gangway

From Middle English gangway, from Old English gangweġ (“passageway; thoroughfare”), equivalent to gang + way. Related to Dutch gang (“hallway”) and Norwegian gang (“hallway”).

jet bridge

enclosed corridor between an airport and plane

(Chicago) The narrow space between two buildings or houses, used to access the backyard/alleyway from the front.


blow

en-noun

blow (countable and uncountable, plural blows)

From Middle English blowen, from Old English blāwan (“to blow, breathe, inflate, sound”), from Proto-West Germanic *blāan, from Proto-Germanic *blēaną (“to blow”) (compare German blähen), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₁- (“to swell, blow up”) (compare Latin flō (“to blow”) and Old Armenian բեղուն (bełun, “fertile”)).

der

(uncountable, US Chicago dialectal, slang) Heroin.


hawk

Sranan Tongo: aka

From Middle English hauk, hauke, hawke, havek, from Old English hafoc (“hawk”), from Proto-West Germanic *habuk, from Proto-Germanic *habukaz, controversially derived from Proto-Indo-European *kopuǵos, perhaps ultimately derived from *keh₂p- (“seize”).
See also West Frisian hauk, German Low German Haavke, Dutch havik, German Habicht, Swedish hök, Danish høg, Norwegian Bokmål hauk, Norwegian Nynorsk hauk, Faroese heykur, Icelandic haukur, Finnish haukka, Estonian haugas; also Latin capys, capus (“bird of prey”), Albanian gabonjë, shkabë (“eagle”), Russian ко́бец (kóbec, “falcon”), Polish kobuz (“Eurasian Hobby”)).

[…] take-out sandwich from Arnie's on Jackson, then a brisk walk to Michigan Avenue in the face of the "Hawk," blowing newspapers and skirts and the gulls wheeling over the Michigan Avenue Bridge in front of […]

2000 September 26, William Anderson, A Season of Flames, Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN, page 27:

[…] a hand-fired coal furnace that required little attention and kept the cottage coy in spite of "the hawk" blowing icy blasts outside. So in spite of Thumper's continuing discomfort we enjoyed a fairly merry Christmas. But then the base daily bulletin was published with the roster of OGs (officers of the guard) for the[…]

2002 June 25, Charles W. Dryden, A-Train: Memoirs of a Tuskegee Airman, University of Alabama Press, →ISBN, page 215:

I wanna learn by Ruby's birthday party." Pride turned up his collar against the hawk blowing from the river."

2007 December 1, Gay G. Gunn, Pride and Joi, Kensington Books, →ISBN, page 47:

[…] in Chicago […] I can't help but love winter and fall. Mostly fall, because fuck snow, and that hawk blowing off the lake is enough to make your teeth drop right out of your skull , but winter can be kind of okay if it doesn't snow a whole lot and no one asks me to go sledding or do some other Hallmark-movie nonsense.

2017 May 30, Samantha Irby, We Are Never Meeting in Real Life.: Essays, Vintage, →ISBN, page 95:

(US, especially Chicago, and nationwide in African-American, often with "the") Cold, sharp or biting wind.

especially Chicago; and nationwide in African-American; especially Chicago; and nationwide in African-American


parkway

→ Japanese: パークウェイ (pākuwei)


bags

It may have many names, but depending on where you reside it only has one. ‘Cornhole’ or ‘Bags’ has been in the middle of discussions when it comes to what the popular bag toss game is called.

2019 July 28, Devin Willems, “Is it ‘Bags’ or ‘Cornhole’? Official governing body tries to settle the debate”, in WFRV:

(chiefly Chicago) A game similar to beanbag toss, cornhole.


merch

en-verb

merch (third-person singular simple present merches, present participle merching, simple past and past participle merched)

merches (present singular third-person)
merching (participle present)
merched (participle past)
merched (past)

And I can merch on my homie, I'm used to ridin' 'round by my lonely

2014 November 13, “Killa” (track 3), in Young Pappy (lyrics), 2 Cups: Part 2 of EveryThing, 0:56:


canhouse

The Roamer Inn was like a model of all the canhouses I ever saw around Chicago, the granddaddy of them all.

1946, Milton “Mezz” Mezzrow, Bernard Wolfe, “Not too Far Tangent”, in Really the Blues, New York, N.Y.: Random House, book 1 (1899–1923: A Nothin’ but a Child), page 22:


barstaurant

It's hard to find spiritual reverence in an advertisement for "Kokopelli," a Chicago "barstaurant" that "endeavors to honor its namesake […]"

1998 August 18, “The Most Famous Flutist from Kitsch to Fine Art, Kokopelli is King”, in The Gazette, Colorado Springs, archived from the original on 2021-02-01:

Thus the owners of Boka hope to imprint an atmosphere of fellowship on their new venture, LANDMARK, a noisy and for the moment crowded barstaurant at the epicenter of the neighborhood once voted Most in Denial of the Housing Project Next Door.

