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SamShephardsMustache t1_j4gawfu wrote

Extreme cringe. And I'm from Philly.

146

Fantasyfootballl2211 t1_j4gez2a wrote

yup now there gonna be stealing the slang , i stg if i hear some one out there say it and there not from philly 😂😂

−36

Fitz2001 t1_j4i4n8q wrote

Not just stealing slang, stealing it to advertise. Garbage.

2

Steelplate7 t1_j4gd5li wrote

Ok…I live in the sticks of Snyder county… what the fuck is a “Jawn”?

83

Fantasyfootballl2211 t1_j4gf0gx wrote

Philly slang , person place or thing

122

Extreme_Succotash784 t1_j4gkrtj wrote

That jabroni lawyer dude from Morgan and Morgan also tried to make it a first name. IM JAWN MORGAN. No you’re not.

88

TheElectricShaman t1_j4glix2 wrote

Bruh there are so many of those billboards on my ride to work.

17

ignissancti t1_j4gms2d wrote

I live in West Philly. The dude paid to plaster his face and Jawn Morgan slogan on the side of the trolleys, which head into deep southwest Philly. I feel the need to apologize on the behalf of white people.

36

TheElectricShaman t1_j4gstf8 wrote

Hey I’m in west Philly too!

I feel like Philly needs to declare war on his ads like we did with the spotted lantern flies a few years back.

30

artisanrox t1_j4gyf6c wrote

I'm gonna tell my grandkids about all the enemies I squished in the Great Spotted Lanternfly War.

15

B-Eze t1_j4hu6hd wrote

He has a new one in sp saying "youse been hurt?" I'm more offended by that one lol.

13

owenhinton98 t1_j4ial4q wrote

I was sitting in a bar yesterday and watched 3 buses pass by back to back plastered with that bullshit

3

[deleted] OP t1_j4h5bz4 wrote

I will never call that firm because of those ads.

11

sirfuzzitoes t1_j4i1x6s wrote

More people need to see this so I'm putting it out there.

There's a jawn Morgan billboard on rt 1 in bensalem. Ngl, I find it hilarious. Jawn has gone corporate.

5

SwadianZunist t1_j4gw2fx wrote

Oh, so it’s kind of like jones. “I’m off to get me one of them soda jones.”

2

ImperialIIClass t1_j4gf5m3 wrote

At this point, a jawn is whatever the hell you want that jawn to be.

Basically a catch all noun.

60

JazzFan1998 t1_j4inl5e wrote

A pejorative, if you will, (and even if you won't.)

3

[deleted] OP t1_j4h3vx1 wrote

It’s equivalent to Smurf

−9

erdtirdmans t1_j4hqvvb wrote

Smurf is almost always a verb except when referring to the smurfs themselves. Jawn is almost exclusively a noun (except in select cases of verbing)

To put it simply: You can smurf a jawn, but you can't jawn a smurf

31

sirfuzzitoes t1_j4i14ok wrote

Profound knowlegical pearls gettin dropped right here.

8

erdtirdmans t1_j4i3cl4 wrote

This is the type of information I've wasted my years accumulating 🤣

5

OneHumanPeOple t1_j4goedd wrote

Jawn replaces any noun.

It can be used as code so that two people can openly discuss a secret topic. Example: “Pass me that jawn” where the jawn is a marijuana consumption device.

It can also be used when a person is referring to an object but isn’t sure what the object is called. It replaces other nonsense words like thingamajig, or Doohickey.

44

[deleted] OP t1_j4gznde wrote

[deleted]

−7

erdtirdmans t1_j4hripp wrote

No, it doesn't. Thingamajig, whosawhatsit, and jawn are not pronouns

3

[deleted] OP t1_j4hrw31 wrote

[deleted]

−5

erdtirdmans t1_j4hxzbe wrote

No, they're not. A non-specific noun isn't automatically a pronoun.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pronoun

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/her

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thingamajig

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/her?q=Her

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/thingamajig?q=Thingamajig

3

sirfuzzitoes t1_j4i1c8s wrote

This is why I never argue grammar. I'm decent but hell if I'm proper learned about the intricacies.

5

erdtirdmans t1_j4i4fpg wrote

It's a totally understandable mistake

A pronoun is a grammatical part of speech, so the closest definition of its terms is going to accidentally be overly broad when you try to test every word by it. If you went strictly by the layman's definition of a pronoun, it doesn't seem to exclude "jawn." However, you'll notice that almost every grammatical article you find about pronouns will at some point list all the pronouns. It's just hard to define the form, function, and intuited rules of a part of speech using the very same speech

But it's very clear that - functionally - "jawn" and "thingamajig" are not pronouns...

