New England Terms