Philly Dictionary: 30 Words You Need to Know in Philly

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Philly is one of the most trendsetting cities in America. From food, to fashion, even the lingo that comes out of Philly is imitated throughout the country.

If you have ever had to ask yourself ‘What does drawlin mean?’ or have been flat out confused as some of the things philly kids say, trust me, you are not alone.

If you are new to Philly, there will be times where you hear someone say a word or phrase and you have no idea what it means. Even people from philly still struggle to keep up with the ever-expanding vernacular of us Philly folks.

Either way, we’ve got you covered! Our team at RNB Philly put all the lingo in one place. We came up with a list a words that you should be familiar with whenever you are in Philadelphia!

If you’re looking for a page that can help you phonetically sound out some of these words, Philly Talk has a great article to help you pronounce everyday words used in Philly! Once you get your Philly vocab down pact, check out A guide to Philly to show you the most popular places in Philly for you to hear how we sound first hand, or even test out your own Philly slang. Who knows, you might sound Thurl

Check out the Philly Dictionary below!

Jawn – Philly’s noun; can be a person, place, or thing
- “can you pass me that jawn over there?”
- “are we going to the jawn tonight?”
- “what’s the jawn right next to Walmart called?”
Wooder – our way of saying ‘water’
- “let me get a bottle of wonder”
Wooder Ice – water ice; a frozen treat that’s a signature food of Philadelphia
Bul – a man
- “the Bol around the corner fix phones for cheap”
Youngbul – a young man
- “youngbul nice in ball he really can go D1”
- “the youngbol with the blue shirt on got tickets for sale”
Drawlin – acting out of character; doing something others don’t approve of; could be said playfully depending on circumstance.
- “security not trying to let me slide because I forgot my ID, he drawlin”
- “I know he bald but you ain’t have to call him Mr. Clean you drawlin bro lol”
Drawn – exuding behavior that is offensive and distasteful; almost never said in a playful manner
- “why would you put your hands on a woman? You drawn bro.”
Outta Pocket: similar to ‘Drawn’; Another way of saying ‘out of line’
- “she left you stranded with no ride home and y’all came together? Wow, that’s outta pocket”
Da Bid / Biddin’ – the laughing stock of any occurrence
- “you the bid”
- “he the bid for wearing Boots on the beach”
Da Biddy – Philly
- “I’m on my way back to da biddy right now”
Thurl – authenticity; loyalty; an expression for believing someone’s morals are in tact; a good guy.
- “I like him, that’s a thurl dude right there”
- “she go to work, take care of her kids, don’t be in no drama, she real thurl”
Ard – Alright/Ok; confirmation call.
- “You going to the crib? Ard me too”
Joe – being hype; overly excited for a common occurrence.
- “you being real joe right now he don’t even like you like that”
D***head – Philly’s flagship insult; someone who is clearly in the wrong and needs a stern reminder that their actions are offensive.
- “why are you taking up two lanes? Watch where you driving d*******”
Ocky / Ockbar – knock-off; fake name-brand material
- “them shoes ocky bro the Nike sign is backwards”
A Hike – proclaiming the destination is too far for accommodation
- “I don’t got the car right now and that’s a hike on foot”
Jack – a telephone
- “call my jack bro”
Yamean – you know what I mean?
- “I don’t count the first rep so instead of 10 reps I’m really doing 11. You gotta trick your mind yamean?”
Chalked/Runtz – the cancellation of a said person, place or thing
- “this jawn ‘bout to be chalked bro they taking too long”
- “she cheated on me bro that s*** runtz”
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Good jawn – a compliment of one’s achievements/ possessions.
- “that’s a good jawn bro”
Bad jawn – a common response to bad news; ‘that’s crazy’
- “that’s a bad jawn”
- “you got into a accident and your license suspended? bad jawn bro”
Trim – a compliment one’s fashion sense
- “you trim bro”
Sturdy – a compliment or expression to signify one’s possessions are indeed noteworthy
- “that fit sturdy bro”
- “amiri jeans, with the gucci hoodie, and you got the Hellcat? You sturdy bro”
Popped – tight on funds; not able to purchase/participate in said thing/activity.
- “I ain’t gonna lie I’m popped bro I don’t get paid til Friday you think I could borrow $50 til then?”
Cups – the act of inconveniencing someone in a time of financial hardship; down to your last, asking for a favor or a “handout”
- “if you knew you ain’t have no money why would you come? You on cups right now bro”
Carry it – an expression of showmanship for one’s style, mindset, or aura.
- “you already know how I carry it”
- “I see you doing your thing bro I like how you carry it”
Feet on land – An expression to mark one’s arrival or current destination
- “y’all see where I’m at… feet on land”
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No Diddy – a phrase coined by Philly rapper Quilly, to bring awareness that their is no homosexual intention with said phrase; replacement for no ‘pause’ or ‘no homo’
- “You can’t do it like that, you have to hit it from the back, no Diddy”
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Belt to A** – delivering punishment to the opposition
- “the score is 42-0 we putting Belt to A** right now’
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Turkey Burger – fragile, avoidant of physical confrontation
- “he don’t wan’t no problems, Bol a turkey burger”
Top Bunk – a phrase coined by Philly content creator Dame Dollur referring to the actions of a pedophile that deem capital punishment
- “he was touching kids bro they got to give him the Top Bunk”
Glazing – being over-the-top in admiration of someone or something ; a groupie
- “Damn you cosign everything he do, you glazing bro you don’t even know him”
Machine – cars
- “I’m bout to pick the jawn (girl) up in the machine and we goin to the movies real quick”
Main Line – shorthand for where the high society folks live in the suburbs of the city. It includes towns in Montgomery County and Chester County such as: Ardmore, Bryn Mawr, Haverford, Merion, Narberth, and Wynnewood parallel to Lancaster Avenue.
- “She got money her folks live on the main line”
Johnny – stolen car
- “I got a Johnny what we doing tonight”
The El – the Market-Frankford elevated line
- “I’m bout to take the el to 69th street”
The Linc – Short for Lincoln Financial Field,The Linc is located in the Sports Complex near Citizens Bank Park, where the Phillies play, and the Wells Fargo Center, home of the Flyers and 76ers.
- “We watching the game at home or we going to the linc?”
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CHOP – short for the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia – a beloved institution in the city.
- “My doctors appointment is at CHOP at noon”
Chopped/Chips – unfavorable in appearance; ugly
- “you don’t get no girls you chopped bro”
- “you chips bro”
Press the button – make a phone call; carry out appointment action
- “I ain’t trippin ‘bout nothin’ bro all I gotta do is press a button and it’s handled.”
Crash out – reaching a level of frustration leading to irrational actions without regard of consequences
- “I can tell he bout to crash out bro he been actin weird lately”
- “It’s plenty fish in the sea bro, you bout to crash out over a chick?”