You Know You're From or In Pennsylvania If...

[Archae]

You've never referred to Philadelphia as anything but "Philly." And New Jersey has always been "Jersey."

You refer to Pennsylvania as "PA" (pronounced Peeay). How many other states do that?

You know what "Punxsutawney Phil" ( A Ground Hog ) is, and what it means if he sees his shadow.

The first day of buck and the first day of doe season are school holidays.

You can use the phrase "fire hall wedding reception" and not even bat an eye.

You can't go to a wedding without hearing the "Chicken Dance," at least 1 Polka and either an Italian song (sung in Italian,) or "Hava Nagila."

At least 5 people on your block have electric "candles" in all or most of their windows all year long.

You know what a "Hex sign" is.

You know what a "State Store" is, and your out of state friends find it incredulous that you can't purchase liquor at the mini-mart.

You own only three condiments "salt, pepper and Heinz ketchup".

Words like "hoagie", "crick", "chipped ham", "sticky buns", "shoo-fly pie", "pierogies" and "pocketbook" actually mean something to you.

You can eat cold pizza (even for breakfast) and know others who do the same. (Those from NY find this "barbaric".)

You not only have heard of Birch Beer, but you know it comes in several colors: Red, White, Brown, Gold.

you know several places to purchase or that serve Scrapple, Summer Sausage (Lebanon Bologna), and Hot Bacon Dressing.

You can eat a cold soft pretzel from a street vendor without fear and enjoy it.

You know the difference between a cheese steak & a pizza steak sandwich and a Primanti's, and know that you can't get a really good one outside PA.

You live for summer, when street and county fairs signal the beginning of funnel cake season.

Customers ask the waitress for "drippy eggs" for breakfast.

You know that Blue Ball, Intercourse, Climax, Bird-in-Hand, Beaver, Moon, Virginville, Paradise, Mars, and Slippery Rock are PA towns.

You know what a township, borough, and commonwealth is.

You can identify drivers from New York, New Jersey, Ohio,or other neighboring states by their unique and irritating driving habits.

A traffic jam is ten cars waiting to pass a horse-drawn carriage on the highway in Lancaster County.

You know several people who have hit deer more than once.

You carry jumper cables in your car and your female passengers know how to use them.

You still keep kitty litter, starting fluid, de-icer, or a snow brush in your trunk, even if you live in the south.

Driving is always better in winter because the potholes are filled with snow.

As a kid you built snow forts and leaf piles that were taller than you were.

Your graduating class consisted of mostly Polish, German, & Italian names.

"You guys" and "ynz" is a perfectly acceptable reference to a group of men & women.

You know how to respond to the question "Djeetyet?" (Didyoueatyet?)

You learned to pronounce Bryn Mawr, Wilkes-Barre, Schuylkill, Bala Cynwyd, Conshohocken, and Monongahela.

You know what a "Mummer" is, and are disappointed if you can't catch at least highlights of the parade.

[LynneSin]

1. Sounds like my entire life story

Born and bred in Pennsylvania but transplanted to Delaware.

BTW, it's normal for me to pass about 1-2 dozen Amish Horse & Buggy's on the way home to my parent's house.

Lebanon Bologna rules, but Scrapple sucks!!!

[bleedingheart]

3. I did not see Yinz referenced in this post! I am shocked...

signed...a lifelong Pennsylvanian and stiller fan...hahahahah

[Baclava]

27. At least they left the Primanti Brothers alone....

I'm a hardcore Steelers fan too...I got yur back....

[bearfartinthewoods]

39. now i'm hungry for some scrapple and mush w/ketchup

breakfest of champions

[name not needed]

2. i know 75% of that and im in nj

[tigereye]

6. that was funny and true

Thanks. Good scrapple - like my grandmother used to make - actually she was from Canada, Delaware and Western NY - isn't too bad. My favorite about PA is the Carville line, "PA is Pittsburgh and Philly with Alabama in between."

[Must_B_Free]

8. I believe that "Yunz"

is a contraction of "you ones".

as in "What are Yunz doin'?"

[Bunny]

21. We've contracted it even further into "yinz"

don't know why it's shorter to say, but it is.

[TeacherCreature]

4. Wilkes-Barre

You can always tell when some news person has just come here from another market. They say Wilks-Bar. It drives the locals crazy.

