31 August 1998 - Like
so many other late Generation X Buffalonians,
I've been out-of-state
for the past couple of years,
Colorado to be exact.
yes, this page will still be updated from time to time -
expect this Web site
to be a yellow cone zone
for the next few months
while major rehabilitation takes place.
Letters, we get letters.
I get megabytes of email
regarding the Guide
to Buffalo English. The Letters page is
a new addition to
The Guide to Buffalo English,
where others can be
enlightened
by some of the comments
about this site.
Some general technicalities
Naming city regions
When refering to general
areas in Buffalo,
the following designations
are used:
North Buffalo, South
Buffalo, East Side and West Side.
The words "Buffalo"
and "Side" are not interchangable;
It is considered incorrect
Buffalo English
to refer to "East
Buffalo" or the "North Side."
Confusing the three
Tonawandas
There are three contiguous
suburbs of Buffalo with "Tonawanda"
in their name. This
often causes confustion to outsiders normally used
to suburbs all having
different names.
"Tonawanda Township,"
or simply "Tonawanda,"
is the largest, a
middle class community of around
85,000 residents located
directly north of Buffalo.
The "City of Tonawanda"
is an older, smaller incorporated city
located in the north
section of Tonawanda Township,
where the Niagara
River-East Branch meets Tonawanda Creek
. "North Tonawanda"
is in Niagara County,
north of the previously
mentioned Tonawandas,
and is an older industrial
city of some 50,000 residents.
What is it, Williamsville
or Amherst?
Amherst is an unincorporated
town adjacent
to and northeast of
Buffalo.
Williamsville is an
incorporated village,
about two square miles
in area, mostly surrounded by Amherst.
However, people often
call a far larger area "Williamsville,"
which can be confusing
to newcomers.
Most places claiming
to be in Williamsville
are actually in Amherst
and Clarence, specifically
the 14221 Zip Code
and adjacent areas along
Transit Road (NY 78).
Also consider the Williamsville
School District (including
Williamsville North,
South and East High
Schools) covers the eastern half
of Amherst, which
makes the whole
"Where is Williamsville?"
situation even more disorienting.
Williamsville the
village is actually
a part of the Town
of Amherst.
If you live in the
Village of Williamsville,
you also live in the
Town of Amherst.
Amherst Town Hall
is located
_in_ the Village of
WIlliamsville
. Amherst also provides
many of Williamsville's
services, such as
police protection.
While technically
Williamsville
is a part of Amherst,
Amherst is not a part of Williamsville.
Unlike in other towns,
few Amherst
residents refer to
their home as "Amherst."
More often, a hamlet
name will be used,
such as Snyder, Eggertsville,
East Amherst,
North Amherst, Swormville
and Getzville.
These are not official
government entities,
although they may
be marked on maps.
A similar situation
exists in the southern
suburb of Hamburg,
with the Carnegie,
Mt. Vernon, Locksley
Park, Athol Springs,
Bay View, Clifton
Heights, Wanakah,
Scranton and Woodlawn
hamlets.
Decoding real estate
ads
There are several
uncommon words
used to describe homes
and apartments in Buffalo.
The vocbulary list
defines -
Flat
Two flat
Upper flat (Upper)
Lower flat (Lower)
Backhouse (Rear)
Fronthouse (Front)
Carriage house
Telescoping house (architectural
term, not used in ads)
Many homes and flats
(apartments) are advertised
according to the church
parish they are located in.
This can be especially
confusing to non-Catholics.
This is done for several
reasons, including -
to top of page
Many city and suburban
neighborhoods do not have common names,
so the church is used
as the most visible
landmark to define
the area around it.
The vast majority of
Buffalo's (white) popuation is Catholic.
The advertiser may
assume that anyone reading
their ad will be too,
and know the location of
"Assumption Parish"
or "Our Lady Help of Christians Parish."
Homes listed under
the Buffalo News categories for
Snyder and Eggertsville
are actually in Amherst.
Most homes in the
Williamsville category will also be in Amherst.
Many apartment ads
will say "appliances included."
That's because unlike
most other cities,
appliances aren't
provided in many apartments.
Aside from student
ghettoes, you're often
expected to supply
your own stove and refrigerator!
Archaic usage (Old
names)
Many older residents
will refer to stores,
shopping centers and
other landmarks by an old name,
often one not used
in 30 or more years.
The most common old
names still used by
stubborn old farts
are as follows:
Old usage
Current usage
---------
-------------
AM&As
Bon-Ton (department store)
Bells
Quality Markets (supermarket)
Como Mall
Appletree Business Centre
Courier (Express)
Buffalo News Sunrise Edition
GEX
Super Flea
Hengerer's
Kaufmanns (department store)
Hens & Kelly
AM&As/Bon-Ton @ Northtown Plaza
Humboldt Park
Martin Luther King Park
Loblaws
Quality Markets
numbered schools
(city) name of the school
Park Casino
Stuffed Mushroom (bar)
Pennysaver
Metro Community News
Rosary Hill
College Daemen College
Shelton Square
corner of Main Street & Cathederal Park
Sibley's
Kaufmanns (department store)
State Teacher's
College Buffalo State College
Super Duper
Jubilee Markets (supermarket)
Thruway Plaza
Thruway Mall
Town Casino
Pfeiffer Theatre
Twin Fair
anthing that used to be a Twin Fair
Two Guys
Silo/TJ Maxx/Media Play on Sheridan Drive
University of
Buffalo * University at Buffalo
WKBW
WWKB
Your Host
any restaurant that used to be a Your Host
* - still excusable
The Buffalo accent
Linguist Wolfgang
Wolck has written extensive reports
about the Buffalo
accent, which he calls "Buffalo English."
