up da yin yang

This phrase is widely used across Hawaii by locals of all ages to describe an overwhelming abundance or a situation where a place is packed to capacity. While the idiom "up the yin-yang" exists in mainland American slang, the Pidgin variation swaps "the" for "da" and is delivered with heavy local inflection. It is most commonly heard when complaining about traffic, crowds at popular spots, or having too much of a specific item, like an overabundance of mangoes during summer.

It is appropriate for casual conversation among friends, family, and coworkers, but might be considered slightly informal or mildly crass in strict professional settings. The phrase perfectly captures the local tendency to use colorful, exaggerated imagery to express frustration or awe at sheer volume.

Kalani’s phone buzzed non-stop on the dashboard as he circled the block near the Hilo farmers market. The rain was coming down sideways, but the group chat was already at maximum volume. Keahi had sent a blurry photo of the line for the fresh poke stand, followed by six skull emojis. "Brah, turn around," Keahi texted. "Get people up da yin yang out here. I just seen one aunty throw elbows for the last bag of rambutan."

Palani chimed in three seconds later with a voice memo recorded over the sound of his truck's wipers. "I told you guys we should have went early! Now we gotta park by the library and walk in this junk weather. The traffic on Kamehameha Avenue is backed up da yin yang too."

Kalani finally found a sketchy spot near the banyan trees and typed back furiously. "I not walking three blocks in my good slippahs for some overpriced lilikoi. You guys buy the poke, I going wait in the truck and blast Kapena. Hurry up before the tourists buy everything."