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10 Phrases Only Long Islanders May Understand

Long Island

Ah, Lawn Guyland. That magical strip of land between New York City and New England where people tawk funny, drink too much cawfee, and love shopping at the mawl.

But it’s not just the accent that sometimes makes it hard for people not from Long Island to understand Long Islanders. There’s also a few terms used locally that can prove confusing to those not in the know.

Here are 10 phrases that only Long Islanders may understand.

OUT EAST

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Sea fog rolls into Southampton. 

What Long Islanders call going to the East End, home of the Hamptons and the North Fork Wine Trail.

CHANGE AT JAMAICA

LIRR
Long Island Rail Road riders packed the Jamaica station during a Wednesday morning ruch hour commute snafu (Photo by Kristen Ferrara/Instagram)

Out of context or without prior knowledge of the Long Island Rail Road, one might think change at Jamaica involves a personal transformation in the Caribbean.

THE CITY

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Times Square on a rainy night in New York City

No, it’s not Kansas City Long Islanders are referring to. It’s The Big Apple.

THE TWIN FORKS

Long IslandThis is not a matching pair of utensils. It’s the North and South forks on the East End.

CITIOTS

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A sign warns of COVID-19 restrictions at a beach on Dune Road in Westhampton. Long Island Press photo.

This pejorative portmanteau is what full-time East End residents call people from the city who summer in the Hamptons. 

THE PENCIL

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A Nassau County police helicopter flies over Jones Beach State Park. Photo by Kevin Kane.

If a Long Islander says, “Make a left at The Pencil,” the driver should look for the Jones beach water tower, not a writing instrument.

THE DRUNK TRAIN

LIRR
LIRR riders arrive in Long Beach (Photo by Joe Abate)

Any eastbound LIRR train leaving Penn Station packed with bridge-and-tunnel crowd riders going home after a night out on the town on any given weekend.

TUMBLEWEED TUESDAY 

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Intersection at Main Street in Southampton.

These figurative tumbleweeds roll through Long Island beach towns after they become ghost towns the day after Labor Day, when beach season ends and the kids go back to school.

UP ISLAND 

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The Harlem Globetrotterrs’s star player, Flight Time, makes a trick shot from the roof of Nassau Coliseum.

No, this isn’t the name of an island north of LI. It’s what East End residents refer to Long Islanders who live west of the Twin Forks.

DOWN PORT

Port Jefferson ferry
Port Jefferson ferry passes a power plant on its way to Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Not a brand of Port wine, it’s what Port Jefferson residents call the village’s harbor-front downtown.

Related Story: 11 Reasons Why Not To Move to Long Island

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