Guide to New England Slang
Working on your Maine accent? Interpreting some Boston slang? Don’t know a milkshake from a frappe? Let our Guide to New England slang help.
By Aimee Tucker|Apr 12 2022|
Coffee By Design | Portland, Maine
Photo Credit : Katherine KeenanIt seems as if every region in the United States has its own vernacular — words and phrases that only locals or longtime residents tend to use. New England is no different. Some New England slang is specific to a particular area or state, but we suspect that no matter what part of New England you call home (or used to call home), you’ll recognize a lot of these words and phrases.
How many do you use? What New England slang did we miss? Let us know in the comments!
Guide to New England Slang
Ayuh
Basically, “ayuh” is Maine’s version of “yup.” It frequently shows up in Stephen King books, nearly all of which are set in Maine. This is credited with helping the term gain widespread recognition.
Bang a ’Uey
Drive past the street you were looking for? Better bang a ’uey — that is, make a u-turn.
Bubbler
More commonly known as a drinking fountain or a water fountain, a bubbler is what New England kids line up at after gym class. Extra points if you pronounce it “bubblah.”
The Cape
If “the Cape” is dropped in casual conversation with a native New Englander, it’s in reference to Cape Cod, not Cape Ann (nor the red piece of material that Superman wears around his shoulders). Bonus: The town at the tip of the Cape is called P-town, the universal New England shorthand for Provincetown.
Photo Credit : Wikimedia Commons
Carriage
When shopping at Shaw’s, Hannaford, or Market Basket, we do not put our Moxie, B&M Brown Bread in a Can, and Humpty Dumpty barbecue chips into a shopping cart. Instead, we pile them into a carriage.
Clicker
Don’t like what’s on TV? Grab the clicker and change the channel. You might know a clicker better as a remote, but the word “remote” doesn’t sound nearly as good with a Boston accent.
Photo Credit : Aimee Tucker
Creemee
In Vermont, “creemee” is the unique term for the ice cream style that most of us refer to as soft-serve. Vermonters are especially fond of maple creemees.
Down Cellar
This is a New Englander’s reference to a basement, especially when describing where something or someone is, or should be. “You kids are driving me nuts. Go down cellar and watch TV.”
Down East
“Down East” refers to a section of the Maine coast that runs from Penobscot Bay to the Canadian border. The term itself is in reference to the direction ships sail. It’s often confusing for visitors “from away” because it does not apply to the lower portion of the state.
Elastic
In the rest of the country, an elastic is something used to keep a ponytail in place, but here in New England, we use elastics (not “rubber bands”) for ponytails and more.
Photo Credit : Aimee Seavey
Frappe
It’s not a milkshake, it’s a frappe. A milkshake is just milk blended with flavored syrup. A frappe is a milkshake with ice cream. Thick, creamy, cold, and delicious, a frappe (especially a coffee malted frappe) is one of the few ways to make a humid New England summer slightly more bearable. Learn more about milkshakes, frappes, and cabinets (the Rhode Island version of a frappe) here.
Photo Credit : Aimee Tucker
Frost Heave
Winter takes a toll on New England roads. Each year, after months of freezing and thawing, the back roads that crisscross our more rural areas are plagued with frost heaves. Think of them as spring’s infuriating natural speed bumps. Along with potholes, they make driving in New England even less fun than it already is.
Grinder
This New England slang describes the long, boatlike sandwich that people outside the region typically refer to as a sub, which is short for “submarine sandwich.” The latter term was also coined in New England but has since spread to all corners of the country.
Photo Credit : Aimee Tucker
Jimmies
The colorful candies that are sprinkled over ice cream or a birthday cake are jimmies, not sprinkles. Some say there are chocolate jimmies and rainbow sprinkles, but I grew up saying “rainbow jimmies,” so I think this one is a matter of family preference. (Want to show your regional pride with every cone? Learn more about New England’s favorite ice cream flavors.)
Johnny
Not to be confused with Johnny Appleseed (he hailed from Leominster, Massachusetts) or Rhode Island cornmeal johnnycakes, a johnny is a hospital gown, especially in Boston. It’s believed the term came from the gown’s open back, designed to provide easy access to the toilet, aka the john.
Leaf Peeper
Leaf peepers are the tourists who visit New England each year to eat their weight in cider doughnuts and gawk (often while driving well below the speed limit) at the beautiful autumn foliage. They also keep local inns, B&Bs, and restaurants humming, so we gladly welcome them back. Learn more in Yankee’s humorous “Guide to New England Leaf Peepers.”
Ma**hole
We weren’t going to include this colorful derogatory term for certain residents of Massachusetts (almost always applied to careless drivers or tourists behaving badly), but since the word was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2015, it seemed only fair to give it a mention. The official “vulgar slang” definition? “A contemptuous term for a native or inhabitant of the state of Massachusetts.”
Mud Season
Sometime after the last winter nor’easter but before the first warm days of late spring, we New Englanders have to grit our teeth and get through the soggy mud season. In what is jokingly dubbed “the fifth New England season,” the victims include stuck cars and countless pairs of ruined white sneakers (not “tennis shoes”). A favorite piece of mud season wisdom from the Yankee archives: “Mud season is God’s way of letting New Englanders know they haven’t gotten to heaven yet.”
Packie
A popular piece of Boston slang, “packie” — short for “package store” — describes a no-frills liquor store. And it’s almost always used in the context of a “quick run.”
Photo Credit : Google Maps
Rotary
A circular intersection is called a rotary, not a traffic circle or a roundabout. Don’t ask us why — just wait your turn, then make it quick!
Photo Credit : Aimee Tucker
Scrod
Is it haddock? Is it cod? The word “scrod” (sometimes spelled “schrod”) in New England is often used as a placeholder for any firm, white “catch of the day” fish — typically cod, halibut, haddock, or pollock. The Parker House hotel in Boston claims to have created the term (along with Parker House rolls and Boston cream pie) so that its menus would not need constant updates. You’ll also sometimes hear that the letters in “scrod” stand for “Select Catch Received on the Day.”
