Facebook reacts to this Florida slang phrase: 'I've NEVER heard jiffy feet before.' Vote for your favorite
Thousands of people can’t stop talking about “jiffy feet” on social media.
The hyper-regional Florida phrase for dirty feet has the Facebookers of Duval up in arms over the local lexicon.
The phrase, created in and mostly used around the Jacksonville area, stumped respondents on a recent survey by language learning app Preply, that measured the “hardest to understand states” by surveying how confused the rest of the country was by each state’s slang words.
This story about the Florida phrase that confused 43% of the people surveyed captured the attention of thousands on Facebook, where it reached more than 1 million feeds, was shared hundreds of times, and received nearly 4,000 likes and comments this week.
What does 'jiffy feet' mean? This Florida slang phrase stumped Americans from other states and some Floridians
Some locals who have lived in the area for their entire lives have no clue what "jiffy feet" means, others can’t believe there’s anyone who doesn’t know what that means.
“My mom’s family roots grow DEEP in the Jax-area soil and I’ve lived here most of my 55 years,” one reader commented. “And I’ve NEVER heard ‘jiffy feet’ before…”
“Y’all act like this is new … or even news…,” a much less surprised reader wrote.
So, we made a poll and 1,000 readers responded. Here’s what they say their favorite Florida slang phrases are.
Here's which Florida slang word readers chose as their favorite
Here are the Florida slang words that were included in the poll:
Florida happy meal: A Florida happy meal is just easier than saying “I’m going to the jiffy for beer, a lottery ticket and cigarettes.”
Jit: It technically stands for “Juvenile in training.” Urban Dictionary has a more colorful description for the meaning of the word. If anyone calls you this, you’re being insulted.
Noseeum: This is what we call the little invisible bugs, actually midges, that decorate our legs with itchy red bumps in the summer. If you’ve never met a noseeum, just know they’re like the really annoying sidekick of mosquitoes.
Snowbirds: Hordes of northerners that flock to Florida beaches every winter.
Florida bath: Don’t feel like showering off the chlorine after your pool day? No worries! You don’t have to. You took a Florida bath.
Square grouper: Every once in a while, if you’re fishing or swimming in the right place at the right time, you could come across a square grouper. This is the name that the US Coast Guard working in the waters around South Florida gave to overboarded bales of drugs. It’s also the name of the Florida bar where Alan Jackson shot his “5 O’Clock Somewhere” music video.
Of the words included in the poll, readers chose "jit" as their favorite slang word, which the meaning of was questioned by one Facebook commenter: "Jit is short for Jitterbug. It's not an acronym."
We assure that Urban Dictionary's definition is not an acronym.
Over 240 people chose "jit" as their favorite Florida slang word as of 1 p.m. on Thursday. "Jiffy feet" came in a close second place with over 210 votes.
Here's how many votes each Florida slang word got as of early Thursday afternoon:
Jit - 23%
Jiffy feet - 19%
Noseeum - 17%
Square grouper - 12%
Snowbird - 10%
Florida bath - 9%
Florida happy meal - 7%
Other - 3%
Can't see the poll? Click here to cast your vote.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jax locals react on Facebook to 'jiffy feet' Florida slang meaning
