Natives will undoubtedly revoke someone’s “New Yorker card” the moment they slip up—whether it’s mispronouncing a street or walking too slowly. The New York Times has just rolled out a quiz designed to separate true New Yorkers from the transplants.
Blending city lore, iconic natives, and legendary pizza joints, the quiz lets participants prove they’re New York through and through or simply faking it til they’re making it.
After working through the quiz multiple times, we found that you’ll need a score of at least 18 out of 25 to earn true New Yorker status—so if you’re aiming for bragging rights, that’s the magic number to beat.
Score below it and you’re only considered a “New Yorker in training.” According to The New York Times, at that level “you’ve learned the basics — maybe you know to let people off the train before you get on, or that ‘the city that never sleeps’ doesn’t mean you should order dollar pizza at 4 a.m. every night. You’re still earning your stripes, but each wrong subway entrance or overpriced cocktail is just another lesson on your way to full-fledged New Yorker status,” promising you’ll learn quickly by sticking around.
If you graduate from “New Yorker in training” you’ll be deemed a “Bonafide New Yorker,” meaning “you might not know every shortcut through Central Park, but you’ve got the grit, the wit, and the instincts that make you a true New Yorker.”
And of course, if you manage to nail every question and score 25 out 25, The New York Times says “You Should Run For Mayor.”
So, do you really know the ins and outs of subway transfers? Are you on a first name basis with your bodega man? Prove it by taking the quiz and see whether you don’t just know New York, but you are New York, as The New York Times says.
Working on making your way up to mayor? Explore these 40 things New Yorkers would never say and be sure to remove them from your vocabulary.