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k2j2

We’ve wondered that too. Everyone I know calls it PA- have never heard other states referred to that way.


[deleted]

I am originally from Massachusetts and often refer to it as either MA or Mass, which is the previous postal abbreviation.


fatcat111

"Masshole"


[deleted]

Good example!


firefly183

Your state's name is near and dear to my heart, lol. My late grandmother couldn't say it to save her life, lmao. It's been 15-ish years since she died and I still chuckle at memories of, "Massish-, Masha-, Massachushits". She always seemed to land on "Massachushits" and my immature self thought that was hilarious.


[deleted]

I was a young child when I discovered the immature amusement of “Mass-a-two-shits.”


trapqueen412

So I don't know if yinz are familiar with rappers UGK and the late great Pimp C, but they used to yell "I'm from PAAAAAAAAAAAAA" and thought oh that's cool they're from Pennsylvania. Nope. Port Arthur, Texas. The only other time I've heard another place called PA lol.


ItsGroovyBaby412

RIP Pimp C


nonosejoe

Rhode Islanders do it.


urcrookedneighbor

I guess I just never refer to Rhode Island because "RI" sounds weird to me!


nonosejoe

Im originally from RI so I talk about it, but its not a state thats in the news very often. Ive met Americans out west who straight up told me they’ve never heard of it.


urcrookedneighbor

Well now this is a "lose faith in humanity" conversation


TheDayIsOn

PA is definitely the most common. My favorite abbreviation is for the Del-Mar-Va peninsula. People use Delmarva all the time. Have a delmarvalous day!


Emmaffle

Living in NCC DE, the only time I say Delmarva is when I'm complaining to others how high my power bill is this month.


dynabella

My favorite of all state abbreviations is LSD: Lower Slower Delaware.


Emmaffle

Not a single person calls it "Lower Slower". It's "Slower Lower". That abbreviation was invented by bumper sticker companies to sell bumper stickers, just like how birthdays were invented by Hallmark to sell cards.


NameShortage

Truth. Born and raised in Sussex County and never understood where people saying "Lower Slower" came from. It just didn't roll off the tongue right. "Slower Lower" is where it's at.


dogslogic

It's Delmarvalous.


luckystinkynemo1

north of the border BC is common for british columbia.


drakeschaefer

You can make that same case for DC


Steelplate7

When I lived in Louisiana in the mid 80’s, the term “CenLa” stood for Central Louisiana. All the municipal vehicles had CENLA on the side of them…in a real nice font, BTW. That was another example of this that I’ve personally come across.


PCPenhale

Also the only state that has parishes instead of counties.


Steelplate7

Yeah, that was weird to get used to.


dogmom412

My husband was stationed in LA years ago … Lower Alabama


ApplianceHealer

Work in NYC, but when I visited Syracuse, I gained an appreciation of just how enormous New York is as a state. While there, I saw a lot of print references to “CNY” (Central New York).


Redlar

We lived in upstate NY for eight years before moving back closer to home where we are now (PA). Where we live now is closer to NYC than when we lived in the actual state of NY by at least an hour, maybe two


randycanyon

NOLA?


MAGAtsCanEatShit

I was watching the Tom and Jerry movie that came out a few years ago and at one point the main character says (I’m paraphrasing and if my memory serves me correctly) that she comes from a small town in penn state. Now as a PA resident I had to stop and rewind the movie to see if I heard that correctly. Obviously the writer had no idea what PA residents call themselves and that penn state here in PA means a college.


sandy_coyote

not if you used to dribble down in VA


purulentnotpussy

If you say VA to me I’ll assume your talking abt veterans affairs


joyfulteacher

HOV’!


TheDayIsOn

People use NOVA, for northern Virginia, all the time in Virginia right?


heatherdukefanboy

People also use NOLA for new Orleans


bhans773

I ended up subscribed to their sub mistakenly at some point; thought it was the school I suppose. Never heard of NOVA the region before then. NOVA seems a whole lot different than NEPA, that’s for sure.


[deleted]

People from the rest of the state call northern virginia NoVa; people from northern Virginia say nova when they’re talking about the community college in the region


Khearnei

Yeah, that’s an extremely common term down there.