Spuckie
Yet another term for a sandwich on a long roll, “spuckie” is the Boston-slang version of “sub” or “grinder.”
Tag Sale
Bargain hunters in southern New England spend their summer Saturdays on the hunt for tag sales. You might know them better as yard sales or garage sales.
Photo Credit : Aimee Tucker
Tonic
While not as popular as it once was, the term “tonic” is still used by many, especially in the Boston area, to describe any carbonated beverage. Today you’re much more likely to hear “soda”; however, I can remember being told in my mid-1980s childhood to “go down cellar for a bottle of tonic.” Some ice cream parlors will also still offer you a tonic float instead of a root beer float.
Wicked
You didn’t think we’d get through this list without a wicked good ending, did you? It’s probably the most overused piece of New England/Boston slang in the world, but not for nothing. You’ll hear New Englanders from Connecticut to Maine using “wicked” as an emphatic substitute for “really” at just about every opportunity. Some habits are just wicked hard to break.
Did we miss your favorite piece of New England slang? Let us know!
This post was first published in 2017 and has been updated.
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Dr. Greens -( new Hampshire liquor store’ reference to the old fill out the form for the order. and ‘Regula’ coffee =with cream and sugar.
We called the carriage a wagon in Saugus Mass.
It is also a leaf peepahh, not peeper!!
How about, 1) ben right out straight 2) Helen went down street to monkey wards 3) he’s out there dubbin around in the gaden. Readers can answer
“He got so wicked pissah when that packie down at the Cape ran outta ‘Gansett that he tossed the old lady and the kids into the Subaru and drove straight back to Billerica. Didn’t even stop at Friendly’s for a frappe and clams, that M*sshole!!”
That should read B’ricca not Billerica ( at least for those of us that grew up there in the ’70s)
Sorry, but it’s not a frappe in RI. It is called a Cabinet.
Hi Joanne. Excellent point! I’ve added a cabinet mention and linked to another web post we’ve done on the difference between milkshakes, frappes, and cabinets.
Door yard 🙂 for front yard .. spell check would not allow me the correct pronucation LOL Fun article !!
The door yard (at least where I grew up), is not the front yard, but the yard by whatever door you actually use to go in and out of the house. Most everyone I knew pointedly did not use the front door, but some side door, maybe through the barn.
All my east coast family enter their homes from the back or sometimes the side but never, ever the front. I left the east as a child and have lived in New Mexico for so long where no one would ever go in through the back. It’s either the garage or the front door. If you were to say “down cellar” which my NJ grandfather always said – folks here would have absolutely no idea what you were talking about. Never got over leaving the east – thanks for the memories!
I lived (for a short time) in Providence, moving from Milwaukee and was surprised the hear that NE also used “bubbler” – I always thought that was a WI thing (the “Bubbler” – it’s actual name – was invented in Kohler, WI and is not the same as a drinking fountain. I have no idea how they differ!).
From a 13th generation native of Cape Codder, I believe it is a northeaster
Nor’easter came with the TV weather forecasters. Sou’wester – okay ; nor’easter – wrong!
My Great “Ahnt” Linda was born & bred on Block Island and always used the term nor’eastah for a northeast storm and so did we. And, that was long before the Weather Channel. We would listen to the weather reports–Block Island to Cape Henlopen–and they would talk about nor’easters as well. The common wisdom was they would last from 3 to 13 days and shut down the whole Island. It was an exciting event.
I have the same experience. In the 1950’s the legendary WBZ meteorologist Don Kent always referred to “nawtheast stahms.” I never heard the term “nor’easter”until the weather channel came along and believe it is a tv coined word, not an authentic NE phrase. The books of Phoebe Atwood Taylor, set on the Cape in the first half of the 20th century also refer to our blizzards as northeast storms.
When I called my brother at a Mass. police station, where he served as an officer, detective & Deputy Chief, they would often tell me he was “out front” (coffee shop, next door.)
colder than a moose yard
The title bubbler is indeed now used to describe a water fountain in Wisconsin, but originally was a specific type of water fountain. The water came straight upward from a ball centered in the bowl of the fountain thus the water appeared to be bubbling up as an underground spring might. Many had no handle to turn the water on or off, and was left running to provide a cool drink. I remember them still being used that way in Oconomowoc, WI in the ’60’s.
I was born and raised in Milwaukee. Drinking fountains were called “bublers” period. When I went into the Air Force, I took a lot of razzing from guys who were from other states. That made me aware of the difference. One day I noticed a drinking fountain made by Kohler. It was labeled “Bubbler”. That was Kohler’s brand name for their drinking fountain.
When changing lanes, yoose yah blinkah!
I think it is “hang a uey”, not “bang a uey”
It’s “bang” … 1970’s style
Maybe some variations have popped up, but it’s always been bang to me.
Same here. South Shore (Shoah) of Boston.
We always said “hang a uey” just north of Boston!
Cellar with “ah” ending . (Spell check won’t let me spell it that way)
In the the three affiliated southern New England states mud season may be known as “the fifth season”. Here in Maine it’s known as the second.
My husband, William is from Worcester and all the time he’s said elastics, and always wondered because I have always used the words rubber bands.
If you are mentioning Mass-holes, you should not forget Maniacs — same reasons.
“Pocket book, or “pockabook” instead of “handbag” or “purse”
I seen it (used interchangably with “saw rit”) when I pahked in the doah yahd aftah stoppin’ at the drug stoah fora soder. It’s customary to always put an “ah” at end of word that doesn’t have one.
From a NH Yankee I remember a bubba on the corner of 11th and Mitchell St in 1965. It came thru a hole in a golf size marble globe. They were known in Mil as bubbers.
My grandmother, who grew up in the Calais, Maine area, used to refer to recipes as “receipts”. And definitely – agreeing with Claire – that to order regular coffee in New England is to specify the cream and sugar. In other parts of the country, one would use “regular” coffee to mean not decaffeinated or flavored.
