Savannah Slang

This one started as Thursday Thirteen, but I abandoned it for 2 reasons: Number 1: I couldn’t think of thirteen things. And Number 2: You guys don’t read those for some reason. I figured I would trick you into reading by coming up with a fake title. LOL.

So, as most of you know, I was raised in Savannah, Georgia. As a northerner transplanted into this sleepy southern town at age 11, a lot of things were different than what I was used to. The weather, the food, the people. But most of all, the language. They said some stuff that I had never heard before and even after living there for 14 years, it still took some getting used to. Anyway, here are some of the words and phrases that permeated my youth in Savannah:

Steef – It means to steal. I don’t know if it’s a combination of steal and thief, but that’s what they used to say. I’ll use it in a sentence.
Example: Hey, man! Stop trying to steef my bike! My daddy gave me that and I ain't seent him in years.

Hey-ay – I remember when I first move down south, everybody said hey instead of hi or what’s up. And it’s that elongated hey that lasted like 2 syllables.
Example: “Hey-ay, Lakeisha! (Cuz all the girls had an name that started with la and ended with an a) How are you?

Box – This meant to hit or to fight or slap the fire out of someone.
Example: “You better back up or I’ma box you!”

Iknowdatright - This is the ultimate affirmation. And it always ran together. You can’t say I know that’s right if you really meant it. If you really mean it, you say something like this...
Example: “That girl’s weave was jacked up!!!” “Iknowdatright!”

Get the go – This is the 80’s Savannah equivalent of going steady. If you had a girlfriend, you were going with her. Somehow that got transformed to “getting the go.”
Example: “Aww, man! You a punk. You scared to get the go with LaCienaga!”

Skreets, skrimp, skrawberry – Str = Skr in Savannah talk. No further explanation need.
Example: “Hey dawg! Let’s go skrait down to River Skreet and get some skrimp and a skrawberry soda.”

Boonkie –it means booty, butt, arse, gluteous maximus. I had a homeboy that they called Sugar Boonkie which he for some reason answered to. I need to ask him about that if I ever see him again. And if you said “boonkie buddies” that meant they were having relations. Not only for ghey people, it also worked with men and women.
Example: “Laquienetica got a phat boonkie”

OOOkay –Pronounced OH!!! Kay. This annoyed me for the last few years I lived there. I don’t know where it came from, but I wish they would have refused delivery. You probably can’t get the full gist of how it sounds. It’s an extreeeeeeemly long O sound with a minor kay sound. Maybe I’ll due an audio clip so you can hear it sounds. Another affirmation.
Example: “I like that new OutKast album.’ “OOOkay, that thing is fie (fire.)"

‘tindo – Short for Nintendo. It stood for any video game system. You could be playing a Sega Genesis, and it was still tindo.
Example “Mama, Rommel won’t let me play ‘tindo with him.”

Blowed – Or blowing me. It means a couple of things. It means you are shocked. It means you are disgusted. It means you are annoyed. I wrote a long 3 part post called Blowed on my old blog. I’m not sure if this one was regional or not, because me and my homie Kareem got everybody on the Eastern Seaboard saying it. Or maybe, they were saying before they heard us, but you get my point.
Example: “Son, why is my job talking about laying people off. It’s really blowing me.” Or “I was so blowed when Falcons lost to the Cardinals the other day.”

Da C-Pote – This is short for seaport. They call Savannah the seaport city of the south. My people call it Da C- Pote. You don’t pronounce the r, you barely pronounce the t. “You don’t come over here disrespecting the Westside.
Example: "This da C-Pote, you lame!”