The most well-defined
characteristics of Buffalo English include -
The flat-A, where words
like "pass"
and "Amherst" sound
like "payass" and
"Aymherst." The flat-A
is more pronounced
among Poles and Italians,
less so among those
of English, Irish
and German decent.
The hard-A, written
as an "o". Words like "Don,"
"pot" and box end
up sounding like "Dan,"
"pat" and backs. The
hard-A sound
is spread pretty evenly
in the community,
but is somewhat stronger
among Italians.
The "E" sound in words
like "eleven" and "television"
is lowered and centralized
to a schwa-like sound.
Words like "bed,"
"rest," and "best" will
sound like "bad" or
"bud," "rust" and "bust."
The AI dipthong, where
words like "right" and "pine"
can sound like "rate"
and "pain."
Polish and Italian
ethnic variations of the Buffalo
accent, which Wolck
calls "ethnolects".
The Polish ethnolect
is somewhat sing-songy
and staccato, with
devoicing of final consonants
(saying "colt" instead
of "cold")
and dental defricativization
("dis" for "this," "dat" for "that").
The Italian ethnolect
is flatter and more atonal,
stresses words or
word groups heavily,
and has a lower voice
pitch. The Buffalo Italian accent
should not be confused
with the stereotypical
"Brooklyn thug" or
Joe Peschi accent used in movies.
If you want to hear
a strong Buffalo Italian accent,
listen to any of the
ubiquitous Pat Gambino
Ford commercials that
air on local television,
or watch the news
and wait for a speech by
Buffalo mayor Tony
Masiello.
To hear the Buffalo
Polish accent,
head out to a bowling
alley or neighborhood
bar in Cheektowaga,
Sloan or Depew,
or in the city's Black
Rock, Broadway-Fillmore, Lovejoy,
St. John Kanty or
Kaisertown neighborhoods.
Better yet, listen
to WGR
(AM 550, a local news/sports
talk radio station)
and wait for a call
from East Side Eddie.
"The 290"
One frequently observed
speaking pattern
by alt.culture.ny-upstaters
is the placing of the word
"the" before naming
an expressway.
While other people
may say "To get downtown, take I-90
to Route 33 east,"
Buffalonians will likely say
"To get downtown,
take the 90 to the 33 east
(alternatively, one
could also say
"Take the Thruway
to the Kensington east").
Only expressways and
similar limited access
highways are elevated
to "the" status; nobody refers to
"The Sheridan Drive,"
"The Main Street" or "the 5."
Posessification
Another strange linguistic
trait among Buffalonians
is the "posessification"
of many business names,
where it is changed
to the posessive case.
For example, it's
common to hear Buffalonians
refer to "Rite Aid's,"
"Kmart's" or "Noco's,"
as if there's a "Mr.
Noco" that owns the gas station chain.
In some cases a business
name is shortened and the posessive
case added, for instance
Blockbuster Video becomes "Blockbuster's,"
and La Nova Pizzeria
changes to simply "Nova's." Wolck
doesn't mention posessification
or "theification" of expressway
names in any of his
studies of Buffalo English,
but the traits are
commonly discussed
on the Usenet alt.culture.ny-upstate
newsgroup.
A Buffalonian, in
describing errands for the day,
might say "I gotta'
go to Fleet's to deposit
my paycheck, then
I gotta' drive over to Quality's
and get some groceries,
then maybe get some lunch at
Burger King's and
buy some fertilizer at Wal-Mart's later.
" The habit is so
pervasive that one area restaurant,
The Abilene Cattle
Company, started to call itself
"Abilene's" on radio
ads a few months after it
opened because that's
what everyone else called it.
Posessification is
not to be confused with adding
an apostrophe-s to
pluralize words, as is common
in ads that haven't
been proofread or cheap,
handpainted store
signs on East Side delicatessians
("i.e. GET LOTTO TICKET'S
HERE", "40 OUNCE'S",
"WE ACCEPT FOOD STAMP'S"
and so on).
To sum all up, the
typical Buffalonian will still
be shopping at AM&A's
for the next ten years,
after which they'll
call the place "Bon-Ton's,"
pronounced as "Bahn-tahns".
To get there from
the "Tahn-ah-tahn-ah-wahn-dah",
they'll drive on
"The Youngmann" to
"The 90" to the Walden Galleria.
If the person's name
is Alfreida, Sophie or Stan,
she'll call it "da
Walden Galleria Mall dere,"
or worse, "dat big
mall where da Leonard Post used to be dere."
to top of page
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The list
ALLENTOWN - a historic
neighborhood in the
vicinity of Allen
Street and Elmwood Avenue,
just north of Downtown
Buffalo. Allentown
is home of one of
the nation's largest historic
preservation districts
and the Allentown Art Festival,
the country's largest
outdoor art festival.
Allentown the Buffalo
neighborhood is not
to be confused with
Allentown, Pennsylvania.
See also BOYS TOWN.
ALL PAPER - signifies
a bingo game that
does not use reusable
bingo cards.
The cards in an "all
paper" game consists of a pad
with many newsprint
bingo sheets.
Numbers are marked
by a bingo marker or
crayon, and a used
sheet is torn off
the pad at the end
of the round.
ANTHONY - current Buffalo
mayor Anthony Masiello.
Best pronounced with
an Buffalo Italian accent,
like "AYN-tinny".
See also TONY.
THE AUD - Buffalo War
Memorial Auditorium
in Downtown Buffalo,
former home of the Buffalo Sabres
and a growing number
of unusual ...
okay, schlock sports
teams like the Buffalo Bandits
(lacrosse) and the
Buffalo Stampede (roller hockey).
