Baltimore Slang

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If you're not from Charm City, you should know that we operate with a shorthand and lingo that Baltimore visitors might think a foreign language. And we're proud of it. The psyche behind this Baltimore slang is exposed in the book "If You Live Here, You're Home," written by former Baltimore Sun and Baltimore News American columnist Michael Olesker. He truly captures the nature of Baltimoreans, or Baltimorons as we sometimes affectionately refer to ourselves, when he writes:
"Baltimore is a city of tribal rituals, of neighbors sharing steamed crabs in the back yard, and downtown waitresses who call their customers Hon without worrying about any vast sociological implications, and worshipful football fans who believe the snatching of their beloved Colts was the worst kidnapping since the Lindbergh baby."

To help newcomers decipher the unique lingo Baltimore natives have developed over the years, I offer the following tutorial: