North Carolina has no shortage of slang words and even statewide dialect differences. From the mountains to the coast, we all speak with slightly altered accents, and we all have our own words and phrases that mean one thing to us – North Carolinian dialect. But what happens when we North Carolinians leave our safe zone and travel up north and out west? We might encounter a few words that just make absolutely NO SENSE to us Tar Heels…like these 11.
- You guys
Flickr / D.Faijo You guys? What? You mean, y’all??
- Unsweet Tea
Flickr / jadepalmer If it doesn’t come in a mason jar and taste like I’m sucking diabetes through a straw, why even bother making it? The only kind of ’tea’ we know here is sweet tea. The quickest way to break a North Carolinian’s heart? Say the words, “We don’t have sweet tea, but there’s sugar on the table.”
- Soda Pop
Flickr / Ross Catrow Sure, soda pop has a cute, 50’s style vibe to it - but it’s 2016. We prefer to call it soda, a soft drink, or even get specific and call our favorites by exactly what they are - like Cheerwine.
- Water Ice
Flickr / karmacamilleon If you say water ice to a North Carolinian, they’ll look at you strangely and say something like, “You mean ice water?” Water ice is actually slang for the popular summer treat, Italian Ice.
- Bubbler
Flickr / Chechi Peinado While North Carolinians call it what it is - a water fountain, or a fountain - our neighbors to the north call it a bubbler. Hey, I actually like that!
- Barbecue
Flickr / Jessica Merz While barbecue has one meaning to us - the holy grail of North Carolina food, to others across the country they refer to a barbecue as an event. I feel like this conversation would go as so -
Non-North Carolinian, “Hey want to come to my barbecue?”
North Carolinian, “Like a restaurant?”
Non-North Carolinian, “No, my barbecue, Saturday!”
North Carolinian, “Like, you slow roast your own pork? Do you use hickory? What’s your favorite style?”
Non-North Carolinian, “No, like some friends and I getting together to grill and drink in my backyard!”
North Carolinian, “Ohh, you mean a cookout, of course I’ll come!”
- Grip
Flickr / eflon To us, grip has multiple meanings. Like - get a grip, man! Or, I need grips for my tool kit! Or even, keep your grip tight, it’s going to be a bumpy ride. One we don’t use is referring to a “grip” as an adjective to describe a large amount of something. This is mainly West Coast slang. “There were grips of people there!” (Weird).
- Swap Meet
Flickr / Todd Lappin Another West Coast slang term North Carolinians might run into is “swap meet.” No, this is not two opposing teams playing a friendly game of whatever sport, or even a sorority event; it’s slang for “flea market.” Hmmm.
- Brassic
Flickr / jGregor Uhhh…what? Brassic is northern slang for not having much money or being poor. In the south we just call it what it is, broke.
- Fod
Flickr / lightsight Northerners sure do have weird words - and what is fod short for? Forehead, hmmm, might start using that one. “She really needs bangs, her fod is huge!”
- Hella
Flickr / Kanaka Menehune You might encounter a few NC surfers who still think it’s socially appropriate to say hella (you’re not Gwen Stefani) but while we’ve tucked this slang into the dark space of our mind, it’s still widely used throughout the country (mainly the West Coast). Hella is used to describe “a lot” or a “good amount.”
That was a hella big wave, bruh!
Ya man, did u see me get crushed by it? Hella scary!
Well, I’ve officially entertained myself enough today while creating fake conversations in my head (and putting them on here). Have you encountered any of these words before, or have any you want to add to the list?
Flickr / D.Faijo
You guys? What? You mean, y’all??
Flickr / jadepalmer
If it doesn’t come in a mason jar and taste like I’m sucking diabetes through a straw, why even bother making it? The only kind of ’tea’ we know here is sweet tea. The quickest way to break a North Carolinian’s heart? Say the words, “We don’t have sweet tea, but there’s sugar on the table.”
Flickr / Ross Catrow
Sure, soda pop has a cute, 50’s style vibe to it - but it’s 2016. We prefer to call it soda, a soft drink, or even get specific and call our favorites by exactly what they are - like Cheerwine.
Flickr / karmacamilleon
If you say water ice to a North Carolinian, they’ll look at you strangely and say something like, “You mean ice water?” Water ice is actually slang for the popular summer treat, Italian Ice.
Flickr / Chechi Peinado
While North Carolinians call it what it is - a water fountain, or a fountain - our neighbors to the north call it a bubbler. Hey, I actually like that!
Flickr / Jessica Merz
While barbecue has one meaning to us - the holy grail of North Carolina food, to others across the country they refer to a barbecue as an event. I feel like this conversation would go as so -
Non-North Carolinian, “Hey want to come to my barbecue?”
North Carolinian, “Like a restaurant?”
Non-North Carolinian, “No, my barbecue, Saturday!”
North Carolinian, “Like, you slow roast your own pork? Do you use hickory? What’s your favorite style?”
Non-North Carolinian, “No, like some friends and I getting together to grill and drink in my backyard!”
North Carolinian, “Ohh, you mean a cookout, of course I’ll come!”
Flickr / eflon
To us, grip has multiple meanings. Like - get a grip, man! Or, I need grips for my tool kit! Or even, keep your grip tight, it’s going to be a bumpy ride. One we don’t use is referring to a “grip” as an adjective to describe a large amount of something. This is mainly West Coast slang. “There were grips of people there!” (Weird).
Flickr / Todd Lappin
Another West Coast slang term North Carolinians might run into is “swap meet.” No, this is not two opposing teams playing a friendly game of whatever sport, or even a sorority event; it’s slang for “flea market.” Hmmm.
Flickr / jGregor
Uhhh…what? Brassic is northern slang for not having much money or being poor. In the south we just call it what it is, broke.
Flickr / lightsight
Northerners sure do have weird words - and what is fod short for? Forehead, hmmm, might start using that one. “She really needs bangs, her fod is huge!”
Flickr / Kanaka Menehune
You might encounter a few NC surfers who still think it’s socially appropriate to say hella (you’re not Gwen Stefani) but while we’ve tucked this slang into the dark space of our mind, it’s still widely used throughout the country (mainly the West Coast). Hella is used to describe “a lot” or a “good amount.”
That was a hella big wave, bruh!
Ya man, did u see me get crushed by it? Hella scary!
On the opposite end of the spectrum, here are 30 words and sayings ONLY North Carolinians understand.
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