Philliterate
1. Any common street thug hailing from Philadelphia that cannot speak or debate without peppering the conversation with words such as asshole,fuck,jerkoff,pussy etc.
Philliterate by JoeNJ2 January 25, 2012
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hilliterate
hilliterate by Dash Chain April 3, 2008
Related Words
poliliterate
The inability to understand & empathise with subject or personality connected to the world of politics
poliliterate by MunkyMann September 4, 2019
PHIL-literate
/ˌfɪlˈlɪtərət/ • adjective • informal, humorous
Describing a Philadelphia local who can’t read a name off the page but confidently mispronounces it anyway—especially street names and neighborhoods.
By extension, anyone who wears their Philly-style misreadings like a badge of honor.
Describing a Philadelphia local who can’t read a name off the page but confidently mispronounces it anyway—especially street names and neighborhoods.
By extension, anyone who wears their Philly-style misreadings like a badge of honor.
Usage:
• “He called it ‘Passy-UNK’ again—total PHIL-literate energy.”
• “Only the PHIL-literate could turn ‘Schuylkill’ into three syllables of chaos.”
Etymology:
• Blend of Philly (short for Philadelphia) + illiterate, with punning overlap on “literate” to suggest a proudly local, if linguistically wayward, style. First attested as playful slang in 2020s Philadelphia vernacular.
Variants:
• PHIL-literacy (noun): “Her PHIL-literacy shines on the El announcements.”
• PHIL-literate-ness (noun, rare)
Related:
• Schuylkill Shuffle (n.): The verbal two-step performed when attempting that river’s name.
• Passyunk Principle (n.): The rule that Philly pronunciation outranks spelling.
• “He called it ‘Passy-UNK’ again—total PHIL-literate energy.”
• “Only the PHIL-literate could turn ‘Schuylkill’ into three syllables of chaos.”
Etymology:
• Blend of Philly (short for Philadelphia) + illiterate, with punning overlap on “literate” to suggest a proudly local, if linguistically wayward, style. First attested as playful slang in 2020s Philadelphia vernacular.
Variants:
• PHIL-literacy (noun): “Her PHIL-literacy shines on the El announcements.”
• PHIL-literate-ness (noun, rare)
Related:
• Schuylkill Shuffle (n.): The verbal two-step performed when attempting that river’s name.
• Passyunk Principle (n.): The rule that Philly pronunciation outranks spelling.
PHIL-literate by Spaz Ripley June 10, 2026
Hilliterate
Someone who thinks that they’re super funny and hilarious but really don’t even know what the definition of funny is.
Hilliterate by FNO WAPWAP April 14, 2022
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