BACKHOUSE - a house
in the back of a
(usually narrow) lot
which contains more
than one freestanding
house, the other
being in the front
of the parcel by
the street (fronthouse).
Common on Buffalo's
West Side and in Black Rock.
See also REAR.
BARFALO - a nickname
for Buffalo
used by Canadians,
particulatly
those in the Hamilton
and Toronto area.
The term is usually
intended to evoke
memories of Buffalo's
decline in importance compared
to the Toronto area.
Barfalo can also refer to
the city's abundance
of bars and late last call
(4:00 AM) compared
to Canadian cities.
BEEF ON WECK - a roast
beef sandwich on a salty kimmelweck roll.
A Beef on Weck is
considered a local delicacy,
ranking with chicken
wings, char-broiled hot dogs and Texas Hots.
BEEF ON WICK - alternative
spelling
and pronunciation
of Beef on Weck,
usually used by older
Buffalonians and eastern suburbanites.
THE BIG BLUE WATER
TOWER -
a large, blue, somewhat
phallic water
tower in the Town
of Amherst, used as a landmark
by radio traffic reporters
for the interchange
of the Youngmann Expressway
(I-290)
with the New York
State Thruway (I-90).
BLUE - Labatt's Blue Beer.
THE BUFF - another
nickname for Buffalo,
usually used by disk
jockeys on the city's
many classic rock
radio stations.
("It's another snowy
night in The Buff,
and our Led Zeppelin
marathon continues
on 97 Rock with Stairway
to Heaven...")
BUFF STATE - SUNY College
at Buffalo.
Not to be confused
with UB. See also MUFF STATE.
BUMPER SKATING -
hanging of the bumper
of a car and sliding
with it along an ice-covered
street.
See also POGEYING,
SKEDDING, SKEECHING.
THE BOULEVARD - Niagara
Falls Boulevard,
one of the area's
suburban strip shopping areas.
The Boulevard is rapidly
transforming
from a tacky 1960s
era commercial
strip to the region's
largest and busiest retail center.
BON-TON - the name
of the York,
Pennsylvania-based
department store
chain which bought
out AM&As. French
for "good tone," roughly
equivalent in meaning to "good taste".
BOYS TOWN - a nickname
for the
Allentown neighborhood,
so called
because of the relatively
high concentration
of male residents
which practice an "alternative lifestyle."
See also ALLENTOWN.
BREWER'S RETAIL - government-owned
beer
stores in Canada.
Ontario law prohibits
the sales of alcoholic
beverages in supermarkets,
convenience stores
and other related outlets.
See also BLUE.
BUTTANA - Italian profanity
meaning "c**t."
Often used among Buffalo
area Italian-Americans
to describe a woman
with loose morals.
CANADIAN BALLET - a
strip joint in Fort Erie
or Niagara Falls,
Ontario. Full nudity and lap
dances are permitted
by adult entertainment establishments
(strip joints) in
Ontario; thus there is a high concentration
of them in Canadian
border towns, but relatively
few on the American
side.
CANISHIT COLLEGE -
derogatory term
for Canisius College.
See also BIFFER,
GOOD CATHOLIC FUN,
NEO-PREPPY.
CARRIAGE HOUSE - a
freestanding garage-type building
which was used at
one time for quartering horses,
but later converted
to a residential structure.
Carriage houses are
usually behind older homes,
particularly mansions,
in Buffalo's Delaware District.
See also BACKHOUSE.
CHAR-BROILED HOT -
a hot dog cooked on a charcoal grill.
Char-broiled hots
are considered a local delicacy,
with the mini-chain
Ted's known as serving up the best examples.
CHEEKTOVEGAS - a nickname
for the Town
of Cheektowaga, referring
to the predilection
of Cheektowagans for
tacky art,
both inside and outside
of their homes.
CHEEKTOWARSAW - a nickname
for the Town of Cheektowaga,
so called because
of the town's large and highly visible
Polish population.
(According to the Census, only 29%
of Cheektowaga's population
is of Polish descent,
but Polish-Americans
tend to dominate the town's culture and politics.)
CHIAVETTA - barbecued
chicken served at lawn fetes
(see definition),
named for the catering company
that usually provides
it. (sign ex.-
"Our Lady of the Blessed
Shroud Lawn Fete - Rides, Bands, Games, Chiavetta").
The word is quickly
becoming a generic word for barbecued chicken -
"Let's gota' Boston
Chicken's and get some Chiavetta.
" See also LAWN FETE.
CHOWDER - chicken chowder,
a tomato/chicken/vegetable "soup"
that is >> primarily
known in Niagara Country,
traditionally served
at volunteer fire department field days.
THE CITY OF GOOD NEIGHBORS
-
one of Buffalo's many
nicknames,
refering to the hospitality
of its residents.
THE CITY OF NO ILLUSIONS
-
a nickname for Buffalo
popularized by
T-shirts sold by New
Buffalo Graphics
on Elmwood Avenue.
The phrase, conceived in the early 1980s
, refers to the good
news-bad news nature of living
in Buffalo and coping
with its occasional setbacks,
like plant closings
and Super Bowl losses.
CRICK - creek, stream or other small flowing body of water.
CROSS-BORDER COMMUTING
-
the act of a Canadian
citizen residing
in the United States,
particularly
Buffalo or its suburbs,
and commuting
to their job in Canada,
taking advantage
of lower housing costs
in the United States.
CROSS-BORDER SHOPPING
- the act of
Canadian citizens
shopping in the United States,
particularly Buffalo-area
shopping malls and supermarkets,
to take advantage
of lower prices and taxes.
