Street
yat
What does yat mean?
A working-class white New Orleans accent — closer in sound to Brooklyn than the Deep South, with 'erl' for oil and 'erster' for oyster. Also the person who speaks it.
"Dude's a full Yat — sounds like he should be running a deli in Queens, not a po-boy shop on Magazine."
Origin
Clipped from the greeting 'where y'at?' Locals heard it so much it became the label for the speakers themselves — working-class white New Orleanians, often of Irish, Italian and German descent.
Frequently asked questions
What does yat mean?
It refers to the thick New Orleans accent — and the people who carry it.
How do you use yat in a sentence?
"He's a proper yat, born and raised in the Ninth Ward."
Where does yat come from?
It's tied to the classic New Orleans greeting 'where y'at?', which the accent and its speakers are named after.
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