The Most Loved and Hated Regional Slang Across America

Slang has long been an important part of how humans communicate. The Brits may boast some of the most intriguing slang in the world — what exactly does chinwag mean, anyway? — but the U.S. must surely be the frontrunner when it comes to spawning the most influential slang, with all-American lingo like cool and nerd infiltrating vocabularies in every corner of the globe.

But you’ll tend to hear some American slang only in certain cities, states and regions. Depending on where you go, for instance, the end slice of bread might be called a heel, a butt or a crust. In other places, still, the local lingo might be influenced by another language, like Haitian Creole and French in New Orleans.

This begs the question: do we have a favorite region when it comes to slang? And which of a particular region’s lingo do we feel the strongest about — either positively or negatively? Using Urban Dictionary — the Internet’s most reliable library of slang — WordTips, which also specializes in words with friends cheat and Wordle solver tools, went in search of the most loved and hated regional slang across the U.S.

About This Study

We began by building seed lists of slang words and phrases for 14 of the most distinct dialects in the U.S.: Hawaii, New York, Philadelphia, Boston, New Orleans, Texas, Chicago, Denver, California, New Jersey, Mississippi, Seattle, Midwestern and Pittsburgh. We then searched each term on Urban Dictionary and recorded the number of upvotes and downvotes received. This allowed us to rank the most loved and most hated slang (i.e., most upvoted and most downvoted) in the U.S. overall and per region.

Key Findings

• Conniption is the most loved slang term in the U.S., with a 97.90% upvote rate on Urban Dictionary. Hailing from Texas, this word means a fit of rage or a tantrum.
• Meanwhile, slashie (a hybrid bar/liquor store) is the most hated slang in the U.S. overall, with a 46.15% downvote rate. This slang comes from Chicago.
• Hawaii’s slang is the most loved, with Hawaiian slang words garnering an 88.10% upvote rate. Hapa (a multiracial person) is the most loved slang from there overall (90.9% upvote rate).

How Much Do We Love Slang from Different American Regions?

While some slang tends to grind our gears, other informal words and phrases hold a special place in our hearts. So which American region’s slang do we love the most? Below, we’ve ranked ten major regions of the U.S. based on how upvoted their slang is on Urban Dictionary.

Hawaii is home to the most beloved slang overall, with the state’s lingo garnering an overall 88.10% upvote rate online. Hapa ranks as the state’s most loved slang term (with a 90.9% share of upvotes), a word that generally describes a person of multiracial heritage. After Hawaii comes New York (84.28% upvoted), followed by Philadelphia (83.13% upvoted) and Boston (82.73% upvoted).

Our rankings above reveal the most loved and most hated regional slang overall. Texas lays claim to three of the most loved slang words, led by conniption (with a 97.90% upvote rate), a word that describes a fit of rage or a tantrum. Among the most hated words are the Hawaiian greeting howzit (38.64% downvoted) and filthy (34.49% downvoted), which means cool in Seattle.

Cringe Comes Top as the Most Loved Slang from New York

With so many cultures and languages mingling in one space, it’s no wonder that New York is often the birthplace of hip new slang. But of all the slang words local to the Big Apple, it’s cringe that ranks as the most beloved, having received a staggering 94.03% upvote rate on Urban Dictionary. This word has flourished online in recent years as a descriptor of awkward and embarrassing content.

“Does anyone else find some newer phrases like ‘yes queen!’ to be cringe/weird?” writes one Redditor, perfectly encapsulating the word’s usage as an adjective. It also represents the subset of people who hate the phrase yas/yaaas (often coupled with the word queen), which ranks as the second-most hated piece of New York slang (26.21% downvoted). Placed as the most hated overall, however, is brolic (29.05% downvote rate), a term that describes a muscular physique.

YOLO Ranks Among the Internet’s Most Favorite Slang from California

After outta pocket, the Internet’s most favorite slang to spring from California is tryna (92.55% upvote rate), a contraction of the phrase ‘trying to.’ After that comes yolo (‘You Only Live Once’) with a 90.67% upvote rate, a phrase that will strike cringe into the heart of any Millennial, and phubbing (snubbing someone by looking at your phone) with a 90.40% upvote rate.

In contrast, the most hated slang word from the Golden State is clutch (35.39% downvoted). If someone says you ‘came in clutch,’ it means you performed very well at something in a stressful situation or at the last minute. 

Next comes bro/brah/bruh, which are all friendly terms for a male friend (31.51% downvotes). “Is anyone else sick of the word bro?” queries one of the word’s detractors on Reddit. “I've been seeing this s–t everywhere and I don't know why it’s become such a part of people's vocabulary. …This rampant use of the word in such an unnecessary way just really grinds my gears.”

