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Speaking Like a True Angelino

For your first few weeks (even months) in L.A., social conversations can be tricky business. When mixed in with a group of L.A. veterans, the go-to smile-and-nod tactic is employed when people start throwing around all the places they’ve been or abbreviations that just don’t make sense to you…yet. Survive the City is here to put you in the know with the L.A. lingo.

First, let’s cover the cliché’s. It’s likely that you’ve heard some of these, and possibly even in a mocking fashion. However, as you will quickly learn, there is some truth in the jest and the good people of So Cal do use these terms.

Gnarly, Gnarls, Gnar – People use many variations of the “gnar,” but it mostly refers to something in an extreme way as a positive or negative.

- “Those are some gnarly, scary waves today.” (Negative)

- “Dude, this vacation is gonna be so shocka gnarly.” (Positive)

Tot’s [TOTES] or Totally – It’s totally cliché, but it’s true, like tot’s that people use totally like all the time.

Pos [PAUSE] or Paz – SoCal slang for “positive” or for sure.

- “Are you pos you are gonna hit that party later?”

Shred – This term is usually reserved for action sports, but can refer to waves (surfing), snow (snowboarding or skiing) or even pavement (skateboarding).

Bro or Bra – It’s a term to refer to a young male in the sense of comradery.

- “Just hanging with my bros.”

- “You’re a lucky dude, bra.”

Sick – Not like a cold or fever, but as in something is amazing.

- “Those t-shirt designs were sick.”

Hella – This term can basically replace “very” or “really” to describe the intensity of something.

– “It’s hella hot in the Valley today.”
Dunzo – Made famous by the kids on Laguna Beach, it’s the term for calling it quits.

- “Oh yeah, they broke up. They are dunzo.”

Epic – Another exclamation of praise, used to describe something particularly amazing.

- “The weather report today said we are in for some epic conditions.”

Now, that you got the everyday speak down. Let’s cover terms that relate specifically to areas in or around L.A.

The Valley – One of the most common terms. “The Valley” is all areas encompassed in the San Fernando Valley. Portions of cities such as Burbank, Calabasas, Glendale, San Fernando and L.A. are in “The Valley.”

LACMA – [LACK-MA] Refers to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in the Miracle Mile vicinity.

The ‘Bu – Not just from a bad Jamie Kennedy film, the term is slang for Malibu.

SB/SD/SF – It’s all about brevity for Santa Barbara, San Diego and San Francisco.

WeHo [WEE-HO] – This refers to West Hollywood which is the area bordered by the Hollywood Hills and the Fairfax District.You may also hear it referred to as “Boy’s Town.”

The Strand or The Boardwalk – The Strand is a paved bicycle and walk path that runs along the Pacific Ocean shoreline from the north end of Santa Monica to Redondo Beach.

The Bowl – This is slang for the music venue the Hollywood Bowl.

PCH – The Pacific Coast Highway (or PCH) is California Route 1 or Highway 1 that runs up and down the coastline, and is a pretty spectacular stretch of highway.

PB – Stands for Pacific Beach, a neighborhood near San Diego known for its high population of college students, surfers and nightlife.

TJ or TJs – When singular in form “TJ” is usually referring Tijuana, Mexico, which is just south of border. Plural is usually referring to Trader Joe’s grocery store that are quite popular in L.A.

AWOL – The term refers to the phrase “Always West of Lincoln,” meaning staying beachside of the main thoroughfare (Lincoln Blvd) in the Westside L.A. communities.

SaMo [SAM-O] – Again with the abbrev’s, this is just a short way to say the beachside city of Santa Monica.

Now that you’ve got the lingo, let’s make sure you say it right. Below are the proper pronunciations of major streets and areas that often problematic, as they may not be pronounced the way they seem to be spelled. Rest assured that you’re not the only one who will get these wrong a time or two. It’s the sign of a true newbie to mispronounce a few streets.

Wilshire – [WILL-SHER]

Sepulveda – [SEH-POLE-ve-Dah]

Cahuenga – [KA-WANG-a]

Los Feliz – [LOS FEEL-iz]

La Jolla – [LA HOY-ya]

San Pedro – [San PEE-DRO]

San Vicente – [San VI-CENT-ee]

Tujunga – [TUH-HUNG-GAH]

Now, jump in that conversation about the epic, gnarly show featured at LACMA on WILL-SHER cause you are in the know. – Lori Bartlett