(ex.- "Gordy and Louise
drove all the way
from Mississauga to
do some cross-border shopping.")
DERE - Cheektowaga
accent/Polish
ethnolect pronunciation
of "there,"
sometimes used at
the end of sentences
(see example in the
DUPA definition),
much like Canadians
use "eh?". Occasionally spelled "der."
DOOVILLE - The Buffalonain
pronounciation
of D'Youville College,
a small,
four year institution
of higher learning
on the West Side known
for its allied health programs.
DUPA - Polish for "butt."
Used as an insult
among Buffalo area
Polish- Americans.
(ex.- "Stash, you
dupa, you have to
hook up the fire hose
before you open the hydrant dere!")
THE EASTTOWNS - the
eastern suburbs
of Buffalo, including
Cheektowaga, Sloan Village,
Depew Village, Lancaster,
Lancaster Village and Alden.
Seldom used, in comparison
to
"the Northtowns" and
"the Southtowns."
EGGERTSVILLE - a neighborhood
in the Town of Amherst,
in the proximity of
the intersection of Main Street
and Eggert Road, adjacent
to the northeast corner
of the City of Buffalo.
Eggertsville contains some
of Buffalo's most
affluent neighborhoods,
and was developed
from the late 1920s to the early 1950s
. Because Eggertsville
has its own mailing address,
separate from Amherst,
it is often mistakenly
considered a separate
town or entity.
THE FAIR - the Erie
County Fair,
held for two weeks
at the end of August.
The Erie County Fair
is the United States'
largest county fair,
despite the urban nature
of Erie County, and
traditionally marks the end of summer.
FISH FRY - a breaded,
often beer-battered fish,
traditionally served
in most Buffalo area restaurants
on Friday. Many Catholics
do not eat red meat on Friday
because of an (outdated)
prohibition on eating meat that
day by the Catholic
Church, so many restaurants serve fish fry
as an alternative.
Unlike wings,
it is impossible to
find a bad fish fry.
FLAT - a dwelling unit
in a multi-family house where
one apartment is above
the other ("two-flat" or "three-flat").
Flat is considered
a British English word,
but its usage is quite
common in Buffalo.
FORT MAKOWSKI - a plan
by former Buffalo
Mayor Stanley Makowski
to build a maze-like
stricture around the
McKinley Monument in Niagara Square.
Loud protest by citizen
groups and preservationists
blocked Fort Makowski
from ever being built.
FRONT - (1) the front
unit in a multi-family telescoping
house which has one
unit in the front, another in the back.
(2) the main house
on a lot which has a carriage house
or other smaller freestanding
dwellings in the rear
of the lot. (3) see
also FRONTHOUSE.
FRONTHOUSE - the house
at the front of a
(usually narrow) lot
which contains more than one
freestanding house,
the other(s) being in the rear
of the parcel (backhouse).
Common on Buffalo's West Side. See also FRONT.
FUNGULA - Italian for
"f**k." Often pronounced
fahn-GOOO. Fungala
is used interchangably with
the English profanity
by many Buffalo area
Italian- Americans.
(ex.-"Fungula! Nova's
put friggin' anchovies on 'dis pizza!")
GALLERIA MALL - the
Walden Galleria.
Many locals call the
Walden Galleria the
"Galleria Mall" because
all enclosed
shopping centers previous
to its opening had the suffix "mall."
Buffalo had no "squares,"
"centers," "commons,"
"fairs" or "gallerias,"
common suffizes for shopping
center names in other
parts of the country.
Because the habit
of calling a shopping center
"[something] Mall"
was hard to break, people
just naturally added
the non-existent "mall" sufix
to the Galleria when
it first opened.
GENNY - Genesee Beer.
Sometimes spelled "Jenny."
See also GREEN DEATH,
POUNDERS, SCREAMERS.
GOLDEN - Molson Golden Ale.
GOOD CATHOLIC FUN -
engaging in an activity
traditionally overrepresented
by Canisius College
or Catholic single-sex
high school students
(Canisius High, St.
Joseph's Collegiate Institute, Bishop Timon,
Nardin Academy, Sacred
Heart Academy, ad infinitum)
such as crew, ordering
from J. Crew, lacrosse or hanging
out in a bar with
lots of wood and brass. Good Catholic Fun
activities are usually
preppy in nature, as opposed to more
blue-collar Catholic
church-related entertainment
such as lawn fetes
(see definition),
bingo and spaghetti
dinners.
See also BIFFER, CANISHIT
COLLEGE, NEO-PREPPY.
GORDY - derogatory
term for a Canadian.
Supposedly, many Canadians
are named Gordy.
Someone who is real
Canadian can be called a "Gordy McGordy,"
or, as many Buffalo
area waiters and waitresses say,
"Donut-eatin', eh-sayin',
factory outlet shoppin',
curling playin', high
stickin', one A.M. bar closin',
buyin' gas by the
liter and Molson by the two-four,
low tipping Gordy.
See also NORK.
GREEK RESTAURANT -
An independently-owned
"family-style" table
service restaurant or diner.
Many restaurants of
this type in the Buffalo
area are owned by
Greek immigrants.
See also "ORIGINAL
HOME OF THE SOUVLAKI."
GREEN DEATH - Genesee
Cream Ale.
See also GENNY, POUNDERS,
SCREAMERS.
GREEN LIGHTNING - a
short-lived neon
sculpture displayed
in the median strip of the
Kensington Expressway
near Downtown Buffalo,
which depicted four
dancing penises.
Green Lightning was
ordered removed by then-mayor
Jimmy Griffin after
it was first unveiled.
