Phrases That Only Make Sense if You Live in Washington

Up here in Washington, life ain't too bad. We have a beautiful coast that could disappear in a tsunami and beautiful forests that could go up in flames after a baby gender reveal party. What we lack in ingenious ways to make a pizza, we make up for with our exports of coffee and apples.

"How's the pass?"

When someone asks about "the pass," they are asking if driving to Seattle from eastern Washington will require studded tires and white-knuckling the steering wheel. In most cases "the pass" is Snoqualmie Pass, although there are many more in Washington.

"The Clink"

Even though it's gone through several names, starting with Qwest Field, Lumen Field was referred to as the Clink for the several seasons it was called CenturyLink Field.

"The sound"

Nope, we don't have an affinity for The Sound of Music to the degree that we give it a nickname. The sound, of course, is Puget Sound.

"Safeco"

Even though it's been T-Mobile Park for a few seasons now, everyone still calls the Mariners' home ballpark Safeco Field.

"King Inslee"

"King Inslee" is the nickname given to Governor Jay Inslee by Washingtonians who don't necessarily want to have a beer with him.

"The Sonics"

It's been too long since Seattle had a basketball team. They used to have a good one, too. The Seattle Supersonics were the team that drafted Kevin Durant. They left for Oklahoma City a couple of seasons later.

"Craft beer"

Where some people would say IPA, we just call it beer. The commercials for beer festivals call it craft beer.

"Seattle dog"

This is the best way to have a hot dog. A Seattle dog has cream cheese and grilled onions on it instead of ketchup and mustard.