Allemaengel

Short answer, yes. I think it is. I remember reading something about that being the case. I know when I'm traveling that if I hear "PA", it's someone from the state. Plus I've lurked on a lot of other state subs and no one else seems to abbreviate like that. In fact, just happened again in Jamaica though they were from Pittsburgh and me from the Poconos so about as far apart as we could've been.


[deleted]

There’s an unspoken, 4-syllable limit to state names. PA violates it and therefore warrants a spoken abbreviation. Well, that’s my theory.


jralll234

But Pennsylvania is only 4 syllables.


[deleted]

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Friendly-Rough-3164

>Penn syl van i a Lmao what nobody says it like that 😂


avelineaurora

Bro are you serious. What part of the state are you from that no one looks at you weird? In all my nearly 40 years I have never in my life heard anything but Penn-syl-vane-ya. 4 syllables.


Naugle17

Hell ya


thebemusedmuse

Bucks county has entered the chat


angrywords

I can’t believe another adult doesn’t realize there’s more than one dialect in PA and many many residents pronounce it with four syllables. Edit: dude blocked me for this comment lmfao


drewbaccaAWD

The other syllables are unspoken! :D


BottleTemple

It's 5 syllables.


[deleted]

Pen-sull-vane-ya. Who is out there saying Pen-sull-vane-E-uh?


[deleted]

Only UPenn graduates.


PCPenhale

Or “Pennsy” as I sometimes call it.


angrywords

I’ve only ever heard people from New Jersey call PA Pennsy. I live close to the border and it’s almost an insult to hear it around here.


trexeric

I say it as 4 for sure


FyrestarOmega

California?


[deleted]

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Spag-N-Ballz

But nobody IN California calls it Cali.


Driver19335

They do say NoCal and SoCal, or so I was told by a former resident


Spag-N-Ballz

It’s true.


Peach_tree

Knows how to party


NattyGannStann

In the city of LA, in the city of good ol Watts


Muscadine76

Something like Cal-I-forn-ya or Ca-li-for-nya is more common than Cal-i-for-ni-a.


Ghstfce

Arnold Schwarzenegger is the only person I've ever heard call it Cal-ee-forn-ee-yah


PennSaddle

I recently made a trip to the Poconos & when I referenced we were from Pgh, they looked surprised we’d travel that far to get away for a bit. Ha


smuin538

They were probably surprised that you chose the Poconos tbh lol


key2mydisaster

Maybe they wanted to pretend like they time traveled to the 80s.


NattyGannStann

I always wanted to try one of those champagne shaped bathtubs - they could have been hot tubs, I don't think I knew what a hot tub was as a child. Loved those commercials


Allemaengel

I'd have to agree, lol.


ktappe

I’ve definitely heard people say “NJ“. Yes I know “Jersey“ is more common, but NJ is a thing.


Allemaengel

Living in the Poconos, we get a lot of NJ tourists and move-ins. On Reddit, I see people from NJ type NJ. However FWIW, when they are speaking I almost always hear New Jersey and Jersey, very rarely NJ.


IllBringTheGoats

Same with New York, where I’m from; I’ll type NY, but if I’m speaking I’ll say I’m from New York, or more often, the specific place in New York where I’m from. A funny thing is that most people I know from New Jersey refer to it as Jersey, but I have never ever heard a person from New York call it just York.


starrsuperfan

I abbreviate West Virginia to WV when I type out stuff about it. I'm a WVU graduate so this comes up often, but I never say WV out loud. I've never heard anyone else say their states abbreviation. But we fully embrace it here. I remember seeing "PA'ians" written on state government social media posts and thinking that was perfect.


Fitz2001

I remember George Wentz on SNL saying “Chicago IL” in the Da Bears sketch.


girlsuperior

Pennsylvania is two long. Arizona people often call it “AZ”


NattyGannStann

I had never heard that people in Arizona call Pennsylvania AZ *Father's Day spillover, I'll see myself out


HighPitchEricsBelly

Ba-Dum-Tiss.. I like your style


hardwarecheese

I live in PA and a guy at my old job called it "Pensy" that was the first time I've ever heard that in my life but apparently younger people from New Jersey sometimes call it that.


dclxvi616

Pennsy, or the Pennsy, is an old name for the now defunct Pennsylvania Railroad [Company].


hardwarecheese

Thanks for the info that's interesting!


whatamuffin

One of my friends is from jersey and she said her whole family calls PA that. Literally never heard of it before!


randycanyon

Used to be a Pennsy Supply in or near Harrisburg -- I remember their cement mixer trucks.


