8 New Jersey-isms That We South Jerseyans Are Tired Of Hearing

When your out-of-state friends and family tell the world that you live in "New Joisey", you probably roll your eyes so hard that they just might pop out of the top of your head.

Same.

"Hey world! South Jersey is not New Jersey! We're living in a different place!"

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Before we go any further, I need to define what I mean by "South Jersey" in this article. While your definition may be different than mine, when I refer to "South Jersey", I'm technically referring to South East New Jersey, mostly along the coast. Think of the counties of Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland, and the southern half of Ocean County.

That being said, let's tackle those "New Jersey" phrases that those of us South Jersey locals tend to, well, HATE!

1. "Down the Shore."  We live here. We don't go down the shore. We go down our driveway to the mailbox. We live HERE. We live in South Jersey.

When we go to visit the water, we say we're going to the beach. We don't say we're going to the shore. When we go to Ocean City, we say we're going to Ocean City.

We really don't know what "The Shore" is. (If you're old enough, you may remember a short-lived radio station, launched in 1998 that was called "The Shore." They played weird music.

2. "It's a Shore Thing." It's a corny advertising slogan used by dozens of local businesses that tend to attract vacationers. OK, I get it. I don't like it, but I get it.

3. Anything said on  "The Jersey Shore" -  the TV show. Not representative of the fine, hard-working, upstanding population of South Jersey. (We're still trying to stop all South Jerseyans from doing the "fist pump." There are still a few people we need to reel in.)

4. "He/She/They is a Piney!" Hold up. Hear me out. Calling someone a Piney CAN be good. I know a lot of Pineys that are nice, wonderful people. Turning "Piney" into a negative term is a no-no. Please, no derogatory use of the word. Pineys are people too! (The term Piney usually means that that person hails from the Pine Barrens.)

5. "What Exit?" Hey! We don't all live within a stone's throw of the New Jersey Turnpike! (Thank God!)  We South Jerseyans ain't in that club! Of course, WE may ask "What exit?", but when WE do it, we're asking people who live near the Parkway where they live. There's a difference. (Especially in the smell of the Parkway vs the Turnpike!)

6. "You live in New Jersey, you have to be a Giants fan!" Nope. Especially because the Giants suck....

7. "Benny." Definitely North Jersey! (According to me, that's anything north of Toms River, lol) Here, we have Shoobies! (Both terms mean vacationers.)

8. "The City." That's what those North Jersey folks call New York City. Our city is Philadelphia. Or Atlantic City. Or, maybe, McKee City.....

Please note. Some people probably expected me to throw the whole Pork Roll/Taylor Ham debate in this article. I refuse to do that, primarily because I prefer bacon.

So, what did I miss? Let me know!

Be sure to listen to the Cat Country Morning Show with Joe and Jahna, weekdays from 5:30 - 10am on Cat Country 107.3, on the Cat Country 107.3 APP  and catcountry1073.com.