01
A minute
New York City & Tri-State context
A noticeably long or indefinite amount of time, especially in phrases such as it’s been a minute.
New York A–Z
New York words and phrases
Search common spellings, English meanings, grammar labels, borough context, and usage topics.
A
B
01
B
New York City & Tri-State context
A compact familiar way to address a friend, peer, or another person, often understood as brother or bro.
02
Bacon, egg and cheese
New York City & Tri-State context
A hot breakfast sandwich—often ordered on a roll, bagel, or hero—that is a staple of New York bodegas, delis, and carts.
03
Beef patty
New York City & Tri-State context
A Jamaican baked pastry with a flaky yellow crust and seasoned beef filling, widely available through New York Caribbean bakeries, restaurants, and shops.
04
Bet
New York City & Tri-State context
Okay, agreed, understood, or challenge accepted.
05
Black-and-white cookie
New York City & Tri-State context
A cake-like round cookie topped with two halves of vanilla and chocolate fondant or icing.
06
Bodega
New York City & Tri-State context
A small neighborhood grocery or convenience store, often independently operated and woven into daily city life.
07
Brick
New York City & Tri-State context
Extremely cold, especially when describing the weather outside.
08
Brolic
New York City & Tri-State context
Extremely muscular, powerfully built, or visibly strong; sometimes extended to anything unusually sturdy or forceful.
09
Brownstone
New York City & Tri-State context
A row house or townhouse associated with a brown sandstone façade, often used more broadly for a familiar New York residential building type.
10
Bugging
New York City & Tri-State context
Acting irrationally, overreacting, misunderstanding, or saying something unreasonable.
C
01
Chicken over rice
New York City & Tri-State context
A halal-cart platter of seasoned chicken served over rice, commonly with salad and a choice of sauces.
02
Chopped cheese
New York City & Tri-State context
A hot sandwich of chopped ground beef and melted cheese, commonly served on a hero with toppings and strongly associated with New York bodegas.
03
Coco bread
New York City & Tri-State context
A soft, slightly sweet Jamaican bread made with coconut milk or coconut-derived ingredients, often folded around a patty or used for sandwiches.
04
Cop
New York City & Tri-State context
To get, obtain, or buy something, as in copping tickets, food, clothing, or another wanted item.
05
Crosstown
New York City & Tri-State context
Across Manhattan or another part of the city from east to west, rather than mainly uptown or downtown.
D
01
Deadass
New York City & Tri-State context
Seriously, truthfully, or completely; also used to show that a person is not joking.
02
Dope
New York City & Tri-State context
As an adjective, excellent, impressive, stylish, or exciting; as a noun, it can carry several unrelated meanings.
03
Downtown
New York City & Tri-State context
Toward the southern or lower-numbered-street direction in Manhattan; it can also refer to Lower Manhattan or other context-specific central areas.
04
Dub
New York City & Tri-State context
A rejection, refusal, failed plan, or person or situation being dismissed; as a verb, to ignore, turn down, or reject.
05
Dumb
New York City & Tri-State context
Very or extremely when placed before an adjective, as in dumb nice, dumb far, or dumb expensive.
E
01
Egg cream
New York City & Tri-State context
A New York fountain drink traditionally made with milk, flavored syrup, and seltzer, despite containing neither egg nor cream.
02
Express train
New York City & Tri-State context
A subway train that skips selected local stations to serve a smaller set of major stops more quickly.
F
01
Facts
New York City & Tri-State context
Strong agreement that a statement is true or accurate.
02
Fly
New York City & Tri-State context
Stylish, attractive, polished, or impressively put together, especially when evaluating clothing or presentation.
03
Food shopping
New York City & Tri-State context
Buying groceries, a regional expression many New Yorkers use where speakers elsewhere might say grocery shopping.
04
Frontin’
New York City & Tri-State context
Pretending, exaggerating, acting tougher or more successful than reality, or presenting an image the speaker believes is false.
05
Fuhgeddaboudit
New York City & Tri-State context
A stylized spelling of forget about it that can dismiss an idea, close a subject, express disbelief, or intensify praise.
G
01
Good looks
New York City & Tri-State context
A compact way to thank someone, acknowledge a favor, or show appreciation for useful help.
02
Gridlock
New York City & Tri-State context
Severe traffic congestion in which vehicles block one another and movement becomes extremely slow or stops.
03
Grill
New York City & Tri-State context
To question someone intensely, scrutinize them, or stare at them in a challenging way.
H
01
Halal cart
New York City & Tri-State context
A street-food cart serving food prepared to meet halal requirements, often including rice platters, gyros, and sandwiches.
02
Heard
New York City & Tri-State context
Understood, acknowledged, or message received.
03
Hero
New York City & Tri-State context
A long sandwich made on a split roll, the common New York label for what other regions may call a sub, hoagie, or grinder.
I
01
Ill
New York City & Tri-State context
Exceptionally good, skillful, striking, or impressive in a positive slang use; ordinarily, ill can still mean sick or harmful.
J
01
Jacking
New York City & Tri-State context
Supporting, believing, claiming, or approving something; in the negative, refusing to endorse or accept it.