[FDRrocks]

24. Hahaha

I'm a Scrantonian that drives said Wilkes Barre people nuts :)

[radfringe]

54. You know what "henna" means

and it isn't a hair color

Henna - shortened slang from "Hain't it or not"

Suites is pronounced as "SUITS" - as in Hotel "suits", bedroom "suits"

You also know that the town of SCOTRUN is not Scrotum

[AlabamaYankee]

5. Dead on, Archae

You also drink "soda' or "pop" dependng on which side of the Commonwealth you live in, and Lager is always Yuengling.

Anybody else old enough to remember DuBois Budweiser beer?

[bowens43]

7. You Know You're From or In Pennsylvania If

Washington has an 'R' in it (Warshington, the same goes for thing you use to clean your face , it's a warsh cloth).

[Must_B_Free]

9. And if your ice cream "melded"

"awwwwt... It melded..."

[Must_B_Free]

11. and if other people around you are "ignernt"

"ignernt" - a special PA mixture of being both ignorant and inert...

[Bunny]

19. Ignernt has been my latest favorite word.

It's just so descriptive. And fun to say!

[kodi]

16. and the word "house" has an "L" in it.....as in "halse"

.

[spinbaby]

17. I'm from Little Warshington

Also in PA.

[no_arbusto]

30. Me too.

[spinbaby]

35. In Maryland now, I see

Did you grow up here? Trinity or Wash High?

[no_arbusto]

40. Neither

I went to C-H, but I had a Washington address. Parents now live in Trinity.

[bowens43]

32. I was born in Washington Pa

is that the same place?

[spinbaby]

36. Yep

Little Washington where I70 intersects I79.

[ParanoidPat]

10. You've ever gone through 'Blue Balls' and 'Intercourse'......

......to get to 'Paradise' and yet you haven't had sex in months! :evilgrin:

I can't believe that wasn't on the top of the list. :shrug:

[Must_B_Free]

12. And you've seen a catfight at the roller rink

or the disco in Hollidaysburg

"I'll slap your fuckin' face girl"...

[Must_B_Free]

13. And you pronounce "Clearfield"

as "Clir-fild"

[INTELBYTES]

14. I drive through PA occasionaly to visit some inlaws.

Over the past 12 years, I have never, ever seen I-80 coming out of Ohio without construction. Most the time the highway is closed down to one lane.

[kodi]

15. oh yeah! that last one hit home, & i have marched in a mummers parade!

south philly born and breed.

and going to the "vet" had nothing to do with sick pets

one thing i found funny is that pa folks refer to the ocean coast area as "the shore" and the actual land abutting the ocean as "the beach." i find down south its the reverse.

i was home for xmas last week and know i picked up the slang again from hanging around my dad and brother for less than a week.

[INTELBYTES]

18. I do envy one thing ya'll got up there that we don't have in Texas....

...and that is Sheetz. Man, I love those sandwiches and the way you order em. You can make a way cool sandwich in that place. Why that hasn't caught on in Texas, I'll never know. Can one of ya'll send me a sandwich? :9

[Bunny]

20. I love Sheetz!

I contacted them about two years ago to see if they sell their franchise. Alas, it is 100% privately owned. It is the greatest convenience store ever. Bar none.

[Kolesar]

22. Gimme your address. I'll mail you a Sheetz Sandwich

(snicker) I always thought that Sheetz was an "unattractive" name for a business. Good news is that Sheetz is in Ohio now.

[PhishWithLemon99]

41. They just opened a Sheetz in Hershey...

and it's a mighty fine place. The gas is pretty cheap, too. It makes the Turkey Hill seem real crappy.

[FDRrocks]

23. OMG Alot of thats so true

:( Damn my PA-ness

"Heyna or Nooh?"

[beawr]

25. I'm from Maryland

and I know nearly all this stuff too.

[camero]

31. Same with me.

[AlFrankenFan]

26. Holy friggin' shit! And I live in California!

It's rubbin' off on me! I live there at least four months of every year with my father and step-mother in Camp Hill, PA. The percentage of the questions I answered correctly is 62.5%!

I've actually drank Birch Beer! I've been in one of those horse drawn carriage traffic jams several times in Lancaster. My dad's car broke down and my step-mother used the jumper cables. Woah this is scary.

This thread had not only suceeded in scaring the shit out of me, but has made me laugh. Kick ass thread, Archae!

PS: From the info I've gathered, Camp Hill is a very conservative town - and a small one at that, I know almost everyone in the area I visit/live in, and not a single one of 'em is a Democrat.

[PhishWithLemon99]

42. I live near Camp Hill...

on the other side of the river...Hershey. Hershey and Camp Hill are basically identical as far as politics go...80% republican and very wealthy. But Camp Hill has shopping and worse traffic than we do. But we got the shaft with all the tourist crap and the idiot drivers from Joisey driving 10 mph and admiring the Hershey Kiss-shaped streetlights. grrrr.

