Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (US, also Phil, Phila) Philadelphia; also attrib.

[1838		‘Uncle Sam’s Peculiarities’ in Bentley’s Misc. IV 139: I was down in Phillydelphy].
1899		J. Flynt Tramping with Tramps 103: The cities in the East which the vagabond considers his own are New York (‘York’), Philadelphia (‘Phillie’).
1907		‘Hugh McHugh’ Beat It 34: I took a little trip from New York to Philly last week.
1907		T.A. Dorgan in Zwilling TAD Lex. (1993) 116: Leave the long end of the purse for me at Phil.
1914		R. Lardner You Know Me Al (1984) 162: Florrie has not wrote since we was in Philly which was the first stop on this trip.
1921		P. & T. Casey Gay-cat 62: Scar-face Mike Hagan thet has slept in the swellest hotels in Philly and York and Chi [...] when I pulled down a good clean swag.
1928		(con. 1900s) J. Callahan Man’s Grim Justice 25: ‘Dese mugs from Boston and Phila and Cheecargo ain’t grifters.
1930		(con. 1890) G. Milburn ‘A Convention Song’ in Hobo’s Hornbook 26: A Philly ’bo called Lou.
1939		W. Winchell On Broadway 6 Dec. [synd. col.] I saw the DuBarry show in Philly – and there’s only one thing wrong [...] I haven’t got a piece of it!
1949		H. Miller Sexus (1969) 494: ‘Why this is Philly,’ he says.
1951		M. Spillane One Lonely Night 30: ‘You’re from . . .?’ ‘Philly,’ I supplied.
1962		Mad mag. Mar. 48: Nice of you to take time out to hop over here to Philly to see us.
a.1964		‘Sugar Hill’ in D. Wepman et al. Life (1976) 93: My first stop was in Philly; I took the town by surprise.
1978		J. Webb Fields of Fire (1980) 368: If North Carolina so damn good, why the hell are there so many niggers in Philly?
1981		M. Baker Nam (1982) 18: I got stabbed in the heart [...] and ended up in the Philly Naval Hospital.
1997		Simon & Burns Corner (1998) 60: In West Baltimore or East New York, in North Philly or South Chicago, they’re not listening any more.
2000		F.X. Toole Rope Burns 111: The gym was in West Philly, at the very bottom of the ’hood.
2012		J. Clifford ‘Occupy Opportunity’ in C. Rhatigan and N. Bird (eds) Pulp Ink 2 [ebook] Born next door to each other in Philly, we’d moved west after high school.
2023		A. Nette Orphan Road 88: ‘There was no work in the town I grew up in, so I came to Philly’.

2. a native of Philadelphia; a player for a local sports team.

1908		Phila. Inquirer 15 Apr. in Fleming Unforgettable Season (1981) 40: In a nutshell, the Phillies could not connect with Mathewson.
1914		Day Book (Chicago) 9 Apr. 23: Two former Philly infielders who will star for the Baltimore Feds.
1915		Day Book (Chicago) 15 Sept. 13/2: The second game between the Phillies and St Louis.
1920		Eve. Public Ledger (Phila., PA) 21 Jan. 14/1: Cuba would be a great place to train a ball club [...] I would like to have the phillies go down there.

3. (US black/drugs) a marijuana cigarette made of buds rolled in a tobacco leaf taken from the wrapper of a Phillies Blunt cigar.

1995		S. Moore In The Cut 122: Phillies, paper for rolling a marijuana cigarette.
1999		Noreaga ‘Da Hustla’ 🎵 I roll a philly skinny, and you know I got plenty.
2000		P. Beatty Tuff 12: They’re right out front smoking Phillies and talking to some honeys.