Frisco (San Francisco: low income, transplants, neighborhoods)

[Funny_74]

Hi there,

was just chatting to a German friend and we are wondering if it is right that you call San Francisco also "Frisco". Maybe it's slang, isn't it?

Thanks

Eva

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by Funny_74

Hi there,

was just chatting to a German friend and we are wondering if it is right that you call San Francisco also "Frisco". Maybe it's slang, isn't it?

Thanks

Eva

yep, it is slang and many in the bay area think of it as a put down. I have to admit I used to call it Frisco even when we lived in the area. Many of our friends born and raised in the area didn't like it.

Nita

[Beat02]

I don't understand why it would be derogatory.

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by Beat02

I don't understand why it would be derogatory.

Maybe they failed to bow their heads when they said it. Gotta show proper deference, dontcha know!

[rah]

Many older Bay Area natives don't like calling it Frisco (except for hell's angels members). Many younger natives do call it Frisco, especially if they're into hip-hop (in which "Frisco" is the name of choice for SF), and especially if they live in low income areas. The whole Frisco thing isn't as black and white as some would have you believe. If you're not from the bay and you say it however, it can be seen as annoying.

Personally, being younger and into hip-hop myself (especially local stuff), "frisco" is an everyday word for me. I wasn't even aware of the saying "don't call it Frisco" until I was 13 or 14, and i've lived in SF my entire life. My sister once had a boyfriend who moved here from Massachusetts, and he took to saying Frisco often. Don't ask me why, but it irked the hell out of me. I think you have to know the right way say it, and use it in the right context. Hell if I know what that context is though...i just know that when some people say it, it sounds completely wrong for some reason

[llowllevellowll]

I've never heard anyone say it. My assumption has been that most people who say 'Frisco' aren't from around there. I've found that most people from San Francisco call it "The City." I.E. "Are you going into The City today?" The City was also the name printed on the San Francisco/Golden State Warriors jerseys in the late 60's - early 70's and still used today as a retro throwback. Even if some call it Frisco, I'd think that overwhelmingly, more people refer to it as The City.

[rah]

Originally Posted by Puddy4LyF

I've never heard anyone say it. My assumption has been that most people who say 'Frisco' aren't from around there.

Well, you're wrong. Take it from an SF native who has heard countless other SF and Bay Area residents say it, and only a few transplants/tourists say it. I think saying "frisco" is divided by class more than anything...and as i said, is also strongly influenced by whether one listens to a lot of hip hop.

I've found that most people from San Francisco call it "The City." I.E. "Are you going into The City today?" The City was also the name printed on the San Francisco/Golden State Warriors jerseys in the late 60's - early 70's and still used today as a retro throwback. Even if some call it Frisco, I'd think that overwhelmingly, more people refer to it as The City.

Yeah, "The city" is certainly used more than Frisco is...or even "San Francisco."

[llowllevellowll]

Originally Posted by rah

I think saying "frisco" is divided by class more than anything...and as i said, is also strongly influenced by whether one listens to a lot of hip hop

That would certainly explain why I hadn't heard anyone from SF say it, lol -- I'm more of the folk, electronica type.

[rah]

^^ that would explain it probably . Also if you tend to hang out in more affluent neighborhoods and trendy hoods full of transplants...those things would contribute to not hearing it as well.

Also, if i remember right, I actually think it was Chronicle columnist Herb Caen who popularized the anti-Frisco sentiment, back in the 60's.

[E14]

if youre from the city you can call it frisco but otherwise you just sound like an idiot