You know you’re from Cleveland if :
1. You can pronounce Cuyahoga
2. You are Polish
3. You’ve never ridden in a Taxi
4. You know how to Polka
5. You take credit for Cedar Point
6. Everything is 20 minutes from everywhere
7. You decorate your house with Christmas lights IN JULY
8. You take dead mans curve at 60 mph
9. You know Tower City isn’t a city
10. It will always be The Jake
11. You know what the city of Pink Flamingos is
12. You can’t tell the difference between Brooklyn and Old Brooklyn
13. You are not happy when you go to other cities and their Corned Beef doesn’t compare
14. It’s called POP !
15. You don’t have an accent
16. You have no idea who sings “New York State of Mind,” but you know all the lyrics to the parody “Parma State of Mind”
17. You know where the Christmas Story house is
18. You wear flip flops in 40 degree weather
19. You cheer tirelessly for our local sports teams despite their tendency to lose
20. You stop and stare at the leaping fountain in Tower City every time you walk by it
21. You know how to make real pierogies
22. You hate Pittsburgh and Baltimore
23. You like Kielbasa and sauerkraut
24. You drink …. A LOT
25. You think political correctness involves using the term “certain ethnic” when telling a joke.
26. You laugh at the words lake effect
27. You have gotten 3 speeding tickets, and they are all from the mile long stretch of a suburb named Linndale.
28. It’s dinner not supper
29. It’s -10 degrees, 2 feet of snow, school busses are sliding on the road, and you don’t get a snow day
30. You know we are the reason stadiums don’t have glass bottles.
31. You are used to the dead fish smell after it rains.
32. You remember the Norton’s Furniture commercials
33. You often switch from heat to AC in the same day and back again
34. Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow.
35. You find 3 degrees a little chilly.
36. It will always be the The Gund
37. You have ballpark mustard in your refrigerator
38. It’s “you’s guys” not yens, or ya’ll
39. Cleveland is called downtown, not the city
40. You have a tree lawn
41. It will always be called the Jennings freeway
42. You have no idea what the Free Stamp means
43. You spend your 19th birthday road tripping to Canada
44. You know what The Feast of the Assumption is
45. You know that Miami was a university before Florida was a state.
46. You know who saves you the run around
47. You go out for fish fry on Fridays in the winter
48. You know Slavic Village is no longer Slavic, but still eat at the Red Chimney
49. You shop at Marcs
50. You know there are only 2 seasons, winter, and construction
51. You know who Mary Hartski is
52. You watched Super Host
53. You partied at – Dixie Electric / Hang 10 / Mining Company
54. You know Super Man was born here
55. Ghoulardi !
56. You went to the Memphis Drive In
57. You know the Big Chuck and Little John laugh
58. You refuse to call the state up north by its name
59. You know what a woolly bear is
60. You know someone that worked at LTV or Cleveland Pneumatic
61. You remember the “old” Prospect Ave.
62. 30 Rock, Season 1, episode 20
63. You ever had vanilla lemonade from the West Side market
64. You get excited when you see Christmas Ale, you get mad when it’s not available
65. Everything below Cleveland is the South
66. You know The Big Egg
67. You get lost every time you go to University Circle
68. You shopped at the Bazaar Mini Mall
69. You ate and shopped at Woolworths
70. You know Sokolowskis is only open on the weekend, and eating off the cafeteria trays takes you back to your school days
71. You don’t have to leave the city to see all the Broadway shows
72. You define where you live by East side or West side
73. You know what the friendship border ring is
74. You eat walleye and perch
75. You celebrate Sweetest Day
76. The names Eliot Ness and Edmund Fitzgerald make you think of beer
77. You’ve seen Robert Lockwood Jr. play live
78. You know where the old League Park is
79. You never make an Easter Basket from anything but Malley’s
80. You can tell an accordion from a button box
81. You know what 10 cent beer night is
82. You know collision bend is not dead mans curve
83. You recount the stories of The Fumble, The Drive, The Shot, The Curse and Game 7 by heart
84. You know someone who was an extra in “The Deer Hunter and The Avengers”
85. You own a Michael Stanley Band album
86. You own a copy of “Major League” on DVD
87. You know what a buckeye is and you have a recipe for the candy ones
88. Red Right
89. You call it a purse
90. You partied on the East bank of the Flats
91. You sang the Garfield 1-2323 jingle
92. You owned, or know someone who owned a babushka
93. You’ve put a dog bone in your mouth at least once
94. You can finish Bob Serpentini’s line, “American and…”
95. You ate at Steve’s Hot Dogs
96. You know that Christie’s isn’t an auction house
97. You been to Higbees, and May Company
98. You know what the Emerald Necklace is
99. You know what the Holy Rivalry is
100. You know you are from Cleveland if: You smile every time you hear someone say: Cleveland Rocks !
101. The (real) Buzzard
102. You know the Arsenio Hall bark
103. Moon over Parma
104. The Flats in the 80s/early 90s
105. Kid Leo “Born to Run”
106. You play corn hole, not bags
North Coast Parrothead Club 
moved away two years ago, read this now i’m homesick!
Move back!