02
Jersey
New York City & Tri-State context
New Jersey, commonly shortened in New York and Tri-State conversation when the state is already clear from context.
K
01
Knish
New York City & Tri-State context
A baked or fried pastry filled most famously with seasoned potato, though other savory fillings are also used.
L
01
Local train
New York City & Tri-State context
A subway train that stops at the local stations along its route rather than skipping them for faster service.
M
N
01
Na’mean
New York City & Tri-State context
A compressed form of you know what I mean, used to check understanding or maintain conversational rhythm.
02
Not for nothing
New York City & Tri-State context
A phrase used before an opinion, warning, or criticism to signal that the point has a reason behind it.
O
01
OD
New York City & Tri-State context
Excessive, extremely, or doing too much; the exact grammar changes with the sentence.
02
On line
New York City & Tri-State context
Waiting in a queue; a well-known New York regional alternative to in line.
03
Outer borough
New York City & Tri-State context
A collective Manhattan-centered label for Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island.
P
01
Pie
New York City & Tri-State context
A whole pizza, especially when contrasted with ordering one or more individual slices.
02
Pop out
New York City & Tri-State context
To show up, make an appearance, or come outside for an event, gathering, confrontation, or social moment.
03
Prewar
New York City & Tri-State context
In New York real estate, a building constructed before World War II, often discussed through its age, layout, materials, and architectural details.
R
01
Railroad apartment
New York City & Tri-State context
A long, narrow apartment whose rooms connect in a line, often requiring passage through one room to reach the next.
02
Regular coffee
New York City & Tri-State context
In traditional New York deli and coffee-cart ordering, brewed coffee prepared with milk or cream and sugar rather than served black.
03
Rent-stabilized
New York City & Tri-State context
Covered by New York rent-stabilization rules that regulate leases, rent increases, and specific tenant protections.
S
01
Salt, pepper, ketchup
New York City & Tri-State context
A compact bodega-order phrase requesting salt, black pepper, and ketchup, especially on an egg-and-cheese breakfast sandwich.
02
Say less
New York City & Tri-State context
I understand; no further explanation is needed; consider it handled.
03
Schlep
New York City & Tri-State context
To carry or drag something awkwardly, or to make a tiring, inconvenient trip.
04
Schmear
New York City & Tri-State context
A spread or layer of cream cheese on a bagel; it can also mean a spreadable topping more generally.
05
Schvitz
New York City & Tri-State context
To sweat heavily; as a noun, it can also refer to a steam bath or sauna-like session.
06
Shorty
New York City & Tri-State context
A familiar term for a girl or woman, sometimes a romantic interest; in other contexts it can address a younger person or close peer.
07
Slice
New York City & Tri-State context
One portion of a pizza, commonly ordered by itself at a New York pizzeria rather than by naming the whole pie.
08
Son
New York City & Tri-State context
A familiar way to address another person, often a male friend or peer, without literally meaning one’s child.
09
Stoop
New York City & Tri-State context
The entrance steps and small platform outside a house or apartment building, often treated as a neighborhood social space.
10
Straphanger
New York City & Tri-State context
A public-transit passenger, especially a regular subway or bus rider who may have to stand.
T
01
The city
New York City & Tri-State context
Often Manhattan, especially when spoken by people in another borough or the surrounding metro area; in other contexts it can mean New York City as a whole.
02
The Ocky way
New York City & Tri-State context
A viral request for an unusually elaborate, customized bodega or deli preparation associated with social-video sandwich content.
03
The towns
New York City & Tri-State context
New York City or one’s familiar part of the city, used as a local place label whose exact boundary depends on the speaker.
04
The train
New York City & Tri-State context
The subway system or a particular subway service, referred to in ordinary conversation simply as the train.
05
Thruway
New York City & Tri-State context
The New York State Thruway, or more generally a major limited-access road identified by that regional name.
06
Tight
New York City & Tri-State context
Upset, annoyed, or bothered; elsewhere it can also mean close, secure, or excellent.
07
Transplant
New York City & Tri-State context
A person who moved to New York from another city, state, or country rather than growing up locally.
U
01
Upstate
New York City & Tri-State context
The part of New York State north of the speaker’s downstate reference point, with a boundary that New Yorkers famously disagree about.
02
Uptown
New York City & Tri-State context
Toward the northern or higher-numbered-street direction in Manhattan; it can also name particular northern areas depending on context.
V
01
Valid
New York City & Tri-State context
Good, acceptable, impressive, legitimate, or worth approving.
W
01
Wack
New York City & Tri-State context
Bad, low-quality, unappealing, unfair, or lacking skill, depending on what the speaker is judging.
02
Walk-up
New York City & Tri-State context
An apartment or building above street level that has no elevator, requiring residents and visitors to use the stairs.
03
We out
New York City & Tri-State context
We are leaving, we are finished here, or the group is moving on to the next place.
04
Wildin’
New York City & Tri-State context
Behaving excessively, recklessly, dramatically, or far outside what the speaker considers reasonable.
05
Word
New York City & Tri-State context
Really, understood, agreed, or that is true, depending on tone.
06
Word to
New York City & Tri-State context
A forceful statement that what follows is true or serious, often completed with a person or relationship important to the speaker.
Y
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