Pittsburghers are pretty laid back, a friendly bunch. We’ll lend a helping hand when it’s needed and offer a friendly smile in passing. There are, of course, some ways to make someone from Pittsburgh cringe. And, if you’re looking to get a reaction from a Pittsburgher, you’ll discover there’s no better way to do it than to:

  1. Throw a catfish on the ice.

Flickr/Brent Moore Go ahead and throw a catfish on the ice on the Penguins’ home turf. You’ll find yourself escorted out, maybe even arrested, and interviewed on the local Pittsburgh news. But, even worse? You just might feel the wrath - the boos - of thousands of Pittsburghers.

  1. Make it impossible to buy tickets to an out-of-town Pens’ game.

Flickr/Paige Shoemaker So, the Predators try to make it impossible for Pittsburghers to buy tickets to the Stanley Cup Finals in Nashville. Sure, we may cringe for a moment or two but then we remember the Penguins know a little something about winning the Stanley Cup.

  1. Root for the Ravens.

Flickr/Keith Allison Root for the Ravens when you’re in Pittsburgh, a town that bleeds black and gold? Shudder.

  1. Order a soda instead of a pop.

Flickr/PTGreg Pennsylvania may differ on whether that caffeinated drink is soda or pop, But, in Pittsburgh, we call it pop.

  1. Move our parking chair.

Flickr/secretlondon123 Digging a parking spot out after a Pittsburgh snowstorm is hard, tiring work. That chair that’s sitting in that parking space? Don’t move it. We earned that spot.

  1. Make fun of the way we talk.

Flickr/Sage Ross You might think we talk funny, using words like yinz, jagoff, and dahntahn. But, we proudly speak Pittsburghese so making fun of our own twist on the English language will probably make us cringe and earn you the title of jagoff.

  1. Dare to question the power of the Terrible Towel.

Yelp/John Question the power of the Terrible Towel and we may momentarily cringe. But, we will laugh - and get the last laugh, at that. Just ask the Cincinnati Bengals (and a long list of other NFL teams and players). The Steelers were losing to the Bengals when Jeremy Hill threw a Terrible Towel to the ground. Guess who won the game?

  1. Claim Pittsburgh is a Midwestern city.

Flickr/Mario Klingemann No. No! NO! Pittsburgh is not a Midwestern city. We love the Midwest but we aren’t part of it. Technically, we’re a Mid-Atlantic city but we pretty much think of us as part of the Northeast.

  1. Follow us around a crowded parking lot.

Flickr/John Grimm We’ve all been followed by a fellow Pittsburgher in a crowded parking lot, especially during the holiday season, who just wants to take our parking spot. We understand. We probably do it too. But, it’s often a cringe-worthy moment when we’re the ones being followed.

  1. Insult the Burgh.

Flickr/Matthew Paulson Just don’t do it. Don’t insult Pittsburgh. We’ll cringe then we’ll tell you why Pittsburgh is one of the best cities in the country.

What do you think makes someone from Pittsburgh cringe or angry? Share your thoughts below!

Flickr/Brent Moore

Go ahead and throw a catfish on the ice on the Penguins’ home turf. You’ll find yourself escorted out, maybe even arrested, and interviewed on the local Pittsburgh news. But, even worse? You just might feel the wrath - the boos - of thousands of Pittsburghers.

Flickr/Paige Shoemaker

So, the Predators try to make it impossible for Pittsburghers to buy tickets to the Stanley Cup Finals in Nashville. Sure, we may cringe for a moment or two but then we remember the Penguins know a little something about winning the Stanley Cup.

Flickr/Keith Allison

Root for the Ravens when you’re in Pittsburgh, a town that bleeds black and gold? Shudder.

Flickr/PTGreg

Pennsylvania may differ on whether that caffeinated drink is soda or pop, But, in Pittsburgh, we call it pop.

Flickr/secretlondon123

Digging a parking spot out after a Pittsburgh snowstorm is hard, tiring work. That chair that’s sitting in that parking space? Don’t move it. We earned that spot.

Flickr/Sage Ross

You might think we talk funny, using words like yinz, jagoff, and dahntahn. But, we proudly speak Pittsburghese so making fun of our own twist on the English language will probably make us cringe and earn you the title of jagoff.

Yelp/John

Question the power of the Terrible Towel and we may momentarily cringe. But, we will laugh - and get the last laugh, at that. Just ask the Cincinnati Bengals (and a long list of other NFL teams and players). The Steelers were losing to the Bengals when Jeremy Hill threw a Terrible Towel to the ground. Guess who won the game?

Flickr/Mario Klingemann

No. No! NO! Pittsburgh is not a Midwestern city. We love the Midwest but we aren’t part of it. Technically, we’re a Mid-Atlantic city but we pretty much think of us as part of the Northeast.

Flickr/John Grimm

We’ve all been followed by a fellow Pittsburgher in a crowded parking lot, especially during the holiday season, who just wants to take our parking spot. We understand. We probably do it too. But, it’s often a cringe-worthy moment when we’re the ones being followed.

Flickr/Matthew Paulson

Just don’t do it. Don’t insult Pittsburgh. We’ll cringe then we’ll tell you why Pittsburgh is one of the best cities in the country.

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