I was amused to find that a shopping cart is a carriage. Oftentimes in the South we it call a buggy. My British husband calls it a trolley. So many names for the same thing.
To be precise:
“Down East” is in reference to ships sailing “down wind” to Maine. You mentioned the direction ships sail, which can be any direction, hopefully sooner or later also back to home port.
In Maine we call those long sandwiches “Italians”. Don’t ask me why; everybody around was French Canadian.
I call soda tonic. I use the term Ma Holes and they use the term Cow Hampshire. I now live in the Midwest and everytime I open my mouth they always comment on my NE accent. I tell them that I only have an accent here (Ohio)
After reading this I was amazed at how many of these words I still use. I have lived outside Conn. for the past 49 years, and didn’t know they were remembered ( I guess from my childhood). I miss New England every day….it will always be my home.
Scrid, as in just a scrid moah Marthy.
I am a native Granite Stater and when I first moved to Maine I was with a church group near lunch. I was asked if I liked to eat “Italians”. I looked at the person and said “I’m no cannibal !” They explained what they meant and I said “Oh you mean a grindah, I love ’em”. The term took me by surprise for I had never heard it, I still use grinder.
An Italian is a specific kind of sandwich, though. It is always on a split-top roll, with flat sides. The sandwiches at Subway, for example, are not Italians, and no Mainer would call them such.
I grew up in New Hampshire. We always used “italian” for a sub
In RI we have sub rolls and torpedo rolls. We have so many Italian bakeries. Sub rolls are 8 inches or longer. Torpedo rolls are hot dog size.
In RI, a “peach” or a “real peach” refers to a very nice person. Also, although not heard as frequently when I was younger, on Block Island men refer to each other as “Cap” in friendly, casual speech, as in “See you later, Cap.”
In RI, every word ending in ‘er’ automatically changes to ‘uh’. Buttuh, celluh, do me a favuh, lawn mowuh … 🙂 and don’t fugget, “pahhk the cahhh”.
Betty – the same in Mass. (Boston areas) and anything ending in an ‘A’ we’d add an ‘R’ to it – like the name ‘Donna’ – would sound like ‘Donner”.
I live in CA for a while and I once introduced a gal named Ida as Ider, sweet as apple Cidah!
Have lived in St. Louis MO for 30 years. People still don’t know what I’m talking about when I use the words elastic, bubblah, frappe or cabinet, rotary, grinder and more. I have QUAHOG on my license plate, so some people think it has to do with hogs. My sons called me a damn Yankee when I would say “Bring me up the papah” – the newspaper from the front yard. My grand-daughter, when she was 5, was thought to need speech therapy when she talked like a New Englander, having picked up a lot of speech from me, a native Rhode Islander!
QUAHOG license in St. Louis? I’ve seen that license plate when visiting from Southern Illinois (born in CT, though). A bit of home!
And, its pronounced Ko-hog!
Ahhh…making me miss MA. I got some interesting looks the first time I went to a sub shop & asked for a bulkie roll. And there was no Cains mayo!
Jeesum crow to replace taking the Lord’s name in vane.
And here is one like that, “Crimmeney”.
From Nah Hamshah – Where we had criminently!
And “OH for gosh sakes”
It is amazing how many of these are common here in Upstate NY. This region has more in common with New England than it does with NYC and it’s suburbs! It is Red Sox country too!
Born and raised near the Cape but have been in TN for years. I still use most of these terms but only with the accent. I guess that makes me a “Hot Ticket”!
In New England speak that would read “bohn and raised neah the cape but have Ben in tenn for yeahs.
Raspberry lime Rickey – only in New England. And as an upstate New Yorker, we use the same slang except tonic and frappe. Our milkshakes have ice cream. But while living in Boston, I heard the expression “So don’t I” meaning “I don’t either.” And “puff” for quilt. Upstate New York has rotaries and down cellar and Yankee subscribers. Upstate New York is New England. Ayuh rang through my childhood as i listened to my parents and aunts and uncles. Last, the word “nought” for zero.
My mothers family comes from upstate NY, my dads side from New England early 1600s and according to my relatives in NY I speak with a heavy accent and a different language. I have spent a lot of time in the Elmira/Waverly area and found no real similarities to New England, but always was very happy to visit there.PS sorry much like my dad I am a Yankees Fan.
In set to the comment about using your blinks when changing lanes, I am reminded of driving in Boston where I was told that if you use your blinks, it’s dangerous because it’s like a tagger and they’ll aim right at you.
That was supposed to be “blinkah”, not blinks, and “tahget” not tagget.
In Connecticut we not only went “down cellar” but we went “up attic”.
I grew-up hearing, ” Aah Pahshah!”
Did anyone else hear the expression, “enough food to feed thrashers” to describe a large meal?
I remember moving from Rhode Island down to North Carolina and bumping into some difficult accent induced situations. I once asked someone for an elastic and she misinterpreted it to mean prophylactic which turned her face bright red. I also remember working as a bar tender and someone asked me if we had “Kaws” – I said yes we have Coors in bottles, Coors on tap and Coors in cans. After asking me again and my repeating the menu options he crumpled up a dollar bill, threw it on the bar and said, “Aw Hell – just gimmee some chaynge.” He was asking for “quarters” – this was back in the day where you could get cigarettes from a vending machine in the lobby and that was all he needed to get them. Not to mention – “Mash that button right there.” That is what I was told when I got an office job and needed to put someone on the telephone on hold. Afterwards, I asked her, “When you need to go outside or up in an elevator does it say to mash to go out the door or mash the button in the elevator to go up or down?” She’s hated me ever since . . . oh well . . .
I always call Leaf peepers “leafers”. Is that just me? From Vermont by the way
We lived in Andover and had a place in NH….my father would always say ” We arw going up country this weekend”
I’m from the Midwest, so we had fun learning these new terms as we arrived in a nor’easter and soon learned what frost heaves are. “Thickly settled” is one term I’ve only seen in MA that was not mentioned here. “We’re going Down Cape” makes me want to add a couple more words to the phrase.
“chocolate shot”, not jimmies and not sprinkles. Born in Connecticut, 1934.
We called them chocolate Shots too. I’m from Connecticut.
Born in Middletown, CT in 1974, been here all my life. Yup- we call them shots, too. Incidentally, I live in Southington, which you’d all know is “Suth-ing-ton” and absolutely NOT “South-ing-ton” lol!
I am from Plantsville. Always called shots.
My Nana from Leominster would say, “Gotta go down the street today,” meaning go to town.
You forgot coffee cabinet….that is milk, coffee flavoring, and coffee ice cream blended to a smooth thick tasty drink…cabinets come in a variety of flavors (as many flavors as is available in ice cream and flavoring).
I grew up in western Massachusetts. My mother always referred to “downtown” as “downstreet.” I am a retired military wife and we moved a lot. I would get confused looks whenever I said “downstreet.” Soon learned it a was a New Englanderism!
In Vermont I have heard many times downtown referred to as over street,,
I grew up in a small town just outside of Boston. For us there was a difference between going “in town” (meaning going into Boston) or going downtown (meaning into the centah of town).
Thanks Virginia, I finally understand my grandfather’ s use of downstreet in his 1904 or so diary! He “went downstreet” in Providence, RI. as a young boy.
Speaking of grindahs, anyone remembah Chris’s in Manchestah? Best grindahs in Nah England.
Born and bred in Springfield, IL, I am a true Midwesterner: my father would say, “Let’s ankle on over to Monkey Wards and get you some overhauls for school…
My family’s from maine & like yours, we all say icebox, along with many of these other words. Live in ct now & many times people are baffled by my words
When I lived in NH we would go “uptown”. I moved to MN and we went “downtown.”
Wicked Pissah
I love this memory heard so often as an Adolescent during summer in Massachusetts. ” Hey Guys, Bang a Uee there’s a packy back there! Lets stop and grab a 6 pack.” Usually heard on VERY HOT New England days. BTW that is also a New England thing. Drinking beer on really hot days. Personally I think that is the only time Beer taste really good!!!
Never heard anyone call a hair tie an elastic. Milk mixed with syrup is not a milkshake. I have no idea what that is. A milkshake is milk blended with ice cream. So a frappe is a milkshake.
Uh,no. This here is a discussion about New England (and its contents, the various states and or Commonwealth) accents, vocabulary and pronunciation. Therefore your statement is ignorant and vacuous.
Sounds like you’re a typical flatlandah.
Milk + Syrup = Milkshake Milk + Syrup + Ice Cream = Frappe* -> Both are made in a blender. [Pronounced – FRAP]
Years ago while my husband and I were on one of our many trips to New England or Canada from Florida, he asked for directions to somewhere. The woman told us to just go up to the satalites and then turn right. We thanked her and then wondered whether the Satalites was a store or a restaurant up ahead. We did find the corner which had a set of lights!
I grew up in the South with a Mom who was from Canada; she had parents from England and Scotland. And my Dad was raised in the Bronx, NY of Italian parents. Is it any wonder that I exhibit accents strange to my Southern neighbors.
On another occasion while traveling in Puerto Rico, my husband who had very limited Spanish, asked for directions in Spanish. Of course, the lengthy response from a native who only spoke Spanish, was completely not understood by us. We did get a very general direction which eventually got us to where we were going.
Instead of saying “no” or “yes” we always said “no-sah” or “yes-sah”, especially when arguing.
Yes! Or “no-sah-ree-sah”!
Hi,-
I was born in Mass.,but raised in Oregon by parents who are true New Englanders,both being from Mass.,and Rhode Island.
Though living on the west coast,I grew up hearing all the terms and words that true New Englanders would use; along, (of course), with hearing both the Mass.,and Rhode Island accents. I now live in Connecticut,and have always had family roots in the New England area.
And,just to let you know, here we correctly pronounce the word “Aunt” as “Ah-nt”,not “ann-nt”,ant.
It’s “Aunt”,thank-you.
An ant is a bug. You give yourself away as one just visiting the area if you’re inclined to say “ann-nt”,(ant),and not “ah-nt”, (aunt).
There is nowhere else like New England where there is such a beautiful and varied way of saying things!
My Mother moved out west when my sisters were little. When ever any of us from New England would visit we really did have a hard time communicating with these midwesterners. And they always would say Hey you forgot the r or er in that word. Well when I heard the term ANT Ginny (my mothers sister) I just about died laughing. I mean my younger sisters call my mother Mom or Mommy instead of Mum or Mummy. The term Ant though was just nuts and I always told them that they sounded like a Re*ard (also a bit of South Boston slang that we learned from my Archie Bunker dad who was from Southie) Anyway I tried several times to get my sister to pronounce that work right but it never stuck. So instead of calling my mother’s sister, Aunt Ginny, those of us from New England started to cal her Bug Ginny. And that stuck to this day she is still called Bug Ginny.
Typically, when I read these lists of New England terms, I point out that some words are limited to very small geographic areas (within the already small geographic area of New England itself). This list, however, is wonderfully generic for most of New England. It has always been no end of amusement to our friends outside of New England when I ask what one does without a “down cellar” or where there might be a “package store.” One friend asked, “If we had a cellar, wouldn’t it be down anyway?” Yes, yes it would. Many years ago, another friend in Washington state gave me directions to the UPS store instead of a liquor store. The verbal foibles of New England are great fun. When I was in college in NH, my professor told us an hysterical story about her sister – they were both from Indiana. As they sat in the professor’s office, several colleagues came by to ask, “jeet yet?” She would reply, “No, ju?” Her sister was confused until my professor explained that it meant, “did you eat yet?” and “no, did you?”We could call it New England code, right?
