1. “Hella”
2. “The City”
3. “SoCal”
4. “I’m stoked!”
5. “420”
6. “Janky”
“Janky” means “performing below normal standards.” So if your iPhone is being slow and unresponsive, you’d say “Dang, my phone is being real janky today.” It’s not something I heard being used everyday in NorCal, though it definitely was used, especially compared to SoCal where I never heard it. I’d stick to using this phrase in Northern California, because elsewhere they might think you’re talking about an exotic new narcotic.
1. “Like”
2. “NoCal”
As you probably noticed, there’s an “r” missing from this. Or is there? When referring to Northern California in abbreviated form (which, I’ll remind you, we Southern Californians rarely do), we use “NoCal” instead of NorCal because it’s more derogatory. (No-Cal, get it?) And it’s about twice as fun to say. Just don’t say it up North because people will take it as a slight against their honor and start raving about all of the things wrong with Southern California. They might also pull out a cowbell or two and start ringing it in your face.
3. “Dude”
4. “North-North California”
5. “There’s a Sigalert on the 405”
6. “The entertainment industry”
And lastly, a phrase to avoid like the plague…
“Cali”
Northern and Southern Californians can come together on this one. Nobody, literally nobody living in California refers to their state as “Cali.” Use that word here and you might as well be holding up a giant sign that says “I’m from Pennsylvania!” Featured photo credit: golden-gate-bridge-san-francisco / CC0 Public Domain via pixabay.com
