9 Maryland Sayings That Sound Like Another Language to Out-of-Staters

Sit down at a Maryland crab feast, and the table talk can start to sound like a code.

Some of it comes from Baltimore, some from the Eastern Shore and some straight from the Chesapeake.

Here’s what Marylanders are actually saying when out-of-staters start to look lost.

1. Hon

Merriam-Webster dates “hon,” short for honey, to around 1906.

Many out-of-staters take it for an insult.

If a stranger in Baltimore calls you “hon,” you’ve been greeted, not insulted.

Baltimore’s tourism site says HonFest, an annual summer festival, celebrates the city’s old-school hon culture, with lots of beehive hairdos and bright prints.

2. Bawlmer

Baltimore becomes “Bawlmer,” or “Bawmer” if the speaker is playing fast and loose with the l’s, The Washington Times reported in 2000.

A Towson University communication sciences professor says the vowel patterns behind the accent evolved mainly from early English immigrants and German speakers.

The same vowel patterns turn “leg” into “laig” and “eagle” into “iggle.”

Say Baltimore in a hurry, and “Bawmer” is what you get.

Try it.

3. Zink

Baltimoreans say “zink” for sink, according to a 2006 National Public Radio segment.

The segment remembered John Goodspeed, a Baltimore Sun columnist who wrote A Fairly Complete Lexicon of Baltimorese.

Goodspeed was a native Texan.

Wash your hands in the zink, and you’re speaking Baltimorese.

It also has people eating “ershters” from the Chesapeake, and Senator Lapides gives “Arsh” for the Irish.

4. Downee Ocean

“Downee ocean” is Maryland shorthand for heading to Ocean City.

If a coworker says they’re headed downee ocean, you’re not hearing about a cruise.

It’s a beach trip.

Maryland Public Television borrowed the phrase for the title of a 2014 special, “Downee Ocean, Hon!”

The special’s description covers Ocean City from the beach to the boardwalk and beyond.

5. Jimmies and Sooks

Jimmies and sooks are terms in the Maryland State Archives’ official manual, which calls giant male blue crabs “jimmies” and mature females “sooks.”

Know those two words, and your next crab feast makes more sense.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources says a mature female, a sook, migrates to saltier waters.

6. Peelers and Doublers

A “peeler” is what the Department of Natural Resources calls a blue crab that’s close to molting, and “shedder” is another name for it.

A “doubler” is the male paired with a female for a few days before and after her molt.

Once you know the molt is the point, you can follow both words without a translator.

7. Warsh

Wash picks up an extra R in “warsh.”

If you hear “warsh” on the Eastern Shore, you’re not mishearing.

Julie Howard, a linguistics expert from Dorchester County, pointed to that intrusive R in a 2025 report from the television station WMDT.

She also noted “boat” shifting toward an “oo” sound.

She’s noticed a degree of leveling in what were once distinctive dialects from county to county.

8. Smith Island Speech

Smith Island speakers say “lanch” for launch, according to The Washington Times in 2000.

Say it aloud.

The same speakers say “pint” for point.

If you’re a mainlander, crabbers on the island use speech that can be hard to follow.

Everett Landon, a Smith Island native, runs a tour company, Experience Smith Island, and works to preserve local dialects through his tourism business, the television station WMDT reported in 2025.

Julie Howard said rural island communities keep their speech patterns because residents don’t have the exposure to other dialects.

9. Arabber

Arabbers are Baltimore street vendors who sell fresh produce from a horse and cart, Capital News Service reported in 2017.

While walking with the horse and cart, arabbers call out to get residents' attention, a habit called hollering.

Many call out what's on the cart that day, such as fish, watermelon, cantaloupe, and oranges, so you can hear the menu before you see the cart.

One arabber calls out to neighbors to bring their pots and pans because the fish man is coming.

O! at Orioles Games

Orioles fans shout "O!" during the national anthem, a habit Major League Baseball's website says caught on in the late 1970s, with superfan Wild Bill Hagy leading cheers at Memorial Stadium as part of his "Roar from 34" routine.

If you're in the seats for the anthem, you may hear the whole crowd join in.

Baltimore Magazine dates the tradition to the summer of 1979.

Charm City

Charm City is a Baltimore nickname that the same tourism site ties to the welcome strangers get, from eye contact to holding doors.

If a stranger holds a door for you, that's part of the culture.

A city advertising agency penned the nickname in the 1970s.

So if you use it in conversation, you're repeating an old ad line.

Free State and Old Line State

You'll hear Maryland called both Free State and Old Line State, and the Maryland State Archives covers where each name came from.

If you're wondering why Maryland is the "Free State," look to November 1, 1864, when a new state constitution took effect and abolished slavery within the state's borders.

The archives say General George Washington gave Maryland the name "Old Line State," tying it to the regular troops of the Maryland Line, who fought in Revolutionary War battles.