That’s from a very old verbal ditty that my dad (in Pennsylvania) taught me back in the 1950s … “Jeet? — No, ju? — No, it’s twirly tweet!”
Your from out of town if you pronounce Scallop, Skall-op. New Englanders know it is pronounced Skoll-op!
Wicked nice list. Ayuh. I would add “Upta’ camp,” though, Bub. Oh, and add “Bub” to the list while you’re at it.
Originally from Worcester, I’ve been in Western MA since the mid-80’s, and I still puzzle locals with my thick accent. One time, while asking a transplanted mid-Westerner a question, our regional dialects were made obvious. I asked him for a “shahpie” (Sharpie), and I could see by his strained expression my request was lost in translation. Repeating my question slowly didn’t produce the result I was looking for, so I moved on. I asked him for a “mahkah” (marker), and this time he slowly shook his head completely perplexed. I racked my brain for a term without “ah’s” (R’s) and triumphantly asked for a “felt pen”. Relieved, he showed me where he kept them.
M*sshole covers a broad spectrum as Maine was once part of Massachusetts.
loves it!
Coming from Fitchburg Massachusetts, we say “The car went down the banken”, not embankment.
Growing up in Portland, we had a steep hillside embankment known as “the banken” just down the street from my childhood home. Man, did we have fun sliding down that thing in the winter! Directly into the street of course. That’s the big city for ya. – Andy Groff
Put an elastic around your ponytail and put on your dungarees and you are good to go!
I had forgotten about dungarees! That’s a good one!
My Dad was a born and bred New Englander. Graduated with a class of 15 from Dover High. Went to MIT and was a rocket scientist. He pronounced bath and radiator like a Brit!
I grew up in Western Mass (all the way in the Berkshires) and I never realized that “down cellar” and “frost heaves” were unique to New England.
While I have lived in the West for two decades these bring me home.
Others – “pocketbook” for purse, “parlor” for the formal living room, “brook” for a small river or creek
We didn’t say “jimmies” but “sprinklers” instead.
We pronounced pocketbook as ‘pockabook’!
Yup! My Gramma also called her homemade turnovers “pockabooks”.
Grampa used to say there was a quarter in the lucky one!
In the very early ’60s I worked for the Armstrong Company in the (old) North Station. For us, coffee regular had 1 shot of cream, coffee half had 2 shots of cream and black was, well, black. Sugar was totally on the customer’s choice and application.
A clarification on “grinder”. The term applies only to hot (oven toasted/heated) sandwiches and not “cold” breaded sub’s.
It may now. Or did in places. But from 59 – 78 in the part of NH I grew up in, Cold subs were called grinders.
Growin’ up down in the big city, any cold sub was usually some variation of an “italian sandwich” or just an “italian”. The original Amato’s was in Portland. I never heard the term “grinder” until traveling around NH and MA when I was older.
My folks used some of these when I was growing up in CA– they were from Maine. “Elastic” was one that particularly resonates with me– my friends would ask, “what?” when I said that term. They also had other terms, like “cultch” to mean “stuff” (pick up all the cultch) and “scooch down” for bending one’s knees to a squat position, to be able to look in a low cabinet or something. Or “scooch” for pulling oneself along the floor in a sitting or lying position, as a baby would. I’m sure there would be even more if I thought about it for a while.
From MA, in NH, my hubby’s family from ME. Hubby’s family used “cultch” (now I do too. 🙂 In MA, we also said “elastic” & “scooch”. I imagine that many of are slang words were formulated by mixed languages spoken in shared neighborhoods. My parents were French speaking Canadians and they introduced a number of odd sayings while I was growing up (probably a twisting of translation). One in particular that sticks out for me is… instead of “turn off the light” it was “shut the light”; “turn on the light” was ” open the light”.
My family from are Eastport area of Maine. Cultch was an insult for low class people.My great grandfather born in 1860s particularly loved that word. I always thought that was funny because they weren’t high class people!
Grew up in VT. I had great pigtails__not braids.
Me too ,we had braided rugs on the floor but I had wore pigtails.
Great article on New England slang. Thought of come-ear short for come here
Everyone in CT knows it’s chocolate Shots.
Shots were chocolate, colors were jimmies in Cranston RI
Yes! Grew up in CT and always called them shots. I remember my grandma and I at an ice cream stand in Vermont trying to think of another word for shots because they had no idea what we were talking about!
Grew up in Fall River. ‘nuf said right there!
So did I ????????????
So did I!!! 🙂
I was born and raised, but left Maine in my late 20s. My grandparents and five uncles are woodsmen. I was in elementary school and said, “my uncle Billy cut 8 “cods” of wood yesterday”…it wasn’t until 6th grade that I learn what a CORD of wood was and realized I caught the accent. Now living in Savannah, GA I have a weird weird mix of pronunciation but the things that stick most and I get teased about are these: milk is mall, broom or room is brum or rum, and at work I said I was “right out straight” and the guy from Louisiana had no clue what that meant, and when I got a dent in my car I said it was all stoved up. Again, no one had a friggin clue what I was saying. I also surprised my boyfriend of 2 years by setting Alexa to change the rubbish. He didn’t know I called it that. And let’s talk about suppah (supper)…
Been In northern Vermont all my life , heard this many times , when someone is in need of a bowel movement its “godda do a sit down”
Oh my goodness! My uncle lives his entire life in Brattleboro and used to say this!
Then there’s the name of Vermont’s capital city “Mon-peel-er”
Living all my life in northern Vermont I have heard this similar quote all my life.
“Winner’s a commin, gotta clean up the chimbly so my fambly want freeze this winner.” Translated, it means, that Winter is coming, I need to clean out the chimney so my family will not freeze this winter.
Grew in in Vermont in my formative teen years. Leaf peeper. Leaf looker. Damn flatlanders works too.
“Grinder” is a hot sub made with ground meat: e.g. meatballs or sausage
I agree with Andrew on the description of a Grinder.