(Buffalo was known
for its many examples
of public neon art,
much of which has fallen into disrepair.)
See also JIMMY.
GROUND FLAT - see LOWER FLAT.
GST - Goods and Services
Tax, charged on most
purchases in Canada.
The GST is often called
"Go South Tax" and
"Go Shop in Tonawanda"
by some wittier Canadians.
See also CROSS-BORDER SHOPPING.
HOME OF THE ORIGINAL
SOUVLAKI -
What every one of
Buffalo's 100+ Greek
restaurants claims
to be. See also GREEK RESTAURANT.
HYDRO - Canadian English
for "electricity.
" Most electric utility
companies in Canada
are named "[region]
Hydro," and the word evolved
to become equivalent
with "electric".
Appliances are not
plugged into the
electrical socket,
but rather the "hydro socket."
INFILL - the act of
building new homes on vacant lots
located close to the
center of the city.
Many parts of Buffalo's
Lower East
Side are experiencing
a large amount
of infill development.
IRON ISLAND - a nickname
for
Buffalo's Lovejoy
neighborhood. "Iron Island"
refers to the neighborhood
being completely
surrounded by railroad
tracks. Lovejoy is a
working and middle
class neighborhood whose
residents are mostly
of Polish and Italian descent.
THE ISLAND - The town
of Grand Island, located
between the Town of
Tonawanda and the city of
Niagara Falls. The
Island is isolated from the New York
State mainland by
the East and West Branches of
the Niagara River,
and is accessible only by crossing
one of the Niagara
Thruway (I-90) bridges
on the north and south
end of the town.
JIMMY - James D. Griffin,
the previous mayor of Buffalo.
Jimmy was known for
being in office practically forever
(1978-1993), his short
temper and colorful personality.
Originator of the
phrase "Go get a six-pack."
See also GREEN LIGHTNING.
THE KENSINGTON - the
Kensington Expressway
(NY 33), the primary
arterial between Downtown
Buffalo and the eastern
suburbs. While traffic
reporters and locals
refer to "the Kensington",
it is not named on
any signs.
LAKE EFFECT SNOW -
snow generated when
moisture-laden winds
pass over Lake Erie.
(Perhaps a meterologist
can offer a more detailed technical explanation.)
LAWN FETE - an outdoor
carnival held at a
Roman Catholic church,
usually during the summer.
(Protestant churches
do not have lawn fetes,
because there are
very few of them in Buffalo
and their congregations
are much smaller than
the massive Catholic
patrishes.) See also CHIAVETTA.
LIGHT RAIL - see METRO RAIL.
LOGANBERRY - An uncarbonated
fruit drink made from
loganberry juice.
LOWER - see LOWER FLAT.
LOWER FLAT - the downstairs
or "lower" apartment
in a two-flat
residence. See also
FLAT, TWO FLAT, UPPER FLAT.
THE MAINLINE - the
New York State
Thruway (I-90), excluding
the Niagara
Thruway (I-190).
MARY ON THE HALF SHELL
- display of a
Virgin Mary statue
under a partially buried,
upright clawfoot bathtub
or similar object.
More common in blue
collar eastern suburbs
(Cheektowaga, Depew,
Sloan) than other areas.
See also POLISH PORCH.
METRO - (1) Canadian
terminology for Toronto,
because it has what
s called a "metropolitan" form
of government with
shared services among several
suburban communties.
This term is often heard but
rarely used by United
States residents.
(2) see METRO RAIL.
METRO BUS - the NFTA
(see definition)
bus system, serving
Erie and Niagara counties.
See also NFTA, METRO
RAIL.
METRO RAIL - Buffalo's
rapid transit system.
Sometimes called "light
rail" because the trains
are powered by overhead
wires, as opposed to
"Heavy rail" which
is powered by a third rail
along the tracks.
Also called "the train to nowhere,
" since the system
is far from complete.
See also METRO BUS,
NFTA.
MEXICAN - A sundae
consisting of vanilla ice cream,
chocolate syrup and
topped with spanish peanuts
(the salty red ones
w/skins).
THE MISTAKE ON THE
LAKE - a nickname
used for Buffalo during
the 1970s, then the
city's overall future
was in doubt.
"The Mistake on the
Lake" more commonly refers to Cleveland.
MUFF STATE - SUNY College
at Buffalo
(Buffalo State College),
so called because
of the school's high
ratio of women to men,
and their reported
liberal attitude towards
casual sex.
See also BUFF STATE.
THE NAP -
North Americare Park,
a baseball stadium
in downtown
Buffalo that was formerly
called Pilot Field.
NIAGARA - Canadian
terminology for the region
that includes the
cities of Fort Erie, Port Colborne,
Welland, Thorold,
Niagara Falls and St. Catharines
in Ontario, excluding
any parts of the United States.
Rarely used by United
States residents.
(ex.- The QEW passes
through Niagara on the way to Toronto.)
THE NIAGARA FRONTIER
- A nickname for
the Buffalo-Niagara
Falls metropolitan area,
including Erie and
Niagara Counties in New York
state and the Regional
Municipality of Niagara in
Ontario. The origin
of this term is unknown,
but its usage dates
back to the late 1800s.
NICKEL CITY - CB slang
for Buffalo.
(Remember Indian nickels,
the pre-1938
5 cent coins with
the buffalo on the rear?)
NFTA - Niagara Frontier
Transportation
Authority. A quasi-public
governmental body
that operates public
transit in Buffalo, the Greater
Buffalo International
Airport, the Niagara Falls
International Airport,
and the Port of Buffalo.
