Local slang

The Chicken's Dictionary

Talk like you live here. Because you do.

12 South: Walkable strip south of downtown where strollers and brunch reservations rule.; "12 South on a Saturday is a contact sport."
The 440 Crawl: Afternoon traffic on the inner loop, moving at the speed of patience.; "Took the 440 crawl and missed the opener."
The 615: The area code, the zip of the soul, the shorthand for home. If you say it out loud, you live here.; "Born and raised in the 615, never once rode a party tractor."
Bach Party: A bachelorette group in matching shirts moving as one loud unit.; "Bach party took the whole elevator."
Biscuit Math: The calculation of whether a two-hour wait is worth one biscuit.; "Biscuit math says we eat at home."
Bless Your Heart: Could be kindness. Could be a roast. Listen to the tone.; "You paid full price on resale? Bless your heart."
Brand-New Boots: Boots bought today, worn tonight, regretted tomorrow.; "You can hear brand-new boots squeak across the room."
Bread and Milk Run: The grocery rush when a half-inch of snow is in the forecast.; "Shelves empty. Bread and milk run is on."
Broadway Beer: A beer priced by how close it sits to the neon.; "That Broadway beer cost more than my parking."
Brunch Line: The line outside any popular breakfast spot, long enough to need a snack.; "The brunch line wrapped around the building."
Dynamic Pricing: When the ticket price moves while you're still looking at it. The chicken watches it so you don't have to.; "Dynamic pricing jumped it $40 while I checked my wallet."
East Nasty: Affectionate local name for East Nashville. Across the river, on its own schedule.; "Dinner in East Nasty, then a show if we feel like it."
Event Parking: A sign that turns a $10 lot into a $50 lot the moment a show starts.; "The lot switched to event parking while we circled."
Five Points: The heart of East Nashville. More than four corners of opinions.; "Meet me at Five Points, the chicken will be there."
Fixin' To: About to do something, eventually, at a local pace.; "I'm fixin' to buy tickets once the price cools off."
Germantown: Old brick streets north of downtown where dinner reservations go fast.; "Germantown on game night needs a plan."
Get-in Price: The cheapest ticket listed for an event, before you pick a real seat.; "Get-in price is low, but those seats are in the rafters."
Getting Broadway'd: Paying the tourist tax on a night out because nobody warned you.; "Paid twice face for a Tuesday show? You got Broadway'd."
Gold Out: When the arena crowd all wears gold for a big game.; "Playoff gold out. Find your gold shirt."
Goo Goo: The candy cluster locals hand to visitors like a business card.; "Grab a Goo Goo for the road."
The Gulch: The shiny neighborhood with the murals and the line of people photographing the murals.; "The Gulch had a 20-minute wait for a selfie wall."
Gulch'd: Paying $155 for something that costs $60 three miles east.
Honky Tonk: A bar with a band, a dance floor and no cover. The good ones never close before you do.; "One more honky tonk, then home."
Hot Chicken: Fried chicken with heat levels that range from friendly to a bad decision. The chicken takes this personally.; "Got the medium. Still crying."
Hush Puppy: Fried cornmeal side that shows up uninvited and is always welcome.; "Order came with hush puppies. No complaints."
The I-24 Parking Lot: Interstate 24 during rush hour, which is all hours.; "I'll be late, I'm in the I-24 parking lot."
If You Know, You Know: The local password. Explaining it ruins it.; "Best seat at the Mother Church? If you know, you know."
Lower Broad: The neon strip downtown. Locals visit on purpose, briefly, with a plan.; "We'll hit Lower Broad for one song, then leave."
Meat-and-Three: A plate of one meat and three sides. The real Nashville lunch.; "Meat-and-three: fried chicken, greens, mac, and a biscuit."
Midtown: The stretch between downtown and the universities. Rooftops and college crowds.; "Midtown rooftop, then home by midnight. Mostly."
Might Could: Possibly, maybe, the chicken will see.; "We might could make the late show."
The Mother Church: The historic downtown hall locals call by its nickname. Not, technically, a church.; "Got pews at the Mother Church Friday."
Nashvegas: Nashville after dark, when the neon gets louder and the bills get bigger.; "Lower Broad was full Nashvegas by 9 PM."
The Nations: West Nashville neighborhood with silos, murals and new patios.; "The Nations has a patio for every mood."
Over Yonder: A direction and a distance. Accuracy not guaranteed.; "Parking's over yonder, past the second lot."
Party Tractor: A farm vehicle turned into a downtown party. Nobody local has ever ridden one.; "A party tractor just blasted the same song four times."
Patio Season: The weeks between too cold and too humid. Every bar fills up at once.; "Patio season lasts about eleven days."
Pedal Tavern: A rolling bar powered by pedaling and confidence. Slows traffic, raises volume.; "Stuck behind a pedal tavern on Demonbreun again."
The Pedestrian Bridge: The walking bridge across the river. Best skyline view, no ticket needed.; "Walk the pedestrian bridge before the game."
Pollen-pocalypse: Spring week when everything turns yellow-green, including your car.; "My truck is chartreuse. Pollen-pocalypse."
Request Fee: The tip that gets your song played. Price rises with how tired the band is of it.; "Twenty-dollar request fee for that song? Fair."
Rideshare Surge: The price jump on a ride home right when the show lets out.; "Rideshare surge hit 3x, so we walked to SoBro."
Sash Count: The number of bridal sashes seen in one block. Used to estimate how crowded downtown is.; "Sash count was 14 by 8 PM. Stay home."
Second Winter: The cold snap that shows up right after you put the coats away.; "Planted tomatoes, then second winter hit."
Smashville: The local hockey crowd at full volume. Loud enough to rattle the rafters.; "Smashville was rocking in the third period."
SoBro: South of Broadway. Close to the action, a little calmer about it.; "Park in SoBro and walk up. Trust the chicken."
Spaghetti Junction: Where the interstates tangle downtown and GPS loses confidence.; "Missed my exit at spaghetti junction. Twice."
Swamp Season: July and August, when walking to the venue counts as a sauna session.; "Swamp season. Bring a towel to the lawn show."
Sweet Tea: Tea with enough sugar to count as dessert.; "Unsweet? Ma'am, this is Tennessee."
Sylvan Park: Leafy west-side streets named after states. Porches, quiet, a good bar or two.; "Sylvan Park is where the chicken goes to nap."
Tailgate Math: The calculation of how early to get to the lot versus how long the game is.; "Tailgate math says leave at 9 AM."
Tip Jar Economy: Free shows funded by passing the bucket. Tip the band.; "No cover means tip jar economy. Bring cash."
Titan Up: The pro football rallying cry, said by fans who have suffered.; "Titan Up, and bring a poncho."
Tornado Siren Tuesday: The noon siren test. Locals don't flinch. Visitors do.; "Relax, it's just the siren test."
WeHo: Wedgewood-Houston. Galleries, warehouses, first-Saturday art crawls.; "Art crawl in WeHo, then tacos."
Woo Girl: A visitor who announces each new bar with a woo.; "Three woo girls, one sash, zero chill."
Writers' Round: A night where songwriters trade songs in a circle. Quiet, close and better than you expect.; "Skip Broadway, catch a writers' round."
Y'all Shirt: Souvenir shirt that says y'all. Locals say it; they don't wear it.; "Spotted a y'all shirt on the bridge."