Fishtown.US - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19125

in and around Fishtown, Old Richmond, & East Kensington

[This is my first draft of something I want to make a permanent part of the website. Please help add to it!]

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We Fishtowners speak standard English with a Philadelphia attitude.
However, there's a few things you should know to communicate around here...

STREET NAME PRONUNCIATIONS
Girard = Gee-rod or Gee-rahd
Almond = Al-mand or sometimes Ammind (rhymes with "wind", meaning "blowing air")
Salmond = Saaal-min (where the a is pronounced as in "hat")

NAMES OF VARIOUS THINGS
dirtball = an insulting name for someone. a strong negative, although not necessarily implying actual dirtiness
shed = a back porch closed in to make a room or rooms
pavement (often pronounced "payment") = sidewalk
culvert (often pronounce "colbert") = sewer entrance
cellar = basement
radio ball = water ice with ice cream in the center (sometimes called "gelati" in other parts of Philadelphia - not to be confused with actual gelati)
The Swimmo = the public swimming pool at the Fishtown Rec Center
The Cemo = the cemetary = Palmer Cemetary
Kenzo = a person from Kensington (or to say that someone was like a person from Kensington, and meant as an insult)
Dingus Day = a Polish holiday celebrated on Easter Monday in which the goal is for boys to flirtatiously soak girls with water, and in which girls got their revenge the next day by throwing dishes and pottery at the boys. Locally, the tradition has evolved that anyone soaks anyone on Monday.

SOMETIMES THE OLD NAME JUST STICKS
Newt's = Shissler's (the rec center)
The IGA = the grocery store at the corner of Dauphin & Frankford, no matter what its current name is

COLLOQUIALISMS
"basket of cheer" = a basket of alcohol, usually being raffled off as a fundraiser
"half hit in the a**" = drunk (apparently "hit in the a**" means passed out drunk)
"knock for" = to knock on someone's door and ask for them to come out

USAGE

'take' often is used instead of 'have', as in:
"take a stroke" = "have a stroke"
"take a seizure" = "have a seizure"

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