The NFTA is a rough
equivalent to the
Port Authority of
New York.
See also METRO BUS,
METRO RAIL.
NEO-PREPPIE - a member
of the resurgent group
of early-1980s style
preppies
(see Lisa Birnbaum's
"The Preppy Handbook" for origins).
Neo-preppies are usually
Canisius College students,
alumni and "wannabes."
Neo-preppies generally dominate the crowd
at any city bar that
has stained wood and brass rails in it
(Colter Bay Grill,
Mother's, Gabriel's Gate,
Cole's, J.P. Bullfeather's,
Central Park Grill,
Checkers, The Shebeen,
ad nauseaum.)
See also BIFFER, CANISHIT
COLLEGE, GOOD CATHOLIC FUN.
NORK - derogatory term
for a Canadian.
(North + dORK) See
also GORDY.
THE NORTHTOWNS - the
northern suburbs
of Buffalo, including
Tonawanda, Kenmore Village,
Amherst, Williamsvile
Village and Clarence.
May or may not include
Wheatfield,
Tonawanda City and
North Tonawanda, depending on speaker.
N.T. - North Tonawanda,
an industrial
suburb between Buffalo
and Niagara Falls.
O.P. - Orchard Park,
an affluent
suburb located southeast
of Buffalo.
ORANGE CRATE - the
nickname
for Lackawanna's City
Hall,
so called because
it looks like a big orange milk crate.
ORIGINAL HOME OF THE
SOUVLAKI
- what every Greek
restaurant in Buffalo claims to be.
POGEYING - hanging
of the bumper of a car
and sliding with it
along an ice-covered street.
This term is mainly
used in the Kensington
neighborhood.
See also BUMPER SKIING,
SKEECHING, SKEDDING.
POLONIA - once the
name of Buffalo's Broadway-Fillmore neighborghood
, but now referring
to Buffalo's Polish community as a whole.
(ex. - "Polonia is
very supportive of
Dr. Atwal's efforts
to provide surgical equipment to Polish clinics.")
POLISH PORCH - a garage
that is used as a substitute
for the living room
during the summer months,
having a large screen
door replacing the
normal garage door.
Polish Porches
are quite common in
Cheektowaga and
Depew, communities
that have a large
Polish-American population.
See also MARY ON THE
HALF SHELL.
POP - the one true
word for
a flavored carbonated
beverage or soft drink.
POUNDER - a sixteen
ounce (530 ml) bottle
of Genesee Beer or
Cream Ale.
See also GENNY, GREEN
DEATH, SCREAMER.
THE QEW - the Queen
Elizabeth Way,
an expressway linking
Buffalo and Toronto.
Also called the Queen
E, QE and the Road With No Potholes.
THE QUEEN CITY - an
older nickname for Buffalo.
The origins of this
name are questionable,
referring either to
Buffalo's status as the
second largest city
in New York State or
its previous position
as a major Great Lakes port.
RACHACHA - Rochester,
New York.
Rachacha exports to
Buffalo include
Kodak film, college
students, Wegmans and Screamers.
REAR - (1) the rear
unit in a multi-family
telescoping house
which has one unit in the
front, another in
the back. (2) a carriage
house or other smaller
freestanding residence
in the rear of a lot
which contains more
than one house. (3)
See also BACKHOUSE.
RICH - (1) Formerly
Rich Stadium, (now Ralph Wilson Stadium)
in Orchard Park.
ex.- "Da' Bills play
in Rich."
(2) an adjective describing
Canisius College
students and residents
of Amherst, Clarence and Orchard Park.
RIVER RAT - A resident
of the Black Rock or
Riverside neighborhoods
in the city of Buffalo.
ROCKPILE - A nickname
for War Memorial Stadium,
located at the northwest
corner of Jefferson
Avenue and Best Street
on Buffalo's East Side.
The Rockpile was torn
down in 1993.
( The Rockpile was used to film part of the
Robert Redford Movie- The Natural)
THE S-CURVE - Delaware
Avenue between
the Scajaquada Expressway
(NY 198)
and Forest Avenue,
named because of its twisting configuration.
Local preservationists
have blocked plans to straighten the curves.
THE SCAJQUADA - the
Scajaquada Expressway (NY 198),
a winding arterial
that connects the Kensington Expressway
(NY 33) with the Niagara
Thruway (I-190).
Named for Scajaquada
Creek, whose course the expressway roughly follows.
SCREAMER - a bottle
of Genesee Cream
Ale, named for its
laxative qualities.
See also GENNY, GREEN
DEATH, POUNDER.
SKEDDING - hanging
of the bumper of a car and
sliding with it along
an ice-covered street.
See also BUMPER SKIING,
POGEYING, SKEECHING.
SKEECHING - hanging
of the bumper of
a car and sliding
with it along an ice-covered
stree. See also BUMPER
SKIING, POGEYING,
SKEDDING.
SNYDER - a neighborhood
in the Town of
Amherst, in the proximity
of the intersection of
Main Street and Harlem
Road. Snyder is one of
Buffalo's most affluent
neighborhoods, and was
developed from the
late 1920s to the early 1950s.
Because Snyder has
its own mailing address,
separate from Amherst,
it is often mistakenly
considered a separate
town or entity.
SODA - what you get
at Dairy Queen; soda water
with ice cream amd
syrup in it.
SOUTH BUFFALO - A section
of Buffalo generally
consisting of all
areas within the city limits south of
the Buffalo River
and the First Ward and Old Valley
neighborhoods north
of the Buffalo River.
South Buffalo is known
for being a predominantly Irish neighborhood.
SPLIT - A small bottle
of beer or pop, usually
ranging in size from
six to seven ounces (125-150 ml).