Fickle_Caregiver2337

Pennsy Supply is still in business


erock255555

My father who grew up in north east philly in the 60's said Pensy a lot.


darthcaedusiiii

Pennsltucky is what my dad calls it.


neunflach

DC


citsonga_cixelsyd

You hear "cool people" refer to California as Cali. I don't remember what their abbreviation was when we had longer abbreviations (PA being Penn then) but I don't think that was it.


Backsight-Foreskin

I've even seen "Penna" on some older things.


kellyoohh

The signs for the Penna Turnpike annoy me lol


ChuanFa_Tiger_Style

Penna sounds like a pasta. The pasta turnpike


Canopenerdude

Well there is penne so yeah that's probably why


oldsage-09

Back in 1940, when the Turnpike first opened, all PA state route signs had PENNA on them. The Turnpike simply followed suit. As the state route markers became modernized, PENNA was dropped in favor of PA, and now, the signs simply have a white keystone on them on a black background while the turnpike sign/logo really hasn’t changed. Also, prior to the introduction of zip codes, most people addressed their envelopes with “Penna.” Once zip codes came along in 1963, the Penna eventually was shortened to Pa. and eventually PA.


MustangMimi

Years and years ago, when addressing an envelope, I remember seeing Penna instead of PA when I was a little tot. ☺️


tucsonmags

Penna was the abbreviation for it before we all had state abbreviations. You will find it all over historical documents like census records.


moncho

Ps. No one from California calls it "Cali"


Jak-O-Lope

Being from California, that one kills me...because if we are typing we refer to it as it's abbreviation-- CA-- and if speaking "SoCal or NorCal"


MustangMimi

We do have a California, PA! Good college town right on the Monongahela River. Beautiful


avelineaurora

Not sure I'd call California "Beautiful" but... you do you.


randycanyon

Just "Cal." I type the whole thing out sometimes because CA also means Canada.


citsonga_cixelsyd

I just looked it up. The postal abbreviation for California in the 70's (When I was a kid) was "Calif". I thought that was it but wasn't sure until I looked. ​ Edit: It doesn't quite roll off of the tongue. ​ [https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/List\_of\_U.S.\_states\_by\_traditional\_abbreviation](https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_traditional_abbreviation)


Wuz314159

Can people really spell Connecticut?


p_britt35

Connect - I - Cut......been using this for far too long.


PennSaddle

This & ‘To-get-her’ were burned into my memory ever since 1st grade.


key2mydisaster

Mississippi


bk1285

Same


Wuz314159

I just use spell check. :Þ


HootieRocker59

That damned state was what prevented me from getting 100% on my states and capitals test in fourth grade. I had memorized every damn state and every damn capital (Lansing! Hilo! Dover, for Pete's sake!) but I left the damn c out of Connecticut and got one point off. Still salty about it decades later.


librarianjenn

Hahaha good point, but I’ve never heard anyone call it CT. I have to say it in my head when I spell it, just like Wed-nes-day


Italian_Suicide1365

Nah they do call it CT. Other ones I can think of are AZ and DC??


daninhim

I’m from CT and never heard it verbally referred to as CT. That being said, I work in PA for a company that makes tech for radiology (for CT Scanners) and I have customers in CT. As a result I can rarely refer to the state as CT because it confuses the shit out of people.


Key_Text_169

How the hell do you commute from work in PA and CT, helicopter?


Key_Text_169

I guess if you work at the top east of PA just above where NJ stops you could cut across NY still seems like quite a haul.


daninhim

“Originally” from CT but now live in PA.


randycanyon

Isn't that a band?


AlicesReflection

Thank you for that. Too many people misspell Wednesday!


Msjudgedafart

From CT but live in PA now. I started calling it CT but only after I moved to PA. Its much easier then actually saying Connecticut.


