEAH YOU RITE - A sign of definite agreement. The accent is on the
first word, and it's spoken as one word.

ZATARAIN'S - A local manufacturer of spices, seasonings, pickled
products and condiments. In context, it's used by some as a
generic term for either crab boil or Creole mustard.

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