TELESCOPING HOUSE -
an older style of home,
commonly found on
the East and West Sides,
where multiple additions
were made to the back, each narrower than the last.
TEXAS HOTS - a style
of hot dog known for
its hot, spicy sauce.
Texas hots originated in the
kitchens of Buffalo's
many Greek restaurants,
not in Texas.
THE TONAWANDAS - referring
to the
Town of Tonawanda,
City of Tonawanda and
the City of North
Tonawanda.
TO - Toronto (pronounced
tee-oh).
Also pronounced "tronno"
and "tronna."
TONY - current Buffalo
mayor Anthony Masiello.
Best pronounced with
an Italian accent, like slowly
combining the words
"toe" and "knee."
See also ANTHONY.
TWIN CITIES - referring
to the
City of Tonawanda
and the City of North Tonawanda,
excluding the Town
of Tonawanda.
TWIN-TON - referring
to both Tonawanda
(the city, not the
town) and North Tonawanda
. Not related to the
Bon-Ton department store chain.
TWO FLAT - a two family
residence, with one unit directly
above the other
(unlike a suburban
duplex where the units are side-by-side).
The two-flat is a
type of house that is unique
to the Buffalo area,
common in city neghborhoods
and in older suburban
areas such as Kenmore and
Lackawanna.
See also UPPER FLAT,
LOWER FLAT, FLAT.
THE SOUTHTOWNS - the
southern suburbs of Buffalo,
generally Hamburg,
Orchard Park, Boston, Eden, Elma, East Aurora and other towns located south
of the Buffalo River.
THE STRIP - a three
mile (five kilometer) stretch
of Elmwood Avenue
between Forest Street and Virginia Street,
which is home to a
vibrant commercial district containing
a large number of
bookstores, restaurants, bars, galleries
and other trendy establishments.
The Strip is one of the
centers of Buffalo's
nightlife, and in some places defined
by a blue neon strip
placed between the first and second floors of many buildings.
THE [street name] STRIP
- used to refer to other streets
with heavy concentrations
of bars, for instance
The Seneca Strip,
The Hertel Strip and the
Oliver Strip. Not
to be confused with "The Strip,"
which always refers
to Elmwood Avenue.
UB - State University
of New York at Buffalo
(University at Buffalo).
Not to be confused
with Buff State.
UPPER - see UPPER FLAT.
UPPER FLAT - the upstairs
apartment
or "upper" in a two
flat building.
See also LOWER FLAT,
FLAT, TWO FLAT.
VILLA - Villa Maria
College,
a two-year institution
of higher
learning located on
the border
of Cheektowaga and
Buffalo's
Schiller Park neighborhood.
Villa is known for
its "wholesome"
majors like gerentology
and social work.
VIRGIN VAULT - Canavan
Hall, an single-sex
female dormitory at
Daemen College. Named
because of the dorn's
strict intervisitation
policy and the reported
Ivory Soap-pure quality of its residents.
WHAT'S DA DAMAGES?
- A question a Buffalonian
asks when they're
asking for the check at a restaurant,
or otherwise inquiring
about charges for a product or service.
WINGS - chicken wings,
called "Buffalo wings"
by outsiders. Buffalo-style
chicken wings were
originally served
at Frank and Teresa's Anchor
Bar on Main Street.
Chicken wings are the most
popular regional food
originating in Buffalo.
WILLIAMSVILLE - a small,
quaint village northeast
of Buffalo, completely
surrounded by the affluent
town of Amherst. Often
"Williamsville" is used
to refer to a large
portion of the towns of Amherst,
Clarence and Lancaster,
frequently confusing non-natives.
THE YOUNGMANN - the
Youngmann Expressway (I-290),
a six-lane expressway
through Buffalo's northern suburbs
of Amherst and Tonawanda,
connecting the Thruway
(I-90) with the Niagara
Thruway (I-190).
As with the Kensington
Expressway, no signs
refer directly to
the "Youngmann Expressway."
Mark Wozniak provides
this insight into
the naming of the
Youngmann Expressway -
to top of page
I was browsing your
Buffalo English guide for
the first time in
ages, and saw the question re
"The Youngmann". The
290 was originally to
be called the Power
Line Expressway, since it adjoins
the high tension lines
for most of its length. Elmer G. H. Youngmann
was one of the project
engineers who died during the road's
construction in the
early 60s, and the road was named in his memory.
Showing my age, I
remember going on vacation
with my parents to
Corning in August 1963
(around the time of
the great WNY floods),
and getting on the
new expressway at Millersport.
It had just opened
between Main and Millersport,
and the pavement ended
just north of Millersport.
It opened to Niagara
Falls Boulevard sometime in 1964,
and a year or so later
was completed through Tonawanda.
I also have seen in
the (Greenhaven branch) library recently a
Town of Tonawanda
brochure published around 1966, talking
up how great the town
is. There's one aerial view that shows
road construction
crews at the 290/190 split.
One other not so fine
memory...my father's boss
was the first person
killed in an accident on the road,
hitting the railing
abutment from the 290 westbound
to the 190 southbound
only a week or so after the road
opened. The railing
there begins just after the curve starts,
in other words, the
abutment is directly in line with the
traffic lanes. The
road was poorly designed
(maybe that's why
Elmer Youngmann died early?)...
the original separate
exit lanes caused a lot of accidents,
and for a while the
road had the highest concentration of
speed traps in the
state because of
the abnormally high
accident rates.
YOUSE - Plural case
of "you."
You know you're
from Buffalo IF-
You know you're
from Amherst, IF-
You know you're
from Cheektowago IF -
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This document is Copyright
1996 by
Daniel P. Tasman,
all rights reserved.