> The dog walked down the street > > It walked down the street > > Jawn walked down the street

Jawn doesn't work there

> He helped himself to some food > > Jawn helped jawnself to some food

Or here. It doesn't work because it's not a pronoun. Misusing it this way is one of those things that natives would instantly point to as proof that you're trying to sidle into Philly slang with no clue what you're doing.

Pronouns can behave in sentences completely replacing the totality of the noun phrase. Jawn cannot. Jawn needs an article (the/a), number, or adjective to precede it. Because it's a noun.

> Two dogs walked down the street > > Two jawns walked down the street

This applies everywhere it turns up

> Be careful with this hot pan > > Be careful with this hot thing > > Be careful with this hot jawn

Jawn is a normal everyday noun like pan and thing. The only thing that's remarkable about it is that it can work for every case of a noun.

> I met your wife yesterday > > I met your jawn yesterday > > Yeah, I've been to that bar > > Yeah, I've been to that jawn > > Pick me up a hoagie > > Pick me up one of them jawns

Normally things like the suits, popo, John Doe, people, thing, thingamajig, widget, anytown, the boonies, cooee, etc. are more specific in their non-specificity, because to be completely non-specific would theoretically ruin the whole point of communicating

Jawn is so fundamentally built on being completely non-specific that phrases like "one of them jawns" will be tossed in to make things even more confused... and yet, it still functions in communicative speech! HOW? I dunno. I don't make the jawns, I just use them

4

sirfuzzitoes t1_j4jmv3w wrote

Thanks for the detailed response! (☞ﾟヮﾟ)☞

Great use of sidle too! What you said all makes sense. I'm well removed from getting learnt on grammar and sentence structure so I'm gonna defer to you.

You are absolutely right that adopters can be spotted by their (mis)use of the word. On another note, I love when people tell me they hate the word but still know exactly what I'm talking about when I use it. It is so culturally pervasive even objectors acknowledge it.

3

Krash412 t1_j4gg17d wrote

Essentially a jawn is a noun. It can be a person place or thing.

14

RayAyun t1_j4gyeo3 wrote

A "Jawn" can literally be anything. I have friends who will basically say "Yo, can I have that Jawn?" Asking for a tool to be handed to them but they won't point at which one or make any other description.

6

4moves t1_j4i78hb wrote

jawn == thing. Nobody ever says what the jawn

5

sirfuzzitoes t1_j4i0ytn wrote

Anything, generally. Person, place, or thing. Not a very or relative.

It's contextual and generally, people know exactly what you're talking about. Think "the thing" when you can't recall the name for a spanner wrench or something like that.

A jawn is not "a thing". It is anything.

3

No1WrthNoin t1_j4hopzs wrote

Absolutely no fucking clue. But the shoes on the power lines immediately makes me think of the shitty side of town where drug deals were rampant. smh.

−2

Odd_Shirt_3556 t1_j4geaxh wrote

Jawns on Fire appears to be a store on Lingelstown Road by the Giant. They sell high end sneakers and other apparel. It also appears that the proprietors are escapees from the Philadelphia Jawn using lexicon area.

46

katahdin420 t1_j4ghrmz wrote

It's still alive and well in prison. I can say that from experience. People from Philly say jawn. People from western PA say Joint.

37

sirfuzzitoes t1_j4i1g8b wrote

Joint is more a NY thing. Bmore typically uses jaunt.

2

Lunarend3 t1_j4gdxnl wrote

I thought that word died out like 10 years ago...

27

antagron1 t1_j4gfiih wrote

There is a jawn revival. Philly pride? There are beers, shoes, sunglasses and much, much more!

12

minnick27 t1_j4h4dq5 wrote

There's a kiosk in KOP mall that sells jawn merchandise.

1

MRG_1977 t1_j4jpsht wrote

Ugh but I’m surprised it is at the KOP mall.

2

artificialavocado t1_j4gj6dj wrote

Philly slang? Pfft please. Come to the coal region that shit is damn near unintelligible.

16

ApplianceHealer t1_j4gsllp wrote

Had a cousin from there who routinely said “that’s the ice-ting on the cake”

7

TOW2Bguy t1_j4gwzmk wrote

That's after it's been slippy out. The original frosting is now frozen.

4

artisanrox t1_j4gyo3n wrote

gonna go to the greenie wid a few kortz and get shitfaced

3

CL-MotoTech t1_j4ht3d7 wrote

Slippy is said the world over. I don’t know why people think it’s unique here. I’ve heard it in most English speaking countries. It’s commonly used in various sports.

1

TOW2Bguy t1_j4hvxxv wrote

In central PA, use of slippy versus slippery is very colloquial. To the point those who spend a lot of time at University Park sometimes adopt it, and it can be an identifier outside the area.