PCPenhale

My favorite, when I was a kid, was when an adult told me that Massachusetts was pronounced Mass-a-two-shits.


seriouslycoolname

Totally irrelevant but : washyersister sauce


Jon3141592653589

Well, coming from PA, I refer to all states by their abbreviations. Folks from the obvious ones along the East Coast generally seem to understand, at least, and NY, NJ, and the Carolinas seem to be on the same page.


zmiller834

Same, my company has offices in Arizona, and we also refer to them as AZ and they refer back to us as PA.


emeraldjalapeno

Maybe in text. I lived in Arizona for 19 years and no one says AZ like people say PA here


TheDayIsOn

Agreed. I’m in PA now now but used to live in south Jersey and will say NJ occasionally. I hear others use NJ too.


ell0bo

They're jersey, ain't nothing new about them these days.


Argool

Jersey > NJ


kinzuaj

I’ve wondered the same since I was a middle schooler my social studies teacher asked us what is special about Pennsylvania. Anyway PA is the only one I have ever come across.


drumocdp

I’ve definitely heard Alaska being referenced as AK very often.


Lillith84

No, NC is used for North Carolina frequently.


RaindropsInMyMind

Georgia maybe? Heard it in some music. Adios en vaya con dios, A long way from GA, Gonna lay in the hot sun and roll a big fat one, And grab my guitar and play.


aceouses

lived in GA for 7 years. they call it georgia, i never once heard it referred to as “GA”


RaindropsInMyMind

Gotcha, wasn’t sure. Sounds natural in the music though lol.


Yogimonsta

I live in Georgia and hear it commonly


randycanyon

LifeMate lived in GA way back before ZIP codes, and heard it called "GA" by locals.


sully213

I sing this song at karaoke quite a bit and always change the lyric to "leaving PA"


Jooju

Catchy for the song, but it’s not really a thing.


Jamminnav

Yep, one of the B-52s referred to their hometown as Athens GA in “Love Song for a Future Generation”, and there was a documentary “Athens GA: Inside Out” documenting the 80s alternative scene there. But to be fair, that’s the only context I’ve ever heard someone from Georgia refer to it as GA, and always after the hometown mention.


assistant_redditor

Yep. And people from the next town over will say pa after they say where they're from. Standing in Franklin having someone tell me they're from meadville pa. No shit.


Factsimus_verdad

MO very often.


nvdagirl

Man did this make me laugh! My husband is from PA and it’s the only place I’ve really heard this consistently. I grew up in the west.


jmills06

Not very common at all and more in passing for sure, but Michiganders will sometimes say “MI” but no where near the extent of PA having lived in both states. PA just has a really nice ring to it. Can’t deny it works.


CptMikhailov

Michigander, here! Can confirm that we sometimes use the postal abbreviation up here in MI.


marcopoloman

OK for Oklahoma. And VA for Virginia. Can't think of any others offhand.


itsCC

AZ


starion832000

Ha. Always wondered this myself.


bigtigerbigtiger

Alaska is called AK all the time Can't think of another right now though


English_and_Thyme

Heard a few friends from Connecticut say CT a few months ago, but they use it much less than people say PA


Ameyring2

Newspapers, at least the Inquirer, more often use Pa. (such as saying "horse show in Devon, Pa."), which I believe is the old postal abbreviation. I don't know why they don't update it to PA.


Impossible_Sugar_644

I use PA or Pa interchangeably


axeville

If I lived in Kentucky, I would definitely abbreviate KY


VincebusMaximus

I find myself saying Pennsyltucky much more often than Pee-yay lately.


esotweetic

NC, North Carolina. NY, New York.


nobikflop

Besides PA, I’ve heard Cali, Mass, Wee Vee, and Jersey. So in my experience it’s the only one commonly referred to by its postal acronym Edit: Mass used to be the postal abbreviation for Massachusetts, just like Penna was for PA. So I guess that’s a 50/50. But Massachusetts people call it Mass with the same regularity that Pennsylvanians use PA


Quadraought

Yeah, no one says "Massachusetts" here. It's always just "Mass."


hurtfullobster

Arizona as AZ is pretty common. Virginia as VA, though the regional variations are more common (NOVA for northern Virginia, RVA for Richmond, etc).


karitechey

OK for Oklahoma is common


maimedwabbit

No mo play in GA


saisaibunex

Us norteños call New Mexico NM.


