A popular TikTok series has been “Tell Me Without Telling Me,” or the #TheTellMeChallenge, where people answer what really defines a place or category.
So we had to ask our own Secret NYC followers: “Tell me you’re from New York without telling me you’re from New York,” and we got some pretty amazing answers.
Take a look at our top picks below, and check out the thread (on Facebook below and on Instagram here) if you need a good laugh (or want to chime in with your own take!).
1. “If your bodega doesn’t have a cat it’s not a bodega, it’s a supermarket.”
2. “It’s a nice stack of trash.”
3. “My noise canceling headphones are my defense mechanism.”
4. “Standing ‘on line’ not ‘in line.'”
5. “You’ve never been to Time Square on NYE.”
6. “I’ve been to Midtown like…3 times in my entire life.”
7. “That Arizona and bacon egg and cheese combo.”
8. “You Good has multiple meanings depending on the context of the situation:
You good. : I ain’t tryna talk, b
You good? : You need money or anything?
You good. : No need to say sorry.
You good!? : We got a problem?!
You good? : Are you ok?
You good: You’re Welcome.”
9. “Them: How could you live with all noise? Me: What noise?”
10. “From outer boroughs “going to the city” means Manhattan.”
11. “You get upset every time you hear ‘showtime’ on the train.”
12. “Complain about NYC every day but defend it to death. 😬 And I don’t stop to look at how tall the buildings are.”
13. “I’d prefer to walk 30 blocks than sit in traffic cause at least walking means I am progressing.”
14. “Yelling at tourists to move out of the way is one of my favorite pastimes!”
15. “Traffic lights are merely a suggestion…use your own judgment.”
16. “The rent for my 1 bedroom apartment is $2000/month.”
17. “At 45 I still have friends who have never gotten a driver’s license.”
18. “I look both ways crossing a one-way street.”
19. “Bagel 🥯 with a shmear.”
20. “I’m about to have 5 kids in a 2 bedroom, but not leaving because it’s rent stabilized.”
21. “Never been to the top of the Empire State Building…and worked in it for 4 years 😉”
22. “I go to the bodega across the street from that bodega because their cat is nicer.”
23. “It’s not Bedford Stuyvesant or Bed Stuy, it’s simply ‘the Stuy.’ And if you feel the need to take pics/selfies in front of Marcy Houses, you ain’t from here.”
24. “Is that rain, spit or air conditioning dripping?”
25. “What do you mean you want to order an Uber? It’s only a 20 minute walk from here, an avenue over and then 12 blocks down.”
26. “Rat scurries by on the train platform…we move to the side to let it by all while continuing our conversation…”
27. “I can get to a pizza shop, laundromat, do my taxes, go to two grocery stores, get liquor, buy electronics and get some weed, without crossing one street.”
28. “When on an escalator… left is the fast lane 😂 please do not block it … stay right. / If you intend merely to take the ride up, stand on the right side of the escalator. DO NOT STAND ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE.”
29. “It’s pronounced House-ton Street. Not Houston. Regardless of the spelling…”
30. “That flashing ‘don’t walk’ sign actually means run.”
31. “No one from NYC has ever been able to not tell anyone they’re from NYC.”
32. “I would never wear shirts saying I love New York.”
33. “I can live on 10 dollars. 2 dollar bagel and coffee. 2 dollar slice and soda for lunch. 6 dollar chicken and rice from the street meat stand.”
34. “Giving train directions, including which car leaves you closest to the exit on that stop.”
35. “Refuse to acknowledge ‘Avenue of the Americas’ as a thing.”
36. “It’s such a great apartment-there are TWO windows and a sink sprayer!”
37. “I’m gonna order ‘a Pie’ and I don’t mean apple!”
38. “‘We’re being held here momentarily due to train traffic ahead.’ Narrator: there was no train traffic and it was a 30 minute hold underground.”
40. “People set off fireworks all year long. I fall asleep to the sound of sirens. My spirit animal is the bodega cat.”
41. “Stand clear of the closing doors.” And “let me get a slice to go.”
42. “Fuhgeddaboudit 😂”
43. “Have never been to the Empire State Building, Ellis Island, or the Statue of Liberty.”
45. “I’M WALKIN’ HERE.”
46. “Southwest corner.”
47. “Keys, phone, metro card, headphones.”
48. “Crying on the subway is not a big deal.”
49. “Cawfee.”
50. “I walk fast even when I’m not in a hurry.”
featured image source: Unsplash