Helpful Translation Guide

A few weeks ago, my extended family took a trip downtown. We visited the nativity scene at the US Steel Building, then walked past the Westin William Penn before perusing the animated window scenes at Kaufmann’s.

Nice story, huh?

Except for one thing.

None of those places actually exist.

I take that back — they exist, but not under the names I’ve used. You see, the building hosting the Nativity scene hasn’t been called the US Steel building in about 20 years. The William Penn is not a Westin. And the Kaufmann’s name was reduced to a memory by the Macy’s corporation.

The point here? I’m a Winky. A Winky is a person who calls things by their old names, or who refer to things that no longer exist, like the Winky’s fast food chain. (Tip of the hat to Lisa D for this term.)

So if you’re ever talking to me about local landmarks or points of interest, please refer to this handy Winky-to-Real Life Chart.

 
Do you know any other Winky terms? Please add them to the comments, so that the growing number of Winkies can be understood by people who have only lived in Pittsburgh a few decades..