There are a lot of languages spoken in Los Angeles, but we don’t often give credit to our local language—or, ordinary phrases that take on a whole different meaning in L.A. You know that “traffic” here can mean anything from a couple of cars on a two-lane street to a full-on parking lot situation on the 10, but here are a few other phrases that mean something entirely different in L.A..
“He’s over the hill.”
Elsewhere: He’s getting old.
In L.A.: He’s a resident of the San Fernando Valley.
“Animal style.”
Elsewhere: ;)
In L.A.: A fantastic way to make In-N-Out even more delicious.
“Taco”
Elsewhere: A large, crunchy tortilla filled with a cross between sloppy joe filling and lunch meat, sour cream and cheese.
In L.A.: $1 minimalist perfection.
“When it rains, it pours.”
Elsewhere: It’s raining very heavily/a lot of good or bad things (such as freelance work or gigs, or lack thereof) are happening at once.
In L.A.: It just doesn’t, period.
“The industry”
Elsewhere: Any industry.
In L.A.: Making movies, baby.
“Let’s get lunch!”
Elsewhere: Let’s get lunch tomorrow. Hell, today if you’re free.
In L.A.: Let’s plan on getting lunch at a vague time in the near future with the intention of rescheduling multiple times until our texts are just one long string of “sorry!”s and “next week, for sure!”s.
“Juice”
Elsewhere: A drink that’s usually made from oranges, apples or other common fruits.
In L.A.: An $8 beverage consisting of several fruits and vegetables that are cold-pressed and then bottled in trendy containers/a diet/a verb meaning you’re consuming only liquids.
“Validation”
Elsewhere: Something you get from your friends, family or Facebook.
In L.A.: Something you get from a machine at the ArcLight.
“The market”
Elsewhere: Some sort of old-timey bazaar.
In L.A.: The farmers’ market, the grocery store, the flea market—everything’s a market when there’s fresh produce everywhere.
“See you in 5 minutes.”
Elsewhere: See you in 5 minutes.
In L.A.: See you in at least 20 minutes.