2005 October 7, Martha Bayne, Kathie Bergquist, Mike Sula, “The Hot New Barstaurant, Fancified Mexican, and Upscale Irish”, in Chicago Reader:

I was a little surprised to hear that the owner of this so-called "regionally inspired," "rustic," tin-ceilinged Italian spot was also a partner in the generic barstaurant Charlie's Ale House next door.

2007 June 1, “What's New: Rustic Italian, Coal-Oven Pizza, and Thai Tapas”, in Chicago Reader:

The seafood-centric barstaurant will have a few specials (lobster ravioli with beurre blanc, anyone?) plus the usual seafood towers, and the excellent bar staff will keep the drinks flowing.

2022 December 20, Nikita Richardson, “A Plan for Every Kind of New Year’s Eve”, in The New York Times:

(chiefly Chicago) A combined bar and restaurant.


jibarito

The research for this article produced as much regret as revelation, with unrequitable longings for far-away creations like Chicago’s jibarito (steak squeezed between thin, crusty slices of smashed plantain) and extinct species like the chacarero of Jackson Heights, Queens: a Chilean sandwich with a garnish of chopped green beans, the specialty of a bakery that is now closed.

2008 April 30, Julia Moskin, “The Next Best Things in Sliced Bread”, in New York Times:

(Chicago) A speciality sandwich of Chicago, made with flattened fried green plantains instead of bread, a garlic-flavoured mayonnaise, and a filling that typically includes meat, cheese, lettuce, and tomato.


Devil's Night

(Chicago, Maryland, New Jersey, coastal New England, and especially Michigan) A particular night, commonly the night of the 30th to the 31st of October, during which young people play pranks and do mischief in their neighborhoods.

Chicago; Maryland; coastal New England; and especially Michigan; Chicago; Maryland; coastal New England; and especially Michigan


Italian beef

Shortening of "Italian beef sandwich", because the sandwiches were made, using beef, by Italian immigrants in Chicago.

I changed my eating habits and stopped eating after 6 p.m. I switched from eating Italian beefs, drinking high-calorie mocha lattes and big sodas to drinking lots of water, eating salmon and having oatmeal for breakfast.

2006, “Losing Weight The Old-Fashioned Way”, in Ebony, volume 61, number 9, page 77:

Chicago's Mr. Beef is one of the best places to enjoy an Italian beef.

2009, 500 Things to Eat Before It's Too Late, page 261:

One evening in the autumn of my freshman year, my appetite casually drifted toward the pleasant thought of an Italian beef. Maybe double-dipped (sopped with gravy), hot and sweet (with giardiniera and peppers).

2013, Fried Walleye and Cherry Pie: Midwestern Writers on Food, page 24:

(Chicago) A sandwich of thin slices of seasoned roast beef on a dense, long Italian-style roll.


gym shoe

en-noun

gym shoe (countable and uncountable, plural gym shoes)

(Cincinnati, Michigan, Chicago) running shoe, trainer.


carry-in

Ohio; Indiana; Chicago; Ohio; Indiana; Chicago


grabowski

From Grabowski, which is borrowed from Polish Grabowski. The slang word grabowski was popularized by Mike Ditka calling the Chicago Bears "Grabowskis", combined with Chicago's large working-class Polish population.

If Ditka called you a grabowski, it was a high compliment. It meant you were a good guy, you worked hard and you were loyal.

2015 September 2, “If Every State Had Its Own Word, Illinois' Would Be... Grabowski?”, in CBS News:

"Grabowski" is still a word used to describe the idea of the white, ethnic, lunch-pail worker, a relic of Chicago's past[…]

2019 September 4, Jon Greenberg, “Chicago is still full of Grabowskis, but only one roots for the Bears and the Packers”, in The New York Times:

A true grabowski has no time for your linguistic squabbles.

2015 September 2, Matthew J.X. Malady, “The United Slang of America”, in Slate:

(slang, Chicago) A determined and hardworking person, often used as a compliment.


supercart

For quotations using this term, see Citations:supercart.

(especially Chicago) A particularly large garbage can (wheelie bin).


frunchroom

Frunchroom (frunch’-room) as in, “Getottada frunchroom wit dose muddy shoes.”

1997 January 30, Mike Royko, “Words Just Escape Ya When Dealing with Chicagonics”, in Chicago Tribune:

It had bedrooms, a kitchen, a frunchroom and everything. The frunchroom even had a working fireplace in it.

2005, Tristram Hoosier, “Deer Camp”, in I'm Not Touching You!, →ISBN, page 74:

[…] almost everybody had wandered out into what would be called the "frunchroom" in Chicagoese.

2020, Gerard Lafond, “Big Brother: One Last Try”, in Mom's Dead, →ISBN:

Pronunciation spelling
pronunciation spelling

(slang, Chicago) Pronunciation spelling of front room.


grachki

Grachki (grach’-key) as in, “Yo, Theresa, waja do wit da grachki? Howmy supposta cut da grass if I can’t git intada grach?”

(slang, Chicago) Eye dialect spelling of garage key.


Bungalow Belt

From bungalow + belt, in reference to the predominant architectural style in Chicago's outlying residential areas.

(Chicago) Of or related to Chicago's Bungalow Belt.