The Savvy Yinzer’s Guide to: Babushka Life

I gotta babushka, you gotta babushka.

And when I say babushka, I mean a sweet little old grandma who always says I’m too skinny and then stuffs food into my mouth till I burst. But I also mean the headscarf she wears when it’s cold or when her hair isn’t done-up.
(What is she hiding under there, anyway?)

The word does double and triple duty, just like grandma stuffing pierogies while talking smack on the party line.

If you are lucky enough to still have your babushka, tell her …

• The word comes to Pittsburghese from the wave of Eastern European immigrants — Polish, Ukrainian, Slovak, Croatian — who populated the steel mills and the neighborhoods around them. Linguists tie the word directly to the immigrant layering of the dialect, although the headscarf definition is a later add-on, as it’s what most grandma/babushkas wore.
• In the most mill-centered neighborhoods — Polish Hill, South Side Slopes, Lawrenceville, Bloomfield, Millvale — you couldn’t swing a cat without hitting a babushka. They were the driving force behind the Sunday institutions of liturgy followed by an afternoon feast. They’re the ones who stood over the stove at church fish fries and pierogi sales.
• Travel the rest of the U.S. and ask to meet a babushka and you’ll likely get a blank stare. Pittsburgh adopted this word wholesale and put it on a pedestal, while the rest of the country may only know it from the Kate Bush song.
• On the Rivers of Steel Babushkas and Hard Hats guided tours, you’ll visit three Mon Valley heritage landmarks: the Bost Building, Carrie Blast Furnaces and the Pump House. It’s a tribute to the immigrant communities whose labor built this region. Th next tours take place Sept. 18 and Oct. 30. (riversofsteel.com)
• In 1974-75, legendary Pirates announcer Bob Prince harnessed Babushka Power as a good luck charm for the team, urging fans to wave headscarves at baseball games. This was just before the Terrible Towel took off for the Steelers. Maybe it’s time for a revival?