Having grown up in NH from 59-78 I can assure you that I ate many grinders that were cold cuts and assorted vegies and toppings. Especially roast beef. Washed it down with a tonic or frappe. Drove the cah home, went to my room in the cellar and put on some Pousette Dart Band. Wicked good times.
Now I live in Ohio and have to be reminded of what I used to sound like.
Ayah!
I never say “Throw it in the trash”, or “in the garbage”, but I say “Toss it in the rubbish” and living in Colorado now since 2005, I get a lot of weird looks when I say rubbish. LOL
In the UK they say “bin it”
My family is from Maine, been there since 1600’s, I live in Ct now. Does anyone else call a frige an icebox. Everyone in my family calls it an icebox. Heard/ hear/ use many of these NE words in this post.
From Washington, DC and as a child it was an “ice box” because we had a huge block of ice delivered and that kept things cold, it was not electric. When we wanted ice in our water or other cold drink we used an “ice pick” to chop off a chunk. Also, I believe where the term “the ice man cometh” started! Circa 1940 and before
I grew up in Manchester, NH and I recall as a kid around 1952 or so, a guy would come around on a regular basis and had ice blocks in the back of his ice truck. He’d use an ice pic to crack the size of the block into what he knew the ice box would hold and give us some of the chards in the summer to cool, off – as kids that was great. He used huge ice tongs to lift the block and sling it mover his back, which was protected by a rubber type of bib around his shoulder & back, the he’d bring it up to the apartment that still had an ice box. We had a round-top fridge that had a dinky ice maker in the middle top inside.
My great Grandfather Timothy Llewellyn Spencer in Orono, Maine sold ice for the ice boxes. Although we had that connection, I never heard it referred to as the ‘icebox’. However, I do appreciate your family calling the fridge the ‘icebox’!
My family’s from maine & like yours, we all say icebox, along with many of these other words. Live in ct now & many times people are baffled by my words
I am surprised to not have read the phrase “I’m all set.” Being from MA it’s always meant I’m good no thank you, but when I moved to Texas when they heard me say I’m all set they thought ok great she’s ready to go or good to go or was agreeing to whatever question might’ve been asked. It was something they had a wicked hard time understanding. I guess in MA, we used it to pass on something, but down south they thought it meant to agree to something which to me is totally opposite.
i recently was called out for saying go get a basket aka a shopping cart i had no idea it sounded so funny to people does anyone else use this term ?
In Oklahoma it is shopping cart or basket.
While I am not from New England, my husband is from Spencer, MA. I so enjoy reading these articles! As a third-generation Oregonian, I am struck by how many similarities there are between New England and Oregon traditions and slang. My husband’s family is French Canadian and my great-grandparents moved here from Bavaria. Perhaps the similarities are based on Catholicism? Sincerely, Sara Schmitz Ledoux
Being from Pawtucket (if you pronounce it as spelled, you’re an outlander), RI. “down cellar” was “down sulla;” and “orange,” “Florida,” “hog” “God,” and the like were pronounced as if the “o” was a flat “a” as in “father.” And the portion of your anatomy where you sit down was your “bum,” which is British. We called a seesaw a “dandle,” and I’ve wondered if we got that from England. A carousel was called “the darby [pronounced “dobby”] horses,” and the game hide-and-seek was “hine-go-seek.” I’m sure I could come up with a bunch of others if I gave myself time.
My friend from Holden, MA told me hers was the most religious town in the state because it was always “Holden, Mass.”
Dungarees was a navy term for working blue pants. Or a utility iniform. But I have lived in the midwest, chicago, down south and in cali. And it is only in New England when I use the term Dungarees that people knew what I was talking about. Also when I hear the term Ma**hole I laugh and thing of the Dennis Leary song he sang during one of this shows. Also I am sure there are a lot of us that know some rather derogatory names of towns in Massachusetts. Or sayings about those towns. Like Rotten Groton! or one of my favorites from having lived there and know this is very true. “Telephone, Telegraph or Tell a Marbleheader!!!
Don’t forget “ten of” and “quarter of” – I lived out West, and people were so confused every time I said “It’s ten of four.” They thought I meant 10:04, when clearly I meant 3:50.
It’s time for supper! (not dinner)
you mean “Suppah” ! Lol
I was born in Quincy, Ma. but raised in Ct. When we visited my cousins in Braintree, Ma. they referred to soda as bottles of “pop”.
In Maine my wife’s family referred to the driveway as “the dooryard” as they parked the “cah” near the door they used to enter / exit the house.
My Ohio license plate saysME AYUH
Ah you shore bud “I wrote this book it’s uh million Dollah Sellah” lemme tell yah I got uh millIon of em in my cellah right upta road in Bangah N levah! Ya ole scuppah
You forgot one pertaining to driving a cah (car). When you wish to signal that you’ll be making a turn, you said use your blink-ah (instead of ‘turn signal’).
You forgot “kid” In Mass Slang
Used in place of dude or buddy
“What’s up kid” or “Hey Kid”
But pronounced as a mix between kid and led.
Suppah
A clarification on a “grinder”. Growing up a grinder was always a hot sandwich (meatball, sausage, steak and cheese) and “subs” were cold sandwiches (cold cuts, tuna, etc.). Not sure if others remember it that way as it was….ahem…a few decades ago for me!
In RI in the 60’s – 90’s a grinder was a sub of any kind. The only difference was with a meatball sub, it was hot.
Yes I remeber i that way- any hot sandwich on long roll was a grinder while cold ones were subs –
My grandmother, born in 1897 in MA, used to say ” going downcity” for down town.
Only in Rhode Island do we have New York system wieners ( aka “gaggers”). They have nothing to do with NY. Grinders here were cold. “Let’s get an Italian grinder and a coffee milk”
I remember saying whip for hello in M’head
I scanned the replies and as far as can tell no one mentioned the unique Maine term for a driveway, “Door yard”. My wife’s family is from the Vasselboro area and the first time I heard it I had to ask what they were talking about. I was raised in South Windsor, Ct.
