As you know, thousands of Yemeni bodega workers across the city yesterday fed their cats, turned off their coffee pots, shut their gates and went on strike at noon to protest Trump’s Muslim travel ban. The strike and subsequent rally at Borough Hall were met with cheers of solidarity by most New Yorkers. But as New Yorkers asked their Yemini neighbors what they can do to help, the rest of the country was asking: “What the hell is a bodega?”

Twitter users across the country (and some abroad) were stumped when hearing news about the bodega strike yesterday, because they had never heard the word before. Merriam-Webster, better known as the official dictionary of the resistance, reported a spike in people looking up “bodega” yesterday too. We know we’re in our New York bubble here, with our own languages and habits and various ways of telling people to get the f outta here, so let’s take a minute to appreciate the parts of the country that have never known the joy of a store where you can get a hot sandwich, a six-pack, condoms AND mysterious endurance pills at 4am, even during a hurricane. We doubt any of you took your bodega for granted, but you’ll appreciate it even more now.

#BodegaStrike wtf is a bodega?😂😂😂 — Southern Guard 🇺🇸 (@southern_guard) February 2, 2017

I feel like I should know this, but what is a bodega? #BodegaStrike — Mrs. Downey (@SurfAndTerse) February 3, 2017

Pardon my ignorance, but what is a bodega? #BodegaStrike — Chief Wahoo (@2016nbachampion) February 2, 2017

WTH is a bodega? Is it a deli, or a grocery? Either way, lack of revenue for them is supposed to show Trump what, exactly?? #stupid — wendychloe (@wendychloe) February 3, 2017

New Yorkers once again thinking the entire world revolves around them. Most Americans don't even know/care what a bodega is. #BodegaStrike — Infinite Bastard (@InfiniteBastard) February 2, 2017

What is a bodega? Did anyone care? — Nancie (@JustNancieP) February 3, 2017

What is a bodega? — Aung Myat MD (@IamSpurs) February 3, 2017

Pardon my ignorance, but what's a bodega? — ygurvitz (@ygurvitz) February 3, 2017

https://twitter.com/NoirHippie/status/827360979172335617

What's a bodega? — Ƥяιηcєѕѕ Jαѕмιηє 👑 (@sassomfg) February 3, 2017

#BodegaStrike What's a Bodega? Another thing the rest of the country doesn't care about? 😶 #demexit — joey in the woods👌 (@joeyinthewoods) February 2, 2017

What's a bodega? I don't think we use that word in the south — Trigga Loso (@YungStunna05) February 2, 2017

#BodegaStrike – What's a bodega? Perhaps a synonym for pointless?… — R2 (@junioRMinc) February 2, 2017

what's a Bodega? ?? — PAZZO (@Azzurri1957) February 2, 2017

Everyone in DC: "What's a bodega????" https://t.co/bXSFX1Tfsa — Adam Blickstein (@AdamBlickstein) February 1, 2017

Flyover nation googles: "What the hell is a Bodega?" Reason 100000 Trump won. #BodegaStrike — RA (@Archer_RAA) February 3, 2017

https://twitter.com/josh4242564/status/827278999072018432

omg. Not bodega owners!….wait wtf is a bodega. — d1ss1d3nt (@d1ss1d3nt_) February 2, 2017

The Bodega Strike in NYC is a great example of the broad cultural spectrum in the US because I have nfc what a Bodega is. — Andrew Warriors Definitive Edition (@playcritically) February 2, 2017

It’s not just on Twitter: The dictionary noticed it too:

📈We're still seeing an increase in lookups for 'bodega'. The word shares an origin with 'apothecary' and 'boutique'. https://t.co/eDtq5hgpBf https://t.co/AHvF0wKpSR — Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) February 3, 2017

We are here to help educate so let the Bodega Boys themselves Desus and Mero (not Taylor Swift) explain:

Aw remember this? How young we were then:

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