Stoked, ope and nor’easter battled it out in the quarterfinals—can you use them all in a sentence?
Sweet Tea Territory — Y’all, we have a champion! After five nail-biting rounds, the South’s most iconic greeting took the crown in Dictionary.com‘s 2025 spring slang showdown. With its effortless charm and welcoming appeal, y’all wraps everyone into the conversation with a single syllable—making it this year’s MVP (Most Valuable Phrase).
First recorded in the 1800s, y’all has long been a hallmark of Southern speech. Some linguists trace its origins to Scots-Irish settlers and African American Vernacular English, where it emerged as a contraction of “you all.” Over time, it spread outside the South, becoming a popular, easy-going way to address a group of people across the U.S.
“Regional words aren’t just fun expressions—they’re windows into the history, culture, and identity of the places we call home,” said Steve Johnson, Curriculum Design Manager of the Dictionary Media Group at IXL Learning. “Every phrase in this competition tells a story, and y’all winning it all shows how language unites us. It may have Southern roots, but its influence stretches far beyond.”
The ultimate regional rumble
Forget buzzer-beaters and Cinderella stories—this was a battle of words. Dictionary.com’s bracket-style competition put 32 beloved regional slang terms in a head-to-head matchup, where voters decided which expressions had the most staying power.
From the jump, y’all was a force to be reckoned with. It breezed past toboggan (who wears a beanie in the South anyway?) and longtime rival yonder in the early rounds, securing over 75% of the vote in both matchups. Things got trickier in the quarterfinals when skedaddle refused to, well, skedaddle. Still, y’all held strong with 65% of the vote.
The penultimate matchup was a true clash of cultures: the South’s friendly drawl versus the Midwest’s humble politeness. Ope—the goliath of Midwestern manners—tried to kill y’all with kindness, but Southern hospitality prevailed.
That left one final showdown. Stoked, fresh off melting nor’easter in the previous round, ditched its laid-back nature and put up the toughest fight yet. It claimed 47% of the vote—the best any word had managed against y’all. But in the end, the Southern staple was simply unstoppable.
Clutch stats
Dictionary.com’s 2025 spring slang showdown wasn’t for the faint of heart. Let’s dive into some key highlights from the competition:
- MVP (Most Voted Phrase): Y’all received 60% of the overall votes.
- Closest Call: Hella vs. Gnarly in the Round of 32. Hella won by just 1 vote.
- Biggest Blowout: Ope (12%) vs. Y’all (87%) in the quarterfinals.
Fan favorites
While y’all took home the title, plenty of regional heavyweights made deep runs in the tournament. Here’s a look at some standout contenders:
In the West:
- Stoked (adjective): exhilarated; excited
- Hella (adverb, adjective): very; extremely or great in number, measure, or degree
In the Northeast:
- Nor’easter (noun): an eastern North American storm that usually develops between the Georgia and New Jersey latitudes, progressing northeastward and typified by potentially violent northeast winds
- Jimmies (noun): sprinkles; small particles of chocolate, candy or sugar used as a decorative topping for cookies, cakes, ice cream cones and the like
In the South:
In the Midwest:
- Ope (noun): an interjection used to express surprise or to alert someone
- White Lightning (noun): moonshine; smuggled or illicitly distilled liquor
Want to see the full bracket and find out how your favorite word fared? Check out Dictionary.com’s 2025 spring slang showdown recap here: https://www.dictionary.com/e/regional-slang-bracket-2025/.