Can’t believe 2 things missing Slyman’s means cornedbeef……you remember Captain Franks
move to Texas, but this brought so much memories I wanted to cry. Miss the old cleveland stadium and love the new Gund Arena and the Jake. Worked almost 30 years of East 9th street. and miss my walks on the pier. CLEVELAND ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!
I moved away 4 1/2 years ago. I STILL get made fun of in NorCal for saying ‘pop.’ Thanks for bringing back a lot of memories.
Thanks for the memories
And now I’m moving back to Cleveland to the west side, from Kentucky!! I’d better make a copy of this so I get it right again!!
and you’ve never been to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame…….you know what the submarine races meant….you didn’t bring your swimsuit to Euclid Beach….you would never shop at the Original Mattress Factory because you can’t stand their commercials and Ron Trzcinski’s voice
I think they had submarine races in Dayton and Columbus, too!
been here 61 years , and you got it all right and I live on the east side.
Cleveland rocks!
Eating at Halle’s; having a chocolate frosty at Higbees before catching bus east; knowing Squire’s Castle was THE destination; you have partied at the Harbor Inn; you grabbed late night food at Chung Wah’s; you know the exact location of Squaw Rock; you go out for a “hamburg”; when it is 50 degrees in March you open your windows for fresh air; you frequented the Miles Drive-in; you never missed going to see the magnificent Sterling Linder Christmas tree; you dressed up to go “downtown”;
Good ones. Who remembers Frances The talking mule. And Mr. JING A LING
Pingback: 102 Signs That You’re A Clevelander « Cleveland's New 102
I LOVE that Red Right is #88. Classic. And if you are from Cleveland, you DEFINITELY know what that means.
AND THAT’S WHY WE LOVE CLEVELAND!!!!!!!
Been gone since 91′ miss the people,food, lake but not the weather.
I LOVE CLEVELAMD TOOOOOOOOOOO
How about the FRIES & SCHUELE CO? I used to go there as a child & remember the huge Christmas tree in the middle of the building. I remember being so amazed at how big the ornaments & candy canes were. It made me sad to see that building go. Or how about the Pretzels in the basement of the May Company, or how all of the department stores downtown used to decorate for Christmas & have the little people & figures that moved around. I loved Cleveland so much growing up. It was awesome!!
My Grandma worked at Fries & Schuele…I remember the cool elevator with the man that operated it. I still love elevators with “gates”.
What’s a friendship border ring?
The water between Canada and the U.S. (Pat Dailey sings about it)
You can name the flavors of pop in a case of Little Tom’s
You ate chicken from Red Barn
You know that a chicken pot pie came out of a cardboard oven
Mall C rib burn off and concerts
only 2 orange in a case.
Hahahahahaha Little Tom’s … only on special occasions.
The best “pop” ever!!#
You know what the Grande and the Velvet Under Ground was.
You paid $4.00 to see the Rolling Stones, Jimmy Hindrix, J.Morrison, J.Joplin, BB King, Jefferson airplane, Robert Plant, etc in a theatre Downtown.
You waded in the fountains next to the the soldier statue and hoped the police didn’t chase you.
You played hooky from school at least once to be a “Hippy” on the square.
You called the square behind euclid ave (fountains) “The Mall” before there were any “Malls”.
You hitchhiked or begged a ride to Mentor Hullabaloo.
You lived in East Cleveland and you told the School you lived with your aunt in Collinwood.
You lived in East Cleveland and you weren’t Catholic so your parents paid lots of mula for you to go to private schools or you pretended to be Catholic, anyway.
Even though you weren’t Catholic, you put the doily on your head. (Respectfully)
But GOD it was better than a babushka !!) Why could’nt God see your head then but he can now?.
You went to Griswold Institute Downtown because you could, daddy had the money, you were the artistic type, a poet and musician, and you weren’t Catholic. Or you came from Bratenal.
The first time you got drunk was at a Catholic Irish Wake.
The first time you smoked Pot was with a “non Catholic”.
Your sisters converted to Catholicism or Judaism when they got married.
You said “fruit of thy loom” at least once by mistake and laughed in Mass.
When you lived on the west side all your friend’s names ended in “ski ” and they dreamed of going to college, and living near the Ocean.
When you lived on the east side all your friend’s names ended in stein, and they all dreamed of going to the mountains to ski, because they went to florida every Christmas to go to the movies.
All your friends on the west side Tuned their cars on Saturday.
All your friends on the east side Tuned their instruments on Saturday.
When you drove down East 55th street at night you kept your windows rolled up and locked.
When you drove Down West 25th street at night you kept your windows rolled up and locked.
You didn’t know anyone that spoke Spanish.
The Flats was a stinky place you avoided at all costs.
Swimming in the lake was banned sometimes because so many dead fish were on the shore .
You know The Cuyahoga caught on fire.
You know It can snow on halloween ………and Easter
You “flash” your neighbors for the first time on Halloween. (Open your coat to show your costume while shouting “trick or treat”)
You remember when all the kids in the neighborhood went out on Halloween and came home with a shopping bag full of candy bars and Quarters. Enough to buy a new dress or shoes. Penny Candy ……NO WAY !!