Permission is granted
for it to be reproduced on paper,
or electronically
on any system connected
to the various networks
which make up the Internet,
USENET, and FidoNet
so long as it is reproduced
in its entirety, unedited,
and with this copyright notice intact.
A special notice to
other regional
slang and vocabulary
enthusiasts :
please notify me (tasman
(at) verinet.com)
if you are considering
using or copying any
of the definitions
in the Guide to Buffalo English.
In other words, I
don't want to see this list used
as a basis for writing
the "Buffalo" section in Slanguages,
or any similar Web
site or publication,
without prior permission
and giving
credit where credit
is due.
to top of page
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dan Tasman - tasman (at) verinet.com
See also:
Links for Buffalo
Information
You know you're
from Buffalo IF-
You know you're
from Amherst, IF-
You know you're
from Cheektowago IF -
Words and terms for your Buffalo vocabulary: A: One of the two letters we pronounce most
unlike the rest of the English speaking world.
The way we say it is considered a “flat a.”
It’s hard to describe on paper, but outsiders
say we kind of squeeze the sound off the top
of the mouth and roll it up our nose.
It is most noticeable is the way we say
words like class, brass, dance, fast, and ask.
A: Also the letter you skip when pronouncing the city’s name.
Don’t be mistaken for an out-of- towner by carefully
pronouncing every syllable. Around here,
it”s “BUF-lo,” not “Buff-a-lo.”
You should also practice leaving out the middle “a” in Niagara. AAA: Pronounced “Triple A.”
The class of baseball the Bison’s play,
and where you call when your car won’t start.
If you call it the “Auto Club” or
“American Automobile Association,”
you’ll be the first one. Ant: How to pronounce the
first name of your father’s sister.
Want to annoy an out-of-towner?
Say “Aunt Annie Asked” five times fast.
to top of page
Beltway: Don’t even think of
using this word unless you’re
talking about your pants.
Relatives from places like
Washington and Baltimore might brag about how
dense the traffic is on their beltways.
But Buffalo’s equivalent is a ring of highways
known by their more proper names: the Kensington,
the Scajaquada, the Youngmann, and the Niagara Thruway. Blessyou: The correct thing to say to a sneezing person.
You could choose the optional “Gahblessyou.”
But you don’t hear “Gesundheit” that often.
Bailey: Our longest avenue.
But never say “avenue” Just say,
“my aunt lives on Bailey.”
Ditto for Jefferson, Elmwood,
and most of the other avenues,
except for Porter. Buff State: Big College on Elmwood.
Never say State University College
at Buffalo or even try to pronounce SUCAB.
Close one: Your car stalls on the Kensington,
but you manage to coast off at Bailey
and call the triple A. A close one. Dooville: Small college on Porter Avenue Down: Where you go to get to New York City.
As in, “I went down to New York City.
“ A special caution here.
Don’t ever, ever say “I went down to the city.”
There is no “the city” around here.
Such a place only exists in the minds of college
students from the Bronx and Queens. Faahg: Misty stuff that’s hard to see through.
Usually near the lake. Freeway: Are you kidding?
Think this is California here, or what?
Here it’s the Thruway. And it’s certainly not free.
There are two toll barriers within the
city limits and another pair just outside.
Good thing you can get away with throwing
Canadian quarters into the exact change baskets. G’rage: The building behind the house.
Where you keep the car.
Gunnit: When you need to be somewhere in a hurry.
How about: First words in 75% of all conversations.
"How about them Bills?” “How about this weather?” I-190: If you can’t get out of giving out-of-towners
directions, this is an acceptable alternative to
“the Niagara thruway.” Ice boom: Reason why it’s cold here in April and May
. Loganberry: Sweet purple drink that tastes great
with whatever. Over: The direction in which Rochester and Syracuse
are found. “ I went over to Rochester for the fights at the War memorial”
Pleece: The folks you call when someone breaks
into your g’rage. Pop: Pepsi, Squirt, Coke, etc. Please don’t ask for “soda.”
Presidents:
We’re on a first-name basis.
We go to High School at “Grover.” We get sick and go to “Millard.”
R: Our favorite letter.
We like to bite it off and savor it.
We lovingly pronounce every “r” in
words like governor,
particular, surprise, and thermometer.
Ramp: A place to park downtown.
Relatives: The buffalo word for your folks.
In other parts of the country,
they might be called your kinfolk or your people. Sub: Submarine sandwich Sucker: Only wimps call it a “lollipop” Teeter-totter: Outsiders call it a “seesaw”
The Falls: Major tourist attraction consisting
of large quantities of water falling over two
cliffs, and the cities that surround it. The Hots: Emotional attraction. “she’s got
the hots for loganberry” The Lake: Cheery Erie. The Lotto: Hit it, and your troubles are over. The Pits: Someplace like New Jersey. The Show: Where you go to see a movie. They: The Bills after a defeat. “They lost again.” Ton: A lot, but not necessarily 2000 lbs. Up: Where the Falls and Toronto are. Uptown: No such place here. There’s downtown,
but no uptown in buffalo. We: The Bills after a win. “We won again!”
Wings: Everybody knows a place where
they make the best ones. UB: Pronounced “youbee.”
Somebody somewhere probably once called
it by its proper name: the State University
of New York at Buffalo/the only
four-million acre place in the
world where you can’t find a parking spot. Youz: Plural of “you.”
Our version of “y’all” “Can youz understand Buffaloese yet, or what?”
to top of pageYou know you're from Buffalo IF-
You know you're from Cheektowago IF -