Pirates manager Clint Hurdle, who just finished his first year with the team, is working on becoming a "yinzer," he says.
↵↵↵"I believe in a position of leadership, that's how you lead," he said. "That's one of the greatest steps that you can take to lead. That's just my personal conviction."
↵As for the reception his video received, Hurdle felt that might help him join the local culture:
↵"I felt like that was a big step forward to becoming a yinzer."
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I'm not from Pittsburgh proper - I was born and raised in Wheeling. But my impression is that "yinzer," while not necessarily the world's most offensive term, isn't typically used to mean something positive. There may be some element of PIttsburgh pride in claiming the word as one's own. I'm not sure. But it does seem a little strange for an out-of-towner to be using that word that way. From Urban Dictionary:
↵↵↵Yinzers can be easily identified by their one-of-a-kind, ridiculous accent.
↵The Yinzer is a willfully ignorant species, fully believing that pittsburgh is the best city in america simply because said yinzer has never been more than 20 miles from pittsburgh.
↵A derogatory name of someone from western Pennsylvania that speaks a dialect that is often referred to as "Pittsburghese"
↵1. someone who overdoes pittsburgh using the "pittsburgh" accent.
↵2. a fairweather fan who wants to disban the team because of 1 bad week.
↵White trash from Western Pennsylvania, and sometimes even extending into the "inbred" areas of West Virginia.
↵Female, native of Pittsburgh, wearing too much hairspray/gel and makeup, with a very limited vocabulary and usually driving a Camaro, Firebird or Trans-Am, loves 80s music
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A feature in Pittsburgh Magazine says "yinzer" is similar to "redneck" - it might be positive, but mostly it's negative, and it depends on who's using it.
↵Now, like I said, I myself am not from Pittsburgh. I just grew up near there and have spent a fair amount of time there. But my sense is that if Clint Hurdle really wants to become a Pittsburgher, his vocabulary could use a little work.
↵Via Bucs Dugout.