Bizarre slang words and phrases from every state

The United States is a vast and diverse nation with a huge assortment of languages and dialects. It's perhaps no surprise, then, that in a country with at least 350 languages, you find a great deal of variation in the slang terms—some of which are downright strange.

Highway and Landmark Nicknames That Confuse Outsiders

These bizarre phrases come in all types, some of the most common of which are place descriptions—highways, intersections, concert halls, mountain ranges, etc. In Colorado, for example, they use the term "Mouse Trap" to describe the junction of Interstate 70 and 25 in Denver. Everyone knows what this is even though it might baffle outsiders. Similarly, in Kansas, the word "kaw" is synonymous with the Kansas River. In Atlanta, they use "OTP" or "ITP" to describe one's proximity to Interstate 285 ("OTP" is "outside the perimeter" while "ITP" means "inside the perimeter.") Out-of-towners have no idea what the natives are talking about.

State-Specific Sports Slang and Food Terms You Won’t Hear Anywhere Else

Another common source of regional slang is local sports—nicknames for teams, stadiums, fans, rivals, and everything in between. Tennesseans refer to the "Preds" in "Smashville" (it's code for their hockey team and the city of Nashville), and Oklahomans use the phrase "thunder up" (a reference to their basketball team). Food is another major source of local jargon. "Hot brown" in Kentucky, for instance, is a regular lunch staple, even though most non-locals don't know what it is (an open-faced sandwich). Muffuletta is something they eat in Louisiana, and any local will recognize the nickname (a popular Italian lunch item). Montanans know that "Hoot Wine" is an alcoholic beverage brewed by the Hutterites.

Slang That Makes Sense Only If You’re From There

People feel strongly about their own regional slang—they can even get competitive. Just ask anyone who voted in Dictionary.com's 2025 spring slang showdown in March 2025. Ultimately, it was the beloved Southern phrase "y'all" that took the top prize, but the West's "stoked," the Northeast's "jimmies," and the Midwest's "ope" all put up quite a fight. It may sound a bit silly until you consider how much pride individuals feel about the words and phrases they grew up with, and how desperate they are not to see their favored slang fall out of use.

As the internet's influence continues to widen, these unique turns of phrase have come under threat. "Historically, language users are most often in physical proximity, so variation occurs across classes or racial groups in a particular city, neighborhood, or school," sociolinguist Dr. Kelly Elizabeth Wright told Popsugar in October 2024. Today, she said, social media is changing that and people across the United States now use much of the same slang from coast to coast, with little room for regional variations. Certain localized words endure for now, though—for example, one can still order a pop in the Midwest, a soda on the West Coast, and a Coke in the Southeast.

To give a shoutout to some of the country's most bizarrely endearing slang, Stacker has put together a slideshow featuring the weirdest phrases from each state. Take a look to see how many you recognize.

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