YAT DICTIONARY www.nawlinscab.com (504) 522-9059

Wawduh.
DORGENOIS STREET - <DER-zhen-wah’>
DOWN DA ROAD - This term is travel directions for someone headed to lower St.
Bernard Parish traveling on St. Bernard Highway (US Highway 46). You are usually in da
parish when you use this phrase with a destination of either Violet or Poydras.
DRYADES STREET - <DRY-ads>.
DUFOSSAT STREET - <DOO-faucet>.
EUTERPE STREET - <YOU-terp>.
FAUBOURG - A suburb or outlying neighborhood, as in Faubourg Marigny. Usually <FOberg> by natives.
FRONATOWN - (i.e., “front of town) the area
from North Claiborne to the No. Broad St. and
beyond, up to Bayou St. John, particularly if
you walked “northwesterly” on Orleans Ave.
Popularly used in the 6th and 7th Wards
LOYOLA - The hardcore local pronunciation of
this is <lye-OH-la>.
MARIGNY STREET, FAUBOURG MARIGNY <MA-ra-nee>, “a” sounds like “hat”.
MAZANT STREET - <MAY-zant>. Runs through
the heart of Bywater in da Lowuh Nint’ Ward.
MELPOMENE STREET - <MEL-pa-meen>.
METAIRIE - Standard New Orleanian pronunciation: <MET-a-ree> Hardcore local pronunciation: <MET-tree>, as if it was spelled (and
sometimes is spelled), “Metry”. Tourists
pronounce it <ma-TAIR-ee>, much to to the
amusement of the locals.
MILAN STREET - <MY-lan>
NEW ORLEANS - Tourists pronounce it New
Orleens. Natives do not do this except when
omitting the “New”, as in “Orleans Parish”,
which is always <or-LEENS>. Here are the
major standard local pronunciations of the
City’s name: <new OR-lans>, <new AW-lans>,
<new OR-lee-’ans> <new AH-lee-ans>.
<NAW-lins> is used by some natives and
non-natives for amusement.
ON DA WES’ BANK, ACROSS DA RIVUH, OVA
DA RIVUH - On the West Bank of the Mississippi River, where such places as Algiers,
Gretna and Marrero lie. Interestingly, the
West Bank is due south of New Orleans
(except for Algiers, of course).
PARISH - A Louisiana state administrative
district, analogous to the American “county”.
When used by locals in the phrase “da parish”,
it generally means St. Bernard Parish specifically, which is suburban to New Orleans.
PLAQUEMINES PARISH - <PLACK-a-mans>.
PONTCHARTRAIN - <PONCH-a-train>
PRYTANIA STREET - <pra-TAN-ya>
ROYAL STREET - <RERL>, to rhyme with
“pearl”. A strong localese pronunciation.
SOCRATES STREET - In Algiers, across da river.
<SO crates>, like the word “so” and the word
“crates”.
TCHOUPITOULAS STREET - <’chop-a-TOO-las>.
It’s easier to pronounce than to spell. Spelling
“Tchoupitoulas” is the true test of a native;
TERPSICHORE STREET - <TERP-sa-core>.
THIBODEAUX - <TIB-a-doe>.
TONTI STREET - <TON-tee>, with the “o”
sound as in “box”.
TOULOUSE STREET - <TOO-loose>.
TULANE - <TOO-lane>. Never, ever pronounce
this <tu-LANE>, or you’ll immediately be
mistaken for a college student from New
Jersey.
UP DA ROAD - Same as down da road, only
now you are traveling in the opposite direction heading “up da road” to either Chalmette
or Arabi.
UPTOWN SIDE, DOWNTOWN SIDE, LAKESIDE,
RIVERSIDE - The four cardinal points of the
New Orleanian compass. “North, south, east,
west” do not work in New Orleans.
VETERANS HIGHWAY - Hardcore locals
pronounce this with only two syllables ...
<VET-trans>.
VIEUX CARRÉ - <VOO ka-RAY>. Literally means
“old square”, and it means Da French Quarter,
the site of Bienville’s original New Orleans
settlement.
“Call Nawlins, Dawlin.
Tell us where yat?”
TM
YAT DICTIONARY
The Yat language was researched on the Internet so its all true!
The Big Easy has made us folks that
live here speak lazy so we like to shorten our
words and combine them when we can. So
“New Orleans” becomes “Nawlins” and
“where are you” becomes “Where yat” - a
very important question we have for our
customers.
We also replace “th” with “d”. Da
locals know what we’re talking about. So
when ya owda a poboy at da counta, don’t be
confused when ya axed, “Dawlin, ya want dat
dressed?” So, we provide visitors with this Yat
translation dictionary to save them from
looking like a deer in headlights asking,
“Huh?” After reading this, you know you could
answer “nuttinonit”.
www.nawlinscab.com
Your call will be answered with “Nawlins, Dawlin, where yat?” Or skip the culture and use a taxi app to quickly find and call us, or
book a fare on-line. Our drivers can call you when they arrive and they are as professional as they look with black ties and gatsbys.
New Orleans’ first and only premium
cab service for the same price.
(504) 522-9059
LAGNIAPPE
AX - Ask.
BERL – Boil. Bubbling at 212°F.