When It Comes to Boston’s Slang, Wicked Is Wicked Popular

We already know that wicked is Boston’s most cherished slang — but what other Bostonian words and phrases are adored on the Internet? In second place comes frickin’ with a 94.46% upvote rate, a polite version of a swear word that sounds a lot like it. Hosie comes next, having been upvoted 87.16% of the time, which you’ll hear when someone wants to call dibs on something.

Meanwhile, ripper is the most hated piece of slang, having garnered a 44.55% downvote rate on Urban Dictionary. This word means a wild party. And just when you thought you knew all the regional words for a bubbly beverage, tonic gets thrown into the mix, a nickname that’s falling out of parlance with younger generations, perhaps why it places as the city’s second-most hated slang with a 38.27% downvote rate.

Grabowski Is the Internet’s Favorite Slang from Chicago

In Chicago, Grabowski comes top as the most loved local slang, having been upvoted by nearly everyone (92.22% upvoted). This word means a hard-working, blue-collar person, said to reference Chicago’s large Polish community (in which you’ll likely find someone with the surname Grabowski). Clout (87.37% upvoted) comes next, which is another way of describing political power, as in, ‘they’ve got clout.’

Slashie is, of course, the most hated slang from the Second City, but Chicago Overcoat (38.53% downvoted) comes close behind. Far from referencing a type of coat meant to brave the city’s windy weather, this slang translates to a coffin or a type of murder method used by the Mafia during the Prohibition era. Fin comes after that (29.65% downvoted), meaning a five-dollar bill.

Conniption Is the Most Beloved Piece of Texas Slang

After conniption, the Internet’s most favorite slang from Texas is kin (94.58% upvoted), which means family. Fixin’ comes next (92.82% upvoted), which you might hear when someone announces they’re about to do something (for example, ‘I’m fixin’ to go to the store’). The delightful whomperjawed also ranks (89.66% upvoted), used to describe something askew or out of sorts.

Clodhopper (33.33% downvoted) might be the most hated slang phrase from Texas because it’s a little mean; this word, originally a term for a heavy shoe, is also used as an insult to mean clumsy or uncultured. Vittles is the next most hated (32.89% downvoted), a term meaning food or provisions that derives from the archaic word victual.

Five Tips For Incorporating American Slang as an International Student

Using slang is a fantastic way to level up your language skills. So writes Simon Goodall of Rosetta Stone magazine: “Slang is a challenge for language learners. But it’s worth persevering. Slang can allow us to communicate better, and tell or understand jokes in another language. It also gives us a deep insight into the character and culture of the language we’re learning.” So how can you get to grips with it? Follow our five top tips below on how you can approach incorporating American slang into your vocabulary as an international student.

1. Listen to Americans talk. Take the time to observe how the Americans around you talk. If they use a slang word you don’t know, you could make a note of it to research later or politely ask what they mean.
2. Watch American media. Immerse yourself in American culture through TV shows, movies and social media. You’ll gain a quick understanding of how older and more up-to-date slang is used, plus slang that’s unique to certain regions across the country. 
3. Make sure it is appropriate for you to use. Before using new words and phrases, think about the social context you’re using them. To be on the safe side, steer clear of using slang in the workplace. Research the history and cultural connections of slang, too; you don’t want to unintentionally appropriate certain language, which can cause offense.
4. Practice with your friends. The next step is to use slang in conversation with your friends. Try it with Americans and check to see if you’re using it correctly. 

Don’t think about it too much! Consider how you use slang in your own language. You likely don’t think too hard about dropping it into conversation; it just happens. The more you practice using slang words, the more you’ll understand how and when to use them naturally in conversation.

Methodology

To find out which are the most loved and hated slang terms and regions across America, we first built seed lists of terms for 14 of the most distinct dialects: Hawaii, New York, Philadelphia, Boston, New Orleans, Texas, Chicago, Denver, California, New Jersey, Mississippi, Seattle, Midwestern, Pittsburgh.

These seed lists included up to 50 words per region of the most commonly referenced slang terms from trustworthy local publications in *(Insert Region) Slang Words You Should Know*-type articles.

We then searched these terms on UrbanDictionary.com and recorded the number of upvotes and downvotes for each word/term, allowing us to calculate the % split of upvotes and downvotes.

• Most Loved Slang = Terms with the highest % of upvotes
• Most Hated Slang = Terms with the highest % of downvotes
• Places Home to the Most Loved Regional Slang = Places with the highest % of upvotes across all slang terms

This data analysis is correct as of January 2024.