To outsiders, Miamians seemingly speak a different language. It’s often spoken with a thick Latin accent that a gringo like me doesn’t understand or written in a text you then have to enlist friends to help decipher. To keep you from killing hours on Urban Dictionary or appearing like a loser to the girl you’re messaging on Tinder, I’ve put together a handy guide to figuring common abbreviations and acronyms used in the 305.
1. MIA: Miami
Ok. This one is super obvious, but it is special because it is both an abbreviation and an acronym. MIA is an abbreviation on Miami, but it is also an acronym for Miami International Airport. This is the most tell-tale of all Miami slang. You can figure out if someone is really from the MIA by how they use it. (See what I did there?) For instance, if someone says, “I attended a stellar conference on the plastics industry near the Miami International Airport,” they are not a Miamian.
2. SoBe: South Beach
Another obvious one, but maybe the most important Miami colloquialism. All Miami b-roll shows SoBe and its throngs of hot people doing beach things. SoBe is the face of the MIA.
3. MiMo/BiBo: Miami Modern/Biscayne Boulevard
Now this is where Miami starts sounding a little like New York City. MiMo is short for Miami Modern while BiBo is short for Biscayne Boulevard. You’ll find MiMo on BiBo and some parts of SoBe.
4. BRKL: Brickell
This abbreviation for Brickell is most helpful to non-Miamians who insist on pronouncing it Brick-elle.
5. W4G: Waiting for the Guagua
Guagua, pronounced “wawa,” is Cuban slang for bus, so W4G means waiting for the guagua. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve texted Cuban friends to ask what they were doing and gotten “W4G” as a response.
6. JSP: Just Saw Pitbull
You know what they say, you’re not a true Miamian until you’ve seen Pitbull out and about. I get at least two texts a day from people telling me “JSP.” Whether down in SoBe, at a Dolphins game or out having dinner. I once challenged him to a game of one-on-one basketball, but he wanted to play Horse instead. He creamed me.
7. DWPTWTHTY?: Do we pretend to watch the Heat this year?
I send my dad this text every year. In the past, we’ve had reasons to cheer but I have to say my Dad’s reply to my “DWPTWTHTY?” text for this upcoming season sadly read, “No, my son.” The loss of DWade (another abbreviation) still stings.
8. BBBBBBBBBBBB: Bro, Bro, Bro, Bro, Bro, Bro, Bro, Bro, Bro, Bro, Bro, Bro, Bro
Who doesn’t send this text? Miami bros love saying bro. It’s just our nature. If my bro isn’t answering my texts or if I’m excited to tell him that I “JSP,” I send my bro a simple “BBBBBBBBBBBB.”
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