10 words or phrases that everyone in New Jersey knows

While most of us in the United States don't have a specific dialect, each region or state has its own collection of terms that are very specific to that area.

New Jersey isn't unique in this way, but we do have a unique set of words that, if you live in this state, you understand completely. But if you're not from here, may have you scratching your head. Here are the top ten.

🗣 "Down the shore" — Most people who don't live at the shore say this. If you live at the shore you just say you're going to the beach.

🗣 "Wawa" - It used to be a South Jersey thing, but now they're everywhere. Like, everywhere. They've even spread further south in the country into Florida.

🗣 "Pork roll" — Yes, some people still insist on calling it Taylor Ham, but even those folks know what you're talking about. (Plus, it can't legally be called ham and even on the Taylor box it says pork roll, so...

🗣 "Jughandle" — Yeah, because of the population density and road congestion we need these weird things to make a left turn. They drive out of staters nuts. We don't love them either but we know what to do.

🗣 "Benny" — A term used by locals to refer to tourists who come to the Jersey Shore from areas like New York or Philadelphia. Benny for the north, "Shoobie" for the southern part of the state.

🗣 "Acme" — The supermarket chain that is just about everywhere in the state, unlike some others. Sometimes pronounced Ak-a-mee by some people here.

🗣 "Pineys" — A term used to describe people who live in the Pine Barrens, sometimes used derisively. They happen to be some of the best people in the state, IMHO.

🗣 "Sprinkle" — A term used to describe a type of ice cream topping that is more commonly known as jimmies in other parts of the country and even in other parts of our state.

🗣 "The Turnpike" — Some states have multiple turnpikes that go from one point to another. When we say Turnpike we all know it's the New Jersey Turnpike that runs through the whole state and is actually part of I-95.

🗣 "Hoagie" -—The southern half of the state calls a sub or hero a hoagie, which they borrowed from Philly because many in South Jersey have roots there or are generally influenced by that city. But in New Jersey even if you call it a sub, you know what a hoagie is and that the person using it grew up in a different part of the state than you did.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Dennis Malloy only.

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