[1001] in Humor
HUMOR: Wicked Good Guide to Boston English
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Andrew A. Bennett)
Mon Aug 7 10:29:54 1995
To: humor@MIT.EDU
Date: Mon, 07 Aug 1995 10:25:39 EDT
From: "Andrew A. Bennett" <abennett@MIT.EDU>
Date: Mon, 7 Aug 1995 00:34:14 -0700
From: connie@interserve.com (Connie Kleinjans)
From the Boston Globe magazine earlier this year. (So, Drew, whaddya
think?)
[Bang on target! Explains some of what my wife says, too... :)
-Drew]
From: "Michael Beyries" <mbeyries@smtpgate.Chelmsford.Telebit.COM>
______________________________________________________________________
THE WICKED GOOD GUIDE TO BOSTON ENGLISH
Everybody knows about pahking cahs in Hahvuhd Yahd, but there's
more to the accent than that. In Boston English, "ah" (the one
without an R after it) often becomes something closer to "aw", so
that, for example, "tonic" (see below), comes out more like
"tawnic" (former Mayor Kevin White would often express outrage by
exclaiming "Motha a'Gawd!"). And it's not just after the A's that
the R's go away. They disappear after other vowels as well,
particularly "ee" sounds, so that one could properly argue that
"Reveah is wicked wee-id" (translation: "Revere is unusual"). But
don't worry about poor lost New England R's. In typical Yankee
fashion, we re-use 'em -- by sticking them on the ends of certain
other words ending with "uh" sounds: "Ah final ahs just
disappeah, but wheah they go we've no idear."
The quickest way to convince a native that you're just a tourist
is to refer to "the Public Gardens" (even if you pronounce it
"Public Gahdens") or "the Boston Commons." Both are singular
(ie., "Public Garden" and "Boston Common"). Other tips: Tremont
is pronounced "Treh-mont" and it's COPley, not COPEly, Square (or
Squayuh). The pronunciation of many other Massachusetts locations
bears little resemblance to their spelling; to avoid the feeling
that the natives are snickering at you behind your back, take The
Massachusetts Quiz. And now onto the vocabulary...
Barrel
What you deposit trash in.
Bobos
Boat shoes, i.e., Keds.
Breakdown Lane
Highway shoulder. Also, an oxymoron -- the last place you want to
break down in greater Boston is in the breakdown lane, especially
during rush hour, when it becomes the high-speed lane (in some
places, even legally).
Bubbler
That's a water cooler to you, bub.
Candlepins
Boston bowling; involves tiny little pins and tiny little wooden
balls (the pins are so hard to hit, you get three tries a
frame). Watch "Candlepins for Cash" every Saturday morning,
always hosted by some retired/fired sportscaster, like Don Gillis
or Bob Gamere.
Carriage
What you use to wheel your groceries around at the Stah Mahket.
Cleanser
Where you bring your clothes to be dry cleaned.
Dot Ave
Dorchester Avenue.
Down
Where somebody is, for example: "They're down the Cape today."
Elastic
Rubber band.
Frappe
A milkshake or malted elsewhere, it's basically ice cream, milk
and chocolate syrup blended together. The 'e' is silent.
Get on the state
Land a job with the MBTA, MWRA or some other state agency.
Hoodsie
A small cup of ice cream, the kind that comes with a flat wooden
spoon. Sometimes used to refer to certain teen-aged girls.
Jimmies
Those little chocolate or multi-colored thingees you ask the guy
at the ice-cream store to put on top of your cone.
Mehfuh
A city next to Sommaville.
Packie
Where you buy liquor (closed on Sundays).
The Pike
The Massachusetts Turnpike. Also, the world's longest parking
lot, at least out by Sturbridge on the day before Thanksgiving.
Plenty a chahm
What all houses for sale have, at least according to the
brokers. Really old houses also tend to have "characta,"
especially if the roof and floors need to be replaced.
Rat
Young resident of certain neighborhoods, for example: "Rozzie
rat" and "Dot rat" (the former being a denizen of Roslindale, the
latter of Dorchester). The Back Bay and Beacon Hill do not have
rats, at least not of the human variety.
Rozzie
What the natives call Roslindale, Boston's premier
neighborhood. Not to be confused with Southie, Eastie or Westie.
Rotary
A traffic circle. One of Massachusetts' two main contributions to
the art of traffic regulation (the other being the red-and-yellow
pedestrian-crossing light).
Saddee
The day after Friday.
Scoop
To kiss: "Guess who I scooped on last night?!?"
Scrod
A small, ambiguous piece of fish that never knows if it's cod or
haddock.
So don't I
An example of the Massachusetts negative positive. Used like
this: "I just love the food at Kelly's." "Oh, so don't I!"
The show
The movies.
Spa
A luncheonette or ma-and-pop convenience store (e.g., the Palace
Spa in Brighton) -- Store 24s are never spas.
Spuckie
Sometimes, spukie. What some Bostonians still call a sub or hero
(there's even a sub shop in Dorchester called Spukies 'n
Pizza). May be limited to Dorchester and Roxbury, although your
scribe once heard it in West Roxbury. From spucadella, a type of
Italian sandwich roll you can still buy at some of the bakeries
in the North End and Somerville.
The T
The Boston subway system. Represents the triumph of fuzzy logic,
or something, because it does not actually stand for any single
word. Cambridge Seven Associates thought it up in the early 1960s
when the state hired them to design graphics for the then new
MBTA. Their goal was to come up with something as recognizable as
a cross that also evoked the idea of transit, transportation,
tunnel, etc.
Time
A party, usually of the political or retirement type: "We're
throwin' a time for the Dap down at the Eagles. Count you in?"
Tonic
What other people call soda. In some Boston supermarkets, the
signs will direct you to the "tonic" and "diet tonic" aisles.
Tookie
Somebody who goes out with a much younger person: "He's such a
tookie! He's going out with a ten-year old!!!" See also,
"Hoodsie."
Townie
Often, a resident of Charlestown. But townies also live in Reveah
and Whiskey Point ("da Point") in Brookline, so it's also a state
of mind, or perhaps hair. You can often tell a townie by the way
he or she adds the phrase "'n shit" to the end of many sentences,
as in "Oh my gawd, like yestihday, right, he was totally down
Nahant polishing his TA (Trans Am) 'n shit."
Triple decker
Boston's contribution to architecture -- a narrow, three-story
house, in which each floor is a separate apartment.
Triple Eagle
Somebody who went to B.C. High School, B.C. and B.C. Law
School. In some circles, more prestigious than a Hahvihd degree.
Westa Wuhstuh
Terra incognito; beyond the bounds of civilization.
Wicked
A general intensifier: "He's wicked nuts!"
Wicked pissa!
Something that's way cool.
Wicked fuckin' pissa!
Something that's just absolutely too cool for words.
What's doin'?
How are you?
Whole 'notha
A complete replacement; "I got a whole 'notha computa on my desk
now."
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The author of this is originally from New Yawk, so he's probably
missed a word or two. Feel free to correct him on his Boston
English, at adamg@world.std.com. Thanks to all the folks who've
added to the glossary, in particular Billy Yank and Kirsten
Alexander.
* ========= Connie Kleinjans (connie@interserve.com) ========= *
* "Humor. It's a dirty job, but someone's got to send it." *
* ======= Humorous, thanks to InterServe, 415-328-4333 ======= *
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