THE WAFFLEMAN: Where Did ‘Yo!’ Come From?

Yo! Here we go again with this explanation of the word “Yo.” I open every column with this word and it seems that it is generally accepted as a salutation. It is also used as an exclamation of surprise. There are other meanings, or should I say variations of its use, with appropriate facial and hand gestures. It is used all over South Philly and other places. This explanation is given to me by my good friend Antonio Mancini. Anthony is a genuine South Philly guy: born raised and still lives in South Philly and is very proud of it.

He is Italian, as you can surmise by his name, and as a youngster lived around 16th & Jackson Streets. The Philadelphia Transportation Co. had a bus barn that covered about one third of the block from 16th & Jackson south to Wolf Street, east to Mole Street, north to Jackson and west to 16th. Quite a large area and when PTC closed the bus barn it was demolished and in its place the city built the Guerin Recreation Center. Guerin opened in 1958 or 1959 and was an instant neighborhood gathering place.

They had all the standard recreational services there, including four bocce courts. These courts were very popular with the neighborhood Italian men, who played bocce from dawn to dusk if they could. The children played at Guerin also and kids being kids were loud and high-spirited.

Their games and chatter disturbed the men playing bocce. They complained about the kids but the best they could do is yell at them. In the Neapolitan dialect, “guaglione” (pronounced guahl-YO-nay) signified a young man. The chiefly unlettered immigrants shortened that to guahl-YO, which they pronounced whal-YO. That was inevitably further shortened to YO. The common greeting among young Italian American males was “Hey, whal-YO!” and then simply, “Yo!” The kids who were being told to beat it harassed the men by taunting them with the phrase “Yo!” This taunt – “Yo” – soon became a standard phrase in Philadelphia and took on many meanings.

I am not absolutely sure Anthony has the actual origin of the word “Yo,” but I am positive it is as good an explanation as any other that I have heard, and having heard it first-hand from one who had it yelled at him it many years ago makes its believable. Thanks, Anthony.

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