Thank you Virginia! above. In reading my grandfathahs diary (b. 1894) I came across the phrase “went downstreet” as he lived in Providence RI as a young boy. I never knew what it meant. He went downtown.
His mother Clara Bowen Bradbury ran a boarding house on George street ca. early 20th century near the Athenaeum. It’s now part of the admin buildings for Brown U. of which he is an alum.
Born in Western MA in the 1950s, we always said down street. I found it hard to change to downtown.
My daughter, who was raised away, points out that her Maine relatives pronounce the days of the weeks: Sundee, Mondee, Tuesdee, Wensdee, and so on. Substituting “dee” for day.
My family, all Vermonters, say this too.
I grew up as a baby boomer, big family on the south shore. Except for military service, my father lived here for 70 yrs. We all grew up using day at the end of a weekday except him. It was always “Sundee, Mundee”, etc. I am amazed anyone else says it that way. Makes my WednesDAY awesome.
Tuesday’s the day of Tew, or Tewes. He’s the Vikings’ version of the Romans’ Mars. Why Mardi Gras = Fat Tuesday. Friday’s the day of Frigg, or Frigga. She’s married to Wednesday. I mean, Oden’s Day. I mean, Oden. He’s the mightiest god of the Vikings. They spell it Woden over there. They adopted Thursday. I mean, Thor’s Day. I mean, Thor. I learned recently. IT IS WRITTEN.
I grew up in Bristol County and my family used almost all of this slang and pronunciations, but even I am sometimes befuddled by certain Boston accents. Walking through Boston one day, I was accosted by a disoriented pedestrian and asked “ Where is massianeah?” After asking the person unsuccessfully three times to repeat his question, my wife (from Essex County) nudged me and explained: “He wants to know where is Mass Eye and Ear Hospital.” ‘Nuff said.
deck of cigarettes=carton of cigarettes
from an old man in Narragansett R.I.
I have not heard the word “spuckie” in ages. Would not live anywhere else
Only time I’ve ever heard the term Spuckies is the name of the Dorchester sub shop called Spuckies and Pizza…. Assuming they made it through Covid
I remember when we got a new car that needed high test gas. Man, it was five cents a gallon more. Cheez-wiz!
Some New Englanders say “So don’t I” when they mean “So do I” or “So can’t I” when they mean “So can I” or “So won’t I” when they mean “So will I.” I grew up just south of Boston where it was very common for people to use these negative phrases to signify positive intent or action.
I was born in 1945 and grew up in Salem and Swampscott MA. I always thought Jimmies were related to the Jimmie Fund for Polio research. I could be wrong.
Yeah, you are (wrong).???? No uppercase J.
I loved reading all of these. Thank you.
what about wicked pissah!
Definitely in RI!
“Unthaw” the meat from the freezer, meaning “to thaw. “
Just a few,
Truckin’ – hauling but down the highway
Cocked or Hammered – drunk
Clam Bake – reference to smoking in an enclosed area or car.
Steamer – a clam not a boat.
Wood Pu**y – Skunk
No-see-ums – aka midgies or black flies.
Any variation of “dawn rises over Marblehead” – duh moment.
Whaddaya – what are you ___________
Just a few unmentioned.
I love this story. Even though I no longer live (or summer) in New England, I still use most of these words. Two words I hear often on a Boston-based television series are: “loom” for loam (rich top soil) and “hock” for hod (a tool used by plasterers and masons.
When we first moved to New Hampshire I got a phone call from the local hardware store and the guy said “ the top your husband ordered is in” Well I had no idea what kind of top it was and kept asking him what does it go on and what does it look like. He then said “It’s blue and 6 foot by 8 foot and made out of plastic fibah”
I believe he said “tahp,” meaning a tarp.
Also from RI during college…now in Maine. NY System weiners also called “gut busters” or “3 for a dollar” in Providence. Best dogs ever!
or ‘gaggers’
Jeez’um crow! (Northern VT)
Thanks Beverly, both of these Vermontisms are very good, my friends say both regularly.
Also “Had the radish,” meaning done for, worn out, kaput (also Northern Vermont)
Visiting from New Jersey in the ’50s, we were surprised to hear our Boston relatives refer to our station wagon as a “beach” wagon.
In Maine, we don’t accentuate, we pronunciate… everyone else just talks wicked weird
Lol I went tO college in f,Orinda and they stahted in on me about my supposed accent. I told them that exact same thing- they looked at me like I had a third I or sumthin
Not exactly slang but unique to Massachusetts (maybe New England) the back road signs that announce the arrival in a residential area, “THICKLY SETTLED”. The first time my wife, who was raised in British Columbia, saw this sign on the Cape she got a big kick out of it. We go back every summer and she still chuckles upon encountering one of the signs.
I grew up in Newton Ma and we always said ” going in town ” not to Boston. On the trolly.
I grew up in Newton Ma and we always said ” I am goin in town ” meaning to Boston { on the trolly}
I grew up north of Boston and we also said “going in town” meaning to Boston.
My dogs are barkin(my feet hurt). When I lived with my grandparents, we went “out town”. My uncle next door went”up town”.
When I lived in Rochester we went”down town or down street”. My in-laws went”over town” as they had to cross over a bridge!
By the way, “ayah” is a holdover from the colonial era of English, when “aye” was used as the affirmative just as often as “yes” (think of “aye, laddie” pirate movies). Faded away elsewhere but still holding on there.
I miss New England something Wicked ❗️❗️❗️❗️❗️ AND That’s THE TRUTH
use to go up country for the the weekend any place north of the Mass border
Grew up in MA, ate “subs”. Moved to CT when I married, had to learn to eat a grinder. The whole tonic thing was confusing to the folks in CT. It’s any kind of carbonated drink, in case you were wondering.
