If Illinois Had An Official Word … This Would Be It!

Grabowski.

Do you know the word?

According to Slate, who recently made an interactive map titled “The United Slang of America,” if Illinois had an official word, it would be “grabowski.”

It’s definitely an interesting choice. Without a doubt, it’s unique to Illinois, especially Chicago.
And from my experiences, it’s a word many Illinoisans and Chicagoans don’t know.
Other states got more obvious choices. Hawaii got “aloha.” Maryland got “hon” — short for honey. Texas got “hoss.”

There were plenty of weird ones too. People in Rhode Island call milkshakes “cabinets”? News to me! And I’ve never heard the term “tump,” but I’ve spent essentially no time in Arkansas, so I guess that’s not a surprise (“to tip over or dump out”).

This list is by no means scientific or definitive, and Slate admits that. They used a few techniques to come up with words. They talked to linguists, surveyed friends and colleagues and even let people on Facebook chime in. They found five to 10 options for each state, then argued about which was best.

And for Illinois, they chose grabowski. See the full articleImage may be NSFW.
Clik here to view. HERE.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.