2

SpectacularTights t1_j4kw2o6 wrote

I have lived all over the country for my job and never heard “slippy” until I moved to central Pa

2

gggg500 t1_j4h0gev wrote

Is it common for people to use the word “Pry” instead of “Probably”?

Example(speaking kinda fast): I’m pry gonna go to the store later.

Is this a PA thing? Because I’ve lived here all my life and I know I do it, and I think I’ve heard other people do it. But it’s either so common I’ve forgotten how people say it. or I’m just weird and only I do it.

3

GreenGlassDrgn t1_j4h4p09 wrote

'prolly' is pretty normal to hear, wouldn't surprise me to hear it's starting to lose another syllable

11

artificialavocado t1_j4h73b3 wrote

I never heard pry. Not so much the younger generation but the older folks can make the “th” sound. The number “three” sounds like “tree.” “With that” sounds like “wit dat.” I guess I’m used to it “yous” is about the only local thing that still makes me cringe. I know it’s not nice and isn’t fair but such poor grammar makes them sound stupid.

3

Allemaengel t1_j4gchyp wrote

The spreading of the term "jawn" basically represents linguistic crabgrass.

Rip it out, people. Just don't use it.

10

fallowcentury t1_j4gg878 wrote

why not? im from philly. it has extremely distinct proper syntax and meanings ssociated with it. in fact it's complicated slang and it exists for good reasons!

10

Allemaengel t1_j4gqmys wrote

Got badly overused.

Hell of a lot of people on the Philly sub seem to hate it anytime it gets discussed there.

4

courageous_liquid t1_j4h60x0 wrote

Because it's 99% of the time misused by millennial transplants

8

Allemaengel t1_j4ha49j wrote

That makes sense and probably why it seems annoying.

That said there's nothing inherently wrong with the word itself.

2

NoWarrantShutUp t1_j4gqhzo wrote

Let’s just do away with all unique words from across our country, it’ll be good for us.

3

HeyZuesHChrist t1_j4h1ej6 wrote

Why?

2

Allemaengel t1_j4h9tib wrote

Because it's getting overused and misapplied to the point it's just tired as a number of people on the Philly sub will attest

That said, there's nothing wrong with it in, and of, itself when it was properly used by Philly residents in normal conversation.

But people in Pennsyltucky where I live using it? Lol.

5

HumperMoe t1_j4gy7ru wrote

I only approve of jawn when the Phillies are playing. That dude who has the sign in the post season saying hit that jawn is peak philly sports. Confuse the other teams with our made up words. Make sure they know their in the concrete jungle. Eat them alive.

10

teefdr t1_j4h0g71 wrote

I think a big factor is the show Abbott Elementary taking place in Philadelphia. If you haven't seen it, the show is great. It just won a golden globe!

9

gj13us t1_j4gp7kg wrote

I’ve lived in Lancaster for over 25 years and never heard of it until about a year ago.

8

Dythronix t1_j4h5uow wrote

Spreading west? I've been hearing jawn in the Harrisburg area since I was born, in the 90s.

8

[deleted] OP t1_j4h6wae wrote

I’m not familiar with the Harrisburg area. Was in town for work for a couple weeks (from Philly). News to me.

1

ShoelessJodi t1_j4gv5d1 wrote

I drive past that sign twice a week and it annoys me far more than the traffic I'm inevitably going to encounter a few miles further.

7

Grumpicake t1_j4gi6r8 wrote

I see that sign every day to work and REFUSE the monster who made this the satisfaction of learning what it means.

6

spoon7777 t1_j4gdf4t wrote

I live in Bethlehem and thankfully that shit hasn't spread north yet. WTF does it even mean?

3

Fantasyfootballl2211 t1_j4gf1t3 wrote

Philly slang its a person place or thing

5

fallowcentury t1_j4gftcz wrote

jawn originated at least in the 1970's and it might not even be philly-based. but in philly you grow up with it.

6

Fantasyfootballl2211 t1_j4gfwdo wrote

Jawn is a philly thing , no body else says it besides someone from philly lol

−1

khag t1_j4gmihm wrote

Jawn is just Philly's shit way of pronouncing "joint"

−4

theENDtype t1_j4gjc3q wrote

It's starting to plant it seeds in the Lehigh Valley. I'm also in Bethlehem and in the last few months I've seen a few people who are wearing Jawn hoodies in the Wawa style font. Now will it spread? Time will tell.

3

MonsterNog t1_j4gf083 wrote

They wrote it in the damn clouds just set this billboard on fire

3

BrainWav t1_j4gp0sv wrote

A billboard for an instagram account? What the hell?

