It’s not tough. We have pretty quick tempers. When polled for this article, my dad said, “We’re always pissed, so you can’t piss us off,” but I think there are ways.
On the accent
First, and this is really important, no one from New Jersey has ever pronounced it, “New Joisey” — not once. Not ever. Fran Drescher may have gone there on The Nanny, but she’s from Queens.
That said, most people from Jersey have some type of accent but love to pretend they don’t, especially if their family has been there for a few generations. I admit to deeply suppressing my accent, and when I have too many jager bombs (I’m sorry, the right amount of jager bombs), I call an orange an “ahrange,” which is a fruit that grows in “Flahridah.” The way I say the word “asshole” is so terrible I can’t even figure out how to spell the sound I make. But do not call me out on it.
If you meet a new friend from Jersey, or their mom, and you can’t tell if they’re doing a Sopranos accent or not, the answer is no, they really talk that way. Don’t tease them. They will get pissed.