BRAKE TAG - An inspection sticker on your car,
proof that you've passed the required annual
safety inspection. It encompasses several
areas of your car (e.g., horn, wipers, etc.) but
is primarily concerned with the integrity of
your brakes. Given the fact that New Orleans
is surrounded by various lakes, rivers and
canals, a bad set of brakes could mean that
you might end up at the bottom of one of
those bodies of water at the very least.
DA, DAT, DEM, DESE, DOSE, DERE, DIS – The,
That, Them, These, Those, There, This
DJEARME? - Did you hear me?
FTRUE - Ya kiddin me?
GRIS-GRIS - Pronounced <GREE-GREE>. Noun,
A (voodoo) spell. Can be applied for nefarious
purposes ("to put a gris-gris on someone"), or
as a force to ward off evil, like wearing a
gris-gris bag.
HOUSE COAT 'N CURLAS - The preferred dress
for charmers while makin’ groceries
K&B PURPLE – K&B was a local drug store for
decades, beloved by locals, whose trademark
color was a deep, violet purple. A particular
shade of purple that you'll know if you know
K&B. Used in phrases like, "He was so mad, his
face was K&B purple", or, "I can't believe ya
bought dat ugly car! It's K&B purple!"
MAKE GROCERIES, MAKIN' GROCERIES - To do
grocery shopping. Thought to have originated
with the French expression for grocery shop-
ping, "faire le marché". The verb "faire" can
mean either "to do" or "to make", and the
idiom may have been mistranslated.
NEUTRAL GROUND - The grassy or cement
strip in the middle of the road. The terms
"median" and/or "island" are NEVER used in
New Orleans.
PASSION MARK - Pronounced <PASH'n
mawk>,The little red mark you get on your
neck (or elsewhere) after a passionate session
of necking.
SKEETA HAWK - short for "mosquito hawk" dragonfly everywhere else.
STOOP - The front steps to your house,
particularly if it's a shotgun duplex.
SUCK DA HEAD, SQUEEZE DA TAILS - How we
eat crawfish.
THROW ME SOMETHIN MISTA - Parade talk.
TURLET - Toilet
WHERE YAT! - Unless it is a real question then
the New Orleanian is greeting you and you say
“a-ite” for alright.
LAGNIAPPE - <LAN-yap>. Something extra.
PEOPLE
BOO OR BAY BAY- A term of endearment used
by parents and grandparents for small
children
BRA - Men addressing men they do not know.
DAWLIN - A universal form of address. Women
use it to refer to both sexes, men use it
toward women.
GAWD - A supernatural deity, worshipped by
most New Orleanians.
JAWN - The most popular boys’ name in
English, this way among Localese-speakers.
MARRAINE & PARRAINE - Your godmother and
“Call Nawlins, Dawlin
godfather.
Y’ALL - The plural form of the second person
pronoun, “you all”. “You guys” is never said
and is a dead giveaway that you are not from
here.
YAMAMMA’N’EM - A collective term for your
immediate family, as in “Hey dawlin’, how’s
yamamma’n’em?”
FOOD
ALLIGATOR PEAR - Avocado.
DRESSED - Put lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and
mynez, on it!
GO CUP - A paper or plastic cup so you can
take your drink to go out on the streets.
ERSTAS - Oysters.
MIRLITON - A vegetable pear or chayote
squash, which grows wild in Louisiana and in
backyards throughout New Orleans.
Pronounced <MEL-lee-tawn>.MYNEZ - Mayonnaise.
MUFFULETTA - A quintessential New Orleans
Italian sandwich, of ham, Genoa salami,
Provolone cheese and marinated olive salad
on a round seeded Italian loaf. Invented at
Central Grocery on Decatur in da Quarter.
Locals pronounce this <muff-@-LOT-@>.
PECAN - <pa-KAWN>, not <PEE-can>.
PO-BOY - A sandwich on good, crispy New
Orleans French bread.
PRALINE - <PRAH-leen> not <PRAY-leen> A
“Where yat?”
Tell us where yat!”
sugary Creole candy, invented in New Orleans.
VEGATABLE - <VEDGEATIBBLE> What ya
mamma used to make ya eat before ya could
leave the table when ya were a kid. The word
has four syllables.
LOCATION
AUDUBON PARK - <AW-da-ban PAWK> our
park uptown
BACKATOWN - (back of town) the section of
New Orleans from the River to North
Claiborne, popularly used in the 6th and 7th
wards.
BURGUNDY STREET - <bur-GUN-dee>.
BURTHE STREET - <BYOOTH>
CADIZ STREET - <KAY-diz>.
CALLIOPE STREET - <CAL-lee-ope> not <kaLIE-a-pee>. But the riverboat Natchez that
plays organ music is the <ka-LIE-a-pee>.
CARONDELET STREET - <ka-’ron-da-LET>, not
<ka-’ron-da-LAY>.
CHARTRES STREET - <CHAW-tas> or <CHAWtuhs>.
CHEF MENTEUR HIGHWAY - <SHEF manTOUR>. Most people just say “da Chef”, U.S.
90
CLIO STREET - <CLI-oh>.
CONTI STREET - <CON-tye>.
DA QUARTER - The French Quarter, <da
QUAW-tah>.
DAUPHINE STREET - <daw-FEEN>
DECATUR SCREET - <da-KAY-ter>
DERBIGNY STREET - <DER-ba-nee> or <DOYba-nee> if you’re a really hardcore Nint’
TM
504-522-9059