Adam Joseph Wades Into Major Jersey Shore Linguistics Controversy

6 ABC meteorologist Adam Joseph, who recently had to explain why the station talks about the Jersey Shore in the way it does (Screenshot courtesy of 6 ABC)

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Adam Joseph Wades into Major Jersey Shore Linguistics Controversy

If you’re talking to your buddy at the local bar about the Jersey Shore, you probably say, “So what’s going on down the shore this weekend?” If your mom calls and asks where you are and you happen to be at the Jersey Shore, you say “Hi, mom. I’m down the shore.”

“Down the shore” is, of course, the phrase we all use when talking about anything happening, well, down the shore. It’s just one of those very local sayings that only locals use and only locals really understand. If you’re near, say, Los Angeles or Virginia Beach or coastal Maine, I’m quite certain nobody is saying “down the shore,” and if you say it while you’re visiting, people will probably give you a funny look. (There’s also the even more linguistically fringe-y single-word version of this — “downashore” — that doesn’t appear in any legitimate dictionary. That’s another story for another time.)

But if you’re a regular viewer of the 6 ABC newscasts, you might have noticed that the various on-air personalities don’t use this localspeak when referring to the Jersey Shore. They say “down at the shore.” And that feels a little bit like ordering Swiss cheese on your cheesesteak. Meanwhile, over at Fox 29, the anchors, reporters and meteorologists routinely use “down the shore.” (Hell, they even have a recurring segment called “Orr Down the Shore”!)

Just the other day, one apparently bored viewer took to Twitter and tweeted at 6 ABC meteorologist Adam Joseph, “Please tell Brittany it’s ‘down the shore’, NOT ‘down AT the shore.'” The Brittany referred to fellow 6 ABC meteorologist Brittany Boyer, who had just finished a segment on the Jersey Shore. Notably, Boyer and Joseph are actually from here, so they know the “right” way to say it.

Joseph was quick to point out that he and Boyer aren’t actually to blame. It’s the station’s fault.

“We’ve discussed this for years,” Joseph wrote back. “Our station prefers the ‘at’ in the middle because it is grammatically correct. It’s not a choice of Brittany or myself when we say it.”

Way to pass the buck, Adam.

The responses were amusing. One guy pointed out Joseph’s own grammatical error in his reply to the viewer. Another wondered why 6 ABC’s talent can’t say “down the shore” while ESPN anchors get away with such English no-nos as “da Bears.” Someone else weighed in to complain that everybody was spelling the phrase wrong and that it should be “daln na shoe-er.”

Ah, Twitter. You may not be called Twitter anymore. But you sure are still stupid as can be.

The End of Girls Rock Philly?

Girls Rock Philly has been teaching girls and non-binary and trans kids how to rock out since 2007, all on a sliding scale. Unfortunately, it sounds like Girls Rock Philly may soon be no more.

From the Department of Want Ads

This is definitely the most wholesome thread I’ve ever seen on Reddit. Alas, a washboard is one of the few musical instruments I don’t own. And I’m pretty sure if I got one, my wife would kill me.

Local Talent

Philly born-and-raised rapper Lil Uzi Vert just turned up in a GQ profile. It fittingly begins with this quote from Uzi: “Do you think people really think I’m Satanic?” Even if you’re not into rap, you might enjoy this particular read, the way a person who hates heavy metal might still enjoy Some Kind of Monster, that documentary about the struggles within Metallica. Speaking of Metallica, I just realized that they dissed Philly on their current tour, opting to play North Jersey over the weekend but skip us entirely. Which is weird, because Philly is a very Metallica town. (Who can forget their infamous free parking lot concert in South Philly?)

Lil Uzi Vert at this year’s Grammy Awards (Getty Images)

Uzi’s not skipping Philly: November 22nd at Wells Fargo Center. The wildest Thanksgiving Eve you can probably have this year.

By the Numbers

5: Teens hospitalized after a shooting at an East Oak Lane playground just after 11 p.m. on Sunday night. Thankfully, according to police, none of the injuries appear to be life-threatening.

$989,000: Average home price in Cape May, making the Jersey Shore town the most expensive place to buy a vacation home among the list of the country’s most popular places for doing so. That’s a fact I learned in this absolutely fascinating piece Philly Mag contributor Christine Speer Lejeune wrote over at the Citizen.

10 p.m.: Approximate end time for the severe weather predicted for the region today. And I was planning on going on a late-afternoon fishing boat!