I grew up (and still live) in the Northeast Kingdom in VT and we also call cold subs grinders. I just had a turkey bacon grinder for supper last night!
I don’t get why people keep calling “down cellar” regional slang. What are other people saying? Do they tell their kids to go “up cellar”? Up here only the water table creeps up into the cellar from time to time. Do other people just say “go basement”? Surely it’s just short for “go down into the cellar”. How else would you say this? I genuinely remain confused.
Two things:
(1) A cellar is entirely below ground; a basement (as in the architectural term English Basement) is at least partially above ground. So what Bostonians generally call a cellar, most of the country generally calls a basement. And what most of the country calls a cellar, Bostonians call… well, a cellar. (Hopefully at least one of those cellars has some good Midleton.)
(2) I think in most parts of the English speaking world, if someone were directing someone to their cellar, they would say for them to go “down THE cellar.” Bostonians notably skip the article “the,” which works seamlessly with the accent. But with an Iowan accent… less so. Freakin’ Iowans.
I say these things with respect, as a Bostonian myself.
Everyone else just says, “get the extra chairs from the basement” or “there are canned tomatoes in the cellar.”
I’m pretty sure that there have been canned tomatoes in every cellar since the invention of cans and cellars.
We’d use the word “basement” and then the appropriate proposition:
“in the basement” (e.g., It’s in the basement)
“to the basement” (e.g., Go to the basement)
“of/from the basement” (e.g., Get it from the basement/Let’s get this out of the basement)
You really need the colloquial saying in New England ‘ALL SET’!
Yes! I hadn’t realized this was colloquial until I said it somewhere in the MidWest and they were quite confused.
Cabinets – milkshakes
Phosphates – sodas / made in the drug store with seltzer and fruit syrups
Born and raised in Portsmouth NH. Used to take our boat and go up Maine. Anchored in Robin Hood cove one day and lobstuh man pulled up near us, held up a couple of huge starfish and asked ‘Do yous boys want a stahhhh fish fer ya rumpus room?” I still laugh about this today. And I still miss our rumpus room!
Cool as a Moose, eh.
No blinkah?
Jimmy was a real little boy who had cancer. The Jimmy fund raised money for cancer research by adding a few cents to the price of an ice cream cone by topping it with “jimmies”. They are named after a little boy with cancer.
You missed “hoodsie” which out-of-staters call a “sundae cup.”
Also, do kids still get a “wiffle” at the beginning of the summer? That was what we called a buzz-cut, and out-of-staters called a “butch”.
Also, a question: do all New Englanders pronounce “Aunt” as “ahnt” and not “ant”?
Yes
Yes
From Hood’s Dairy in Lynnfield, MA.
Anything with an “A” on the end is pronounced “er” in Maine. “You know what would taste wicked good right now? An ice cold soder”
““Mud season is God’s way of letting New Englanders know they haven’t gotten to heaven yet.””
Love it!
Perhaps these should be spelled down cellah, grindah and clickah.
Some Vermonter call a garage a gar-arge..heavy on the VT accent. But, now I live Down East and someone said “Ohyainth’habanow!’ Ayah. My dad (born and raised in CT always said ‘chimley” and Hersees (chocolate) , my mom carried a pockabook when she went up-street.
Mud season: I refer to spring in New England as “the season of mud and lies” since it’s inevitably muddy, cold, and dreary.
“Scrod” was a marketing term that originated after otter trawlers – draggers – began returning to port with quantities of by catch (one word) – small, immature, and previously unmarketable groundfish, mostly cod. When marketed as “scrod”, they sold like crazy. My mother used to love scrod.
You got the “tonic” right, but don’t forget “pops” for alcohol. As in “c’mon, let’s go for a couple of pops” and where else would you go for that than The Harp and Bard on Dot Ave? And, it’s a much better way to demonstrate your pronunciation than Harvard Yard.
Even though I had lived away for many years, I am a Bay Stater. Visiting Nantucket, I called a restaurant to find out what hey were serving and was told “Rubbah” Even with the lady on the phone repeating it several times, I couldn’t figure what “rubbah”was. Finally, losing patience, she distinctly said , “RAW BAR” Ah Ha!
I’m a writer who has lived in NH for the last 40 years; without thinking, I dropped “wicked” into a novel set in Kentucky. Oops! Fortunately caught my error before publication.
I don’t know if anyone will see this, but I think I’m going crazy that no one ever seems to mention zories (zori-singular) for flip flops. Anyone else from Boston or the surrounding area who grew up with that? Or were my mom and dad (from Southie) crazy.
You’re not the only on who wore Zories. Me and my three sister all wore them in the summers in the 1960s????
My family called them zories also. Problem is – my grandparents (both sides) were born in Europe and my parents were born and raised in NJ. Go figure!
Growing up in Connecticut we didn’t call ice cream toppings jimmies–we always called them shots. Chocolate shots or rainbow shots. “I’d like a vanilla cone with chocolate shots” My friends from Rhode Island said jimmies–my husband from Long Island says sprinkles.
gotta bang a Uey to get a creemee with jimmies on it
I’m going to bang a ‘Uey to get a creemee
I left my pocketbook at the packie when I picked up 6 tall boys. “A Wicked Pissah!”
My wife still laughs every time I say “woontah or shoontah” instead of “wouldn’t have or shouldn’t have” as do others down here in FL…
“Ayuh
Basically, “ayuh” is Maine’s version of “yup.” It frequently shows up in Stephen King books, nearly all of which are set in Maine. This is credited with helping the term gain widespread recognition.” While King’s books may have helped spread the term “Ayuh”, its usage was common elsewhere in New England long before King was born. Its origins go back to the early English settlers and the term was quite common in Southeastern Mass. through the 1930’s and 1950’s. Generations thereafter, exposed to TV, resulted in the homogenization of the English dialect throughout the entire country.
C. Christopher Sirr
OK, how about “hosey”? To choose or stake a claim. “I hosey the big piece!”