“I have a question. I’m new to Lake Worth Beach. Can you please explain what ‘L-Dub’ means?”

You came to the right place today.

Everything you need to know about the term “L-Dub” is examined in detail later in this blog post following the heading, “Now to the slang ‘L-Dub’ explained”.

Of note other variations of L-Dub are LDub (no hyphen), Elle-Dub and El-Dub (Spanish), LéDûb (French/EU) and what is referred to as the Twiddle-Dee, a local variant. Learn how these terms are used in a sentence later on as well to become proficient in L-Dubianese.

About the slang L-Dub you may have seen a story about the L-Dub Film Festival in Lake Worth Beach this weekend. And one story about this festival in The Palm Beach Post misreports this event as happening ‘in Lake Worth’. The actual location is Lake Worth Beach. Some reporters are having a tougher time than others adjusting to the recent name change.


Let’s pause briefly: About Lake Worth Beach worth noting are reporters Andrew Lofholm and Andrea Marvin. These two exceptional reporters from WPTV (NBC5) and WPEC (CBS12) respectively both picked up this story last year well before anyone else in the press or news media did and they both deserve much credit.


Whilst on that topic some reporters are up to speed with Lake Worth Beach and others are not. So in the next week or two will come up with a style guide for reporters in the press and news media on when and how to use the description ‘Lake Worth’ in historic and news context vs. the new and proper designation Lake Worth Beach. So stay tuned for that compellation.

And please note the false term ‘Lake Worth-area’ should never be used by the press and news media.

So please stay tuned for the Lake Worth Beach Style Guide, helpful criteria for marketing and branding professionals, the business and real estate community, the press and news media and other interested parties such as local and County government officials and elected leaders as well.


Fun Fact: It was a reporter at The Palm Beach Post who first coined the term L-Dub!


First a short recap.


How did Lake Worth Beach come to be?


The region called ‘Lake Worth’ had become meaningless many decades ago and for many decades many have tried many different ways and ideas to differentiate the municipality of ‘Lake Worth’ vs. the unincorporated areas that go west as far as the Florida Everglades. That is why a Post reporter began calling this 6 sq. mile municipality “L-Dub” in the first place, to help educate the public.

But ‘L-Dub’ drove the tourists, Snowbirds and elderly residents completely nuts. Imagine a Canadian tourist trying to find L-Dub on the map. And purportedly on hearing the term ‘L-Dub’ for the first time a former mayor packed up and moved west to the City of Atlantis.

But then came along a better idea.

Worth noting is what was formerly called the City of Lake Worth is now Lake Worth Beach, a name change which was approved by the voters on March 12th, Election Day. That vote was ratified by the City Commission on Tuesday, March 19th.

What makes this City actually special, more so than all those cookie-cutter communities out west? We have a Beach, ergo “Lake Worth Beach” and a long-time elected leader also noted last year about renaming this City:

“I think it’s time for us to turn a page in the history and move forward.”

Then on March 14th this year journalist Linda Trischitta at the Sun Sentinel penned an excellent news story headlined,

‘We are unique’: How this city’s new name, Lake Worth Beach, is making waves

Once again, for some in the press and news media the transition to Lake Worth Beach will be a difficult one and the run-off election on March 26th demonstrated that quite well. For example, a Millennial WPTV news reporter embraced the “Beach” and from an older generation a Post reporter could not even bring himself to do so even one time just like the recent story about the L-Dub Film Festival making the case once again why the newspaper industry is failing so badly.

Now to the slang “L-Dub” explained.

Being “Quirky” with a capital ‘Q’ was popular
for quite some time.

But not so much as headlined in the Post,

“WELCOME TO THE L-DUB”!

Another very important date is August 9th, 2018. That was when suburban (unincorporated) Palm Beach County was officially recognized by The Palm Beach Post, e.g., as in “suburban Lake Worth”.

About L-Dub. . .

You may have overheard a young person or teenager saying, “I’m so happy L-Dub has a new bookstore.” This is referring to The Book Cellar, a popular bookstore that opened in the Downtown or maybe there was a conversation nearby and overheard, “Where did you get that cool blouse?” And the hushed response, “I found it at World Thrift. Isn’t it soooo L-Dub!”


“L-Dub” defined. And an everyday example:

• The L is short for “Lake”.
• DUB is short for double-“u” as in the letter “w”.
• Hence the term L-Dub.

An example in speech, and note the variants, explained in another bullet list below:


“Welcome to LDub! Have you been to World Thrift yet? It is soooooo cool and prices you won’t believe. And there’s a new Tacos Al Carbon L-DUB location right across the street. You made the right choice moving to LéDûb. Nobody cares about Delray any more. ElleDub is where it’s at.”


Other variations:

• The Hipster feminine and formal Spanish variant, “Elle-Dub” [informal; Hipster male, “El-Dub”].
• “LDub”, sans the hyphen, a British (199-) variant [informal, familiar].
• The French/European Union variant [formal, proper], “LéDûb”; used in a sentence, “C′est si bon, Mademoiselle, Monsieur en charmant LéDûb.”

So. When was the last time you visited our little, vibrant, and exciting City of Lake Worth Beach?

Hope you found this information helpful today.


In conclusion.


On March 26th, 2016 is when editor Jan Tuckwood at The Palm Beach Post heralded this little City as the most special place in Central Palm Beach County:

Click on “SPECIAL KEEPSAKE” to enlarge.

Also in that first-ever Special Keepsake Series was, “A love letter to Lake Worth” from Rena Blades, the former director of the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County located in Lake Worth Beach.