Tennessee slang is equal parts tailgate chant, river-dock rendezvous, and “is the mountain out or is that just humidity.” If these sound normal, you didn’t just visit—you grew up timing weekends by the Smokies, Lower Broad, and whether the ribs are dry (correct) or wet (we’ll allow it).
Rocky Top
The state’s unofficial anthem and a complete sentence. Hummed at gas pumps, belted in Neyland, used as a weather forecast: “Rocky Top vibes today.”
GBO / Big Orange / Vols
“Go Big Orange,” the greeting, verdict, and punctuation east of the Plateau. If your closet glows, you’re fluent.
Vol Navy
Game-day flotilla on the Tennessee River. Tailgating by boat counts double.
The Smokies / “The Park”
Great Smoky Mountains National Park, often reduced to “the Park.” “Up to the Park” = Cades Cove loops, bear traffic, and church-picnic potato salad.
The Dragon (129)
Tail of the Dragon’s 318 curves at the TN/NC line. Motorcycles, Miatas, and bragging rights.
Music City / Lower Broad (Honky Tonk Highway)
Nashville’s neon artery where bands swap every set and boots count as formalwear.
Nashvegas
Tongue-in-cheek nickname for Broadway’s neon-and-bachelorettes side. Used lovingly… and sometimes as a warning.
Hot chicken
Nashville’s burn-with-purpose bird. Spice levels range from “mild” to “question your life choices.”
Meat & three
Blue-plate religion: choose one meat, three sides, sweet tea by default. Banana pudding is a side; don’t overthink it.
BNA
Nashville’s airport code and shorthand for “I’m back by Sunday, save me a biscuit.”
615 / 901 / 865 / 423
Area-code identity: Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, and Chattanooga/Tri-Cities. Folks wear these digits like team colors.
Bluff City / Grind City / 901 Day
Memphis nicknames and pride. Beale Street at night, “Grit ’n’ Grind” by day.
Dry vs. wet
Memphis barbecue dialect: dry-rubbed ribs (team dry) versus sauced (team wet). Order “dry” and pass the bread.
Scenic City / Gig City (Chatt)
Chattanooga’s twin nicknames: riverfront views plus famously fast fiber. Add Lookout and the Incline to flex.
Tri-Cities
Bristol, Johnson City, Kingsport. Bonus vocabulary: The Last Great Colosseum (Bristol Motor Speedway).
Tennessee slang is a road atlas you can eat, sing, and tailgate—hot chicken in the neon, dry ribs by the river, and “Rocky Top” echoing off the hills. It tells you where to drive (The Dragon), where to dock (Vol Navy), and which code your heart calls home (901/615/865/423). If you breezed through all 15, you’re tri-star certified…