[AlFrankenFan]

45. lol i know - there just streetlights

but camp hill is considered wealthy? I mean, I know that Hershey is. the neighborhood my dad lives in is the one across from a Boscovs and B&N plaza in Camp Hill. I always thought of it as kinda run down, his house is i think 60 years old.

[PhishWithLemon99]

49. There are some huge-ass houses...

towards the Camp Hill Bypass and the West Shore Country Club. Basically everything north of Market Street is pretty nice.

[AlFrankenFan]

50. Oh! My uncle lives across the way from that country club!

I couldn't remember its name!

[Padraig18]

28. Do they not sell mufflers or Bondo in PA?

I've never been in a state with as many ragged mufflers or scabrous cars, frankly..:P

[bleedingheart]

34. Your mistaking us for the Ohioans...who do not have state inspection

here in PA we have state inspection which requires that our cars run up to a certain standard and the mufflers are checked during that inspection....

However in Ohio and Michigan I see tons of cars that wouldn't pass inspection in Pa...

[absyntheNsugar]

29. Cold Pizza And Warm Flat Beer For Breakfast

LOVE THAT STUFF!!!!!

[NoPasaran]

37. That brings back memories

Of going to school in Pittsburgh.

"On Sundays they close the libraries and close the bars. What's a thinking man to do?"

Is Dirty O's in Oakland still open?

[bleedingheart]

38. The Dirty O is still open

[billbuckhead]

48. Malt liquor on tap down at the Dirty O! Yikes.

I miss drinking beer and smoking weed on summer nights up on those Mt Warshington observation platforms. Watching the lights of city and the boats going up and down the rivers. I've never seen a view quite like it anywhere else.

[no_arbusto]

51. Yes, and they now have suburban locations.

They have expanded. They now have 3 locations. They also opened one in the South Side that lasted about a year and then closed due to its commercial vibe. The South Side KenTacoHut (KFC/Taco Bell/Pizza Hut) has also suffered the same fate.

The one in Plum Borough could compete with your local Friday's, Chili's, etc... The place just doesn't compare to the original. Soccer/hockey moms bring their kids here after practices and games.
http://www.originalhotdogshop.com/indexLarge.htm

[goobergunch]

33. Lol, so true.... (n/t)

[RUexperienced]

43. If you need to drive from one end of the state to the other

and find out the speed limit is 55 mph.

[bearfartinthewoods]

55. 65 now on most 4 lane divided highways

[PhishWithLemon99]

44. Hot damn, this state really sucks.

If Philly and Pittsburgh were smart, they would form their own states. The rest of Pennsylvania is a bubba-fied, redneck wasteland.

[The Zanti Regent]

46. You "Warsh" Your clothes

and grab the gumbands (rubber bands)

and love Chipped Ham (preferably from Isaly's)

and love Pierogis on Friday, preferably from St Mary's Church in Ambridge

and know that the Real Platter Pushing Poppa of Rock N Roll was Porky Chedwick instead of latecomer Allen Freed

and you know that when somebody is "out", they're asleep

and you remember Rege Cordic, who was a lot funnier than Howard Stern

and you remember when there were steel mills, if you were lucky and not laid off, you could go in a mill at 18 and leave with a full pension at 48.

and you remember when the Steelers were a REAL football team

and you know that Western Pa is the Football center of the Universe producing Unitas, Namath, Montano, Marino, Dorsett, etc...

you remember when KDKA had Art Pallan before it dumped him for Rush Limbaugh

You remember when Jeff Christie worked at 14K and WHY HE WAS FIRED

you know that Pitt and Penn State hate each other

[zbdent]

47. My additions:

you know how to pronounce Sewickley

You know that you can pass through Indiana, Washington (township), Mars, Idaho (village of, near Indiana), and Oklahoma (borough) on one tank of gas in an afternoon, and still have fuel

You've ever "worshed your face off"

Somebody ever asked you "Hey, did you know that Apollo PA spelled backwards is APollo pA?"

You've ever swum in a crick

[no_arbusto]

52. You're getting real close to my alma mater.

Where do you live zbdent?

[zbdent]

57. Well, now in Richfield Ohio, but grew up (mostly) in Spring Church

PM me if you want the full details.

[RebelOne]

53. I know at least 90% of them.

I was born there and I haven't been back since I was 10 years old.

[Dees]

56. Does PA give an exam before issuing drivers

licenses? Holy Mad Cow!! Duck!!