3

ArcOfADream t1_j4hk0m6 wrote

They say the way to get a pothole fixed is to spray-paint a cock-n-balls around it; if ever something needed such a treatment it's this billboard. If you live near this thing, do it, for all our sakes.

3

stajus67 t1_j4glmvn wrote

I have heard jaws being used in Central PA semi regularly since I can remember.

2

Von_Moistus t1_j4hmrui wrote

Counterpoint: I have lived in Centre County for 30 years now and haven't heard it once.

Growing up in the southwest corner of the state I heard "ruff" instead of "roof" and "wuff" instead of "wolf." We were a bit too removed from Pittsburgh for "yinz" so we said "you-all" (but never "yawl" for some reason).

3

rogueanansi69 t1_j4gtiw2 wrote

I'm originally from Philly and now reside in the western part of the State of PA when I said "jawn" over here people looked at me like I was crazy, that was 12 years ago. Now the younger people at the job say it lol. I did see that sign recently.

2

Icyyflame t1_j4h796o wrote

Colonized Jawn. So fuxking cringe

2

CmonEileen87 t1_j4glto2 wrote

I pass this sign everyday in Hbg 😂

1

icss1995 t1_j4gmq4j wrote

I’m from the region. It’s a advertisement for a sneaker shop.

Shops Website: jawnsonfireDOTcom

1

zsmomma49 t1_j4gxouu wrote

This is in York too!

1

Skenry32 t1_j4h9dc5 wrote

And the sneakers hanging over the power lines? Isn't that a drug thing?

1

[deleted] OP t1_j4hai59 wrote

Not that I ever heard. We did it as kids.

2

Skenry32 t1_j4hdat0 wrote

Interesting. I always heard it was a turf / locating a buy house thing.

1

dogmomdrinkstea t1_j4hii95 wrote

People in my hbg high school would say jawn all the time, this was in the late 00s so not new.

1

Colonia_Paco t1_j4hswn2 wrote

It refers to Jawn Morgan, apparently he started the trend of saying “Jawn”

1

tipsykretts t1_j4htu8q wrote

Idk I've only heard ppl call the shitter a jawn lol

1

InsideFastball t1_j4hw8uu wrote

As a fan of sharks and Jaws, I’m quite disappointed.

1

sirfuzzitoes t1_j4i0o75 wrote

People really trying the most out here.

1

bloobun t1_j4i0pdz wrote

Jawn is old af

1

AtlasNovalis t1_j4i4bc6 wrote

It'll never outsquanch the Squanch.

1

lunamoth53 t1_j4i89mv wrote

Thought was a bathroom

1

Riverrat423 t1_j4ig8ie wrote

Something like this. r/gritty.

1

CraWLee t1_j4ijb7n wrote

That's been there for over a year now I feel. Being from Philly, it sure made me smile.

1

Yomama-22 t1_j4infz0 wrote

Keep that to yourselves please

1

Sourmouse419 t1_j4iy60n wrote

No body in Philly actually says that anymore..

1

Toadinnahole t1_j4iydng wrote

Effing Linglestown, haven't gotten off at that exit since the Sonic closed.

1

jeep1960 t1_j4j2ugr wrote

One of the most stupid words

1

011011010110110 t1_j4jklts wrote

dear god i hope not. Chester County can keep that one

1

amitydtd666 t1_j4kzh2x wrote

Didnt realize jawn was a philly thing, it def has been picked up in schools since I was in school. Said jawn starting in middle school and that was over 10 years ago

Edit: also, I'm in the harrisburg area so maybe my experience was different

1

[deleted] OP t1_j508hs1 wrote

I see those too

1

ImperialIIClass t1_j4gf715 wrote

I mean, I guess they’ve got their demographic precisely targeted.

0

agelaius9416 t1_j4go5tb wrote

Damn lots more racism than usual in this subreddit…

0

kaspirtk1 t1_j4j1745 wrote

Oh is that why I hate it so much? Makes a lot of sense now

0

Capital-Giraffe-4122 t1_j4haonr wrote

No one says jawn in Philly, this is a made up meme

−2

erdtirdmans t1_j4httxv wrote

Born and raised and I've known plenty of people including myself who say it

2

Galagoth t1_j4hp57j wrote

this is not a philly thing it is from all over the nation and has been that way for over ten years

−2

Bicycle-Seat t1_j4gpxb9 wrote

Can we donate Philly to NJ? The rest of PA would be better off.

−15

HeyZuesHChrist t1_j4h1jsw wrote

Why?

2

NoWarrantShutUp t1_j4hzbw1 wrote

He watches Channel 6 News every night so all he sees is crime, that is probably the only reason he has. That or he spends a lot of time here, for whatever reason, and just truly dislikes the city. But I doubt it.

1