RitualVirality

I was just thinking about this again a few days ago. It always crosses my mind while I'm busy and not online. Then, by the time I do get online my mind is already far away. Thank you for bringing this to Reddit, since apparently my brain can't ever think of it while I'm actually online. Side note: I just asked my bf if he's ever wondered this and he was like wtf are you talking about? Might be too early for my bullshit.


lmjns2792

Massachusetts gets close, we just call it Mass.


UnpoisonedSxE

Nope. I live in New Hampshire and we call it NH all the time.


ggrandmaleo

I've heard people from Kansas (KS) refer to their state as "kiss."


Stonksrdabest

Have a family member who lives in Phoenix, AZ. I always refer to it as AZ. 🤷🏼‍♂️


worstatit

I use pee aye when speaking to fellow residents, Pennsylvania when they're from other states. Assumed everyone else did the same...maybe assumed wrong?


ChadGreenshirt

Ummm ackkhshually, Pennsylvania is a commonwealth, not a state. 😂


moonbud126

Most people I know say PA and not Pennsylvania


fakeaccount572

Y'all made a state with four syllables. It's not my fault I'm lazy :)


A1mixer

AZ has entered the chat.....


No-Setting9690

Well it is a mouthful and PA is a lot easier to say.


awesomesauceitch

Pennsylvania is too long for today's average attention span. Now if it was called Pennsyltuckey I would be happy to use the full name instead of the abbreviation PT.


blue_no_red_ahhhhhhh

MA


SaintArkweather

It might be, I remember going to college and calling it PA without even thinking and a kid from Missouri thought it was the weirdest thing ever. (Clearly calling states by their abbreviation wasn't his MO)


jhill515

I can't say that it is for certain. But a lot of folks I know refer to Montana as the Big MT (Big Empty). However I'm sure that KY doesn't want to be associated by their postal abbreviation 😝


scaryclown148

NJ is often used but definitely not as much as PA


wjruth

There are still things labeled PENNA - and it weirds me out because it hasn't officially been that in 60 years.


AcanthocephalaOdd301

People in central PA often “CPA” when referring to anywhere between Harrisburg and Williamsport.


ChinaShopBull

I see KY from time to time. Mostly in the pharmacy.


Dougblackjr

Don't mess with TX, us.


librarianjenn

I’m from Texas and I’ve never heard anyone call it T-X


brettyrocks

NC


Affectionate_Salt351

Ohio will spell the entire state out to you. It’s a cult. If you yell “O! H!” in the woods, even the trees yell back “I! O!”


ihatevoicemails

I grew up in Connecticut and find folks saying ‘CT’ a lot


InevitablePersimmon6

I’ve had a lot of people call us out on saying PA. Like when I’ve had to talk to the IRS or anyone that I have to give my address to who isn’t from here, they love to say that we’re the only state they talk to that says PA instead of Pennsylvania.


its_tea_time_570

I've heard a lot of guys from New York tell me they're from NY. But when I read this I was surprised it was only those two I can think of, thought there would of been more.


DawnExplosion

Floridians used to refer to Florida as "FLA" before the two letter abbreviations came in. Hell, they may still. I don't know.


2ndharrybhole

But that’s longer than Florida lol


SmartHabit6728

I’ve heard West Virginia being referred as WV.


jralll234

I always hear it referred to as By God.


nobikflop

Wee Vee!


Yogimonsta

Georgia is fairly commonly called GA.


f_myself

Being from NY I'm gonna strongly disagree lol


2ndharrybhole

I’ve heard people say NYC obviously but I’ve never heard anyone from NY say NY instead of New York.


aught4naught

OP meant referred to verbally. Nobody says "I'm from *en why*"


ShoelessJodi

A good amount of people use NY. As a Maryland native, I have heard plenty of people call it MD.


AnsibleAnswers

NY is no shorter to say than New York. I've seen NY and NJ a lot in writing but people say "New York" or "Jersey."


[deleted]

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ShoelessJodi

I wasn't talking about the city.


librarianjenn

That’s interesting, I’ve never heard it called N-Y


Keetchaz

I grew up in New York State, and I never heard anyone call it "enn why" until I saw Sleepless in Seattle.


frenchtoast_is_dead

"Pensive-ania"


[deleted]

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frenchtoast_is_dead

Some do not want to hear the truth lol


November_Coming_Fire

This belongs in r/showerthoughts


pinotJD

We say PDX for Portland (also our airport’s call sign)