New York City Slang

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New York City: The City that Never Sleeps. From the top of the Empire State Building, to the man selling hotdogs on Broadway, New Yorkers are in a class by themselves when it comes to lingo. Being from the Tri-State area, I happen to use some of this New York City slang myself.

Often L's are replaced with W's. For example, someone might say, "Let's have a talk," but your ears may hear, "Let's have a tawk." Another subtlety occurs when S's are replaced with X's. When a New Yorker says, "You had better ask somebody," your may hear it as, "You had better axe somebody." Unless you watched a horror movie last night, what you heard probably didn't sound too inviting.

To keep you from heading for the hills the first chance you get, here are 10 slang terms and phrases that you will definitely hear whether you are shopping on 5th Avenue, or visiting friends in Long Island. This New York City lingo outline is sure to help you settle in, relax and really enjoy the amazing things that New York City has to offer.