Wordplay

An imperfect and incomplete downtown glossary

Airlock
To “airlock” someone is to kick them out of a bar or restaurant because of elevated intoxication.

American Parking 
Parking enforcement akin to a bullied child devoted to petty revenge.

Art Deco
a. Style of architecture and design that rejects historicism and bends toward the abstract with geometric patterns and stylized elegance—essentially, modernism turned into a fashion statement. b. Symbol of the unabashed consumerism of Tulsa’s erstwhile boomtown days.

Blow the doors off
To cut the sleeves off of a T-shirt. Especially popular in summer months. See also: “Summer” and “Take the top down.”

Blue Dome District
Named for a disused Gulf Oil Service Station. Lots of bars. Roughly between Fourth Street to The Tracks, Frankfort and Cincinnati avenues.

BOK Tower
A half-as-high replica of one of the original World Trade Center towers in New York. Minimalist, modernist, and designed by the same architect, Minoru Yamasaki.

Brady Arts District
This district, full of bars, restaurants, hotels, museums, galleries, and music venues, has always been named for Civil War photographer M.B. Brady, who was definitely not a Klansman. We’ve always been at war with Eastasia. Bordered by Detroit Avenue to the east, First Street to the south, and the curve of Interstate 244 to the north and west.

Brunch
The weekend’s most important meal, giving you the fortitude to recover from the night before and the strength to make all the same mistakes again. Popular downtown spots include Bramble, MixCo, Fassler Hall, Dilly Diner, and so, so
many more.

Center of the Universe
a: Tourist attraction appealing mostly to teenagers and photographers. b: A metaphor for provincial narcissism. c: Failed Tulsa music fest.

Cherries and berries
A police cruiser’s lights flashing in your rearview.

Coney
A hot dog with chili, cheese, mustard, and onions. Invented by Greek immigrants in New York City, perfected by Greek immigrants in Tulsa.

Deco District
The part of downtown that, if you squint just right, almost looks like a real metropolis. Approx. north-south from First to Eighth streets and east-west from Cincinnati to Denver avenues.

East Village District
Fun to play and shop there, expensive to live there. Bounded east-west from US Highway 75 to Elgin, from Eighth to Third streets.

Fest
Short for “festival.” Annual downtown fests include Blue Dome Arts Festival, Blue Whale Comedy Festival, Habit Mural Festival, Hop Jam, International Jazz Fest, Juneteenth, Mayfest, Tulsa Overground Music & Film Festival, Sakura Festival, and World Culture Music Festival. 

Greenwood District
Historically, the 35-block district that Booker T. Washington dubbed “Black Wall Street.” Greenwood District of 2017 is roughly 12 blocks, bordered by The Tracks to the south, Detroit Avenue to the west, and the northeast curve of I-244.

Grocery store
A place that is not in walking distance.

IDL
Stands for “Inner-Dispersal Loop.” Refers to the 1.4 square-miles enveloped by Interstate 244, Highway 64, and Highway 75. Accessible year-round via multiple construction detours.

Juicin’ limes
When you drive downtown at the magical speed (posted speed limit) that lets you hit every green light in a row. See also: squeezin’ lemons.

Kaiser
a: Autocratic German emperor b: Type of crusty round bread roll c: Everyone’s most favorite billionaire banker fixing
up Tulsa.

Midtown Adult Bookstore
Where Tulsans can buy pornographic novelties ironically and poppers unironically.

ONEOK Field
Baseball field between Greenwood and Brady districts, home of the Drillers. Pronounced wun-oak.

Poppers
Slang term for the inhalable alkyl nitrates that come in small bottles and deliver a short high followed by a gross headache.

Race riot
Understatement of the century.

The River
Short for the Arkansas River, often mistakenly considered the western border of Tulsa proper. #westsidebestside

Student loans
Monthly payment making living downtown even more unaffordable.

Summer
Approx. March–October. Especially brutal on the asphalt parking lots of the concrete jungle.

Squeezin’ lemons
When you speed up to make it through a yellow light.

SWERF
Stands for “sex worker exclusionary radical feminist,” which is a weirdly common thing to overhear people talking about for some reason.

Take the top down
To make a crewneck shirt into a V-neck shirt with scissors.

The Tracks
The train tracks between Archer and First streets are more of a post-modern inconvenience than the social divide they once were. Sometimes, when you’re stopped for an especially long freight, it’s fun to fantasize about hopping on and taking off to find God, or whatever. To avoid this existential crisis altogether, simply drive over the bridge on North Detroit Avenue or M.L.K. Jr. Boulevard.

Have a glossary entry of your own? Send them to us: voices@langdonpublishing.com