You can’t wait to turn 18 so you can go to a warmer climate.
You know what 3-2 beer is.
You know someone that got “busted” with a joint.
You know when the summer of love was.
You know what to wear when you go to San Francisco.
You have danced under a blacklight while wearing white.
you never wear white shoes after Labor Day.
you own a spare set of tires with spikes on them.
You carry chains in your trunk for your tires (?)
You carry a cigaret lighter to warm your carlock.
you know that they made a mistake when they named Chicago the windy city.
You can’t wait to turn 18 so you can go to a warmer climate.
LOL ……….A year never passes that I don’t visit………GO FIGURE !!
(There was no intention to offend anyone with these memories)
Now thoseI can relate too. Born and raised in Cleveland but left in 1979 at age 18…for California, of course! Yeah, I definitely remember when 3.2 beer was legal at 18. A few more from a 70s era Clevelander: your favorite radio station was either WIXY 1260 or WMMS “home of the buzzard.” You ‘pretended’ to forget it was Friday and got half way through a hamburger and said OMG..it’s FRIDAY! Guess I’ll go to Confession tomorrow…” and you rolled up your uniform skirts once you got about 5 blocks from school! You remember when Mrs. Perk refused to meet with Pat Nixon because it was her ‘bowling night’ and when Mayor Perk banned skin magazines at Hopkins airport!
Big Chuck and…? Leo’s Casino- little Italy..Vel’s Party center-Don King – Twigbee’s 4 Roller rinks… Trees with fruit on them- Woodhill Park- When McDonald’s had good food and coffee. Giant Tiger ruled…lol I could go on n on from a certain ethnic persuasion..uh uhmm .. when Shotenstein was not Value City.
Big Chuck and Little John (???)
That was great!
From a diehard Clevelander.
Born here, still live here & wiil die here.
You remember the old Arena on Euclid, and picnics at Squire’s Castle. Now I’m dating my self: Coventry Village.
The Forum Cafeteria …
I remember eating at the Zodiac Room at Higbees and watching all the people in the mall shop.
Going to Nela Park to look at the Christmas Lights
Riding the Carousel at the Zoo
Driving around every Wednesday and looking at all the bridges Downtown
I am so PROUD to be from Cleveland!! WE ROCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Slyman’s corned beef……..the best ever !
The “real” Buzzard should have been #101
Corrected. Good call. Thanks
Left Cleveland 36 years ago for Cincinnati. I remember roller skating at Rollercade on Denison Ave, Zayers on Denison Ave. and skating at Puritas Springs Park and Euclid Beach Park. Fishing with my dad at Edgewater Park on the breakwall and Dairy Dell. Jean Mason Lehnert
Great post. Brings back lots of memories. Grew up in Madison & Mentor and lived in NE Ohio for 28 years before moving to Texas (then eventually moving to NM). You forgot to add: “You eat the delicious donuts from Biagio’s, but never the pizza!”
World Series of Rock concerts at the Stadium!!!
the peanut shop on the sqaure
AHHHHH I can smell the roasted nuts from here! My Dad and I used to walk by there every day on the way to work. Thanks for giving me this gift of a wonderful memory
This makes me sooo homesick! I’ve been gone for almost 6 years and now I can’t wait to visit again.
left in 85 miss the memories when i got the news that steve,s hot dogs burned down i thought its all slowly going away but thanks to this site the memories live on CLEVELAND ROCKS
Oh geez!!! I MISS MY HOME! I an an expat now living in Sakhalin Russia and this made my day. Hands down THE best “you know you’re from Cleveland”….love it. Thank you for making me homesick. This.Is. Awesome!
I would add…
Mr Jing-A-Ling
Faegen’s
The Baron’s
Decoration Day
West Side Market killing fresh chickens
Monkey Island
Gold Circle
Uncle Bill’s
Whipp’s Ledges
Buzzard Pancake Breakfast in Hinkley
Jeff-N-Flash
Parmatown
Captain Franks? SLYMAN”S
Pla-mor skate rink&forest hills swimmingpool ,the arena 105&euclid drugstore where the had the best popcorn&movie theatre across the street where they popped popcorn in the window, the eastside market , may co. Basement, where you could find shoes on the tables if you dig , like digging for treasure, going to the lagoon in university circle on sundys taking a lunch &laying on the grass! Those were the days, thought they would never end!!!!!
Left Cleveland in 1986. Visited last year. Was very impressed with downtown. Walking around brought back a lot of memories
Left for Texas in 1953. Raised in the projex off two hunnert street.
visited years ago. Not only are the projects gone, but so is the street I lived on. No one I know still lives in Euclid.
went to my 50th class reunion and nobody spoke to me there, so after a while I went back to a hotel and flew home. But I am glad to know that somewhere in
Cleveland there are people who are happy with it.
You know you live in Cleveland when….
You still remember riding the Rapid Transit Downtown for a shop til you drop day with a Grandmother that could outrun you but can’t remember what you did yesterday.
. 🙂 1965
The Cleveland Zoo and the Rain Forest, with the Old Pool too…