And from the Heatin’-Up Sports Desk …

In Friday night’s start of the Royals series, after Alec Bohm singled in the first off K.C. starter Jordan Lyles, a long fly by Bryce Harper made the home crowd go “Ohhh!” only to be disappointed. But the next guy up, Nick Castellanos, whacked one out of the park. In the third, in a mirror image of the Phils’ first, the Royals got a single and a Bobby Witt Jr. homer off Aaron Nola to tie it, 2-2. In the fourth, Bryson Stott doubled, Marsh was hit by a pitch, and the crowd rose to its feet for Trea Turner’s at-bat. Who says Philly fans suck?

got your back. pic.twitter.com/aeYW29BeOf

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) August 4, 2023

He popped the second out. It’s the thought that counts, though! Johan Rojas then bounced one off the wall that scored two. Rojas is having fun out there! Michael Massey hit a solo homer in the sixth for K.C., and Aaron then gave out a single and a double and was outta there. Yunior Marte came on, and a long fly scored one more: 4-4. And then a two-run single. Yikes. Stott got his second double in the bottom half, and a Turner single scored him. See? It pays to be nice. Or not. Royals take it, 7-5.

Trea Turner said his mom cried when Phillies fans gave him an ovation tonight in the midst of his struggles pic.twitter.com/UPxx5aVTJY

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) August 5, 2023

On Saturday, we had lefty Cristopher Sánchez up against righty Alec Marsh. In the bottom of the first, Schwarber walked, and Bohm hit one out of the park — what a start! Harper then singled, Castellanos and Stott struck out, and Realmuto and Marsh both singled, but Harper got caught at home for the third out. Alas, first-up Freddy Fermin sent one over the fence in the second. The Phils got one back in the third on a Bohm walk, a Harper double and a Stott single, but Fermin took it back with his second solo homer of the game. The Royals tied it up on a Samad Tayler triple, a walk and a sac bunt, then went ahead on a single. By the second half of the fifth, we were down 6-3.

But K.C. brought in Tucker Davidson for Marsh, and things looked a little sunnier as Bohm singled and Harper homered: 6-5. Strahm replaced Sánchez in the sixth, and he mowed ’em down 1-2-3. That led to reliever Angel Zerpa, who hit J.T. with a pitch and allowed a Rojas single. Both came home on a Trea Turner homer — you see what being nice will do? Phils up, 8-6!

HE ANSWERED THE CALL#RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/TquMSmVkV8

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) August 5, 2023

What a crazy game! It was three up, three down again for Strahm in the seventh, and in the eighth, it was Seranthony time. He handed out two walks, but struck out Fermin and got out of it. Realmuto beat out a single: Turner up, and the crowd arose! Hey-yo, Philly proud! Trea’s long fly to the wall brought J.T. home.

Kimbrel in the ninth gave out a walk, then got a ground-out and a called strikeout the Royals objected to so vociferously that two of them got tossed. (Full disclosure: It might have been a ball.) And a ground-out to end it: 9-6 Phils! “It’s turned out to be a rather entertaining game,” Tom McCarthy said, and so it was. Oh, and Marsh messed up his knee crashing into the wall chasing a fly and is on crutches now. Great, just when he was playing so well …

On Sunday afternoon, it was a wild and woolly final matchup with the Royals, with Taijuan Walker on the mound for us, and boy, did they get to him in the first, with five singles and a sac fly that left the Phils down three before they caught their breath. But before fans even had time to despair, in our half, a Bohm single, a Harper double and a Stott homer off starter Zach Greinke tied it up. Trea Turner then doubled, to no avail. In the second, M.J. Melendez homered to put K.C. up again, but a Stubbs single and a Schwarber homer put us up one.

Things settled down a bit until the fifth, when Jonathan Heasley replaced Greinke and gave up singles to Schwarber and Harper and a Castellanos home run. We picked up one more in the seventh on Rojas and Schwarbs singles and a Harper sac fly. Final: 8-4. I gotta say, lookin’ good, Phils! Nice to see those bats come alive.

breakfast for dinner! pic.twitter.com/gui0PmnsGR

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) August 6, 2023

They start a four-game home stint vs. the Nationals tonight at 6:40.

And in Doop News …

Tonight, the Union face the New York Red Bulls in our house in the Round of 16 in the Leagues Cup, 7:30 start.

Oh, and the U.S. women suffered their earliest-ever exit from the World Cup when they lost to Sweden in PKs on Sunday morning in Melbourne. Megan Rapinoe, Sophia Smith and Kelley O’Hara all missed the goal on their kicks. U.S. goalie Alyssa Naeher actually made hers, but just barely missed one by the Swedes as shown on VAR. Too bad.

All Philly Today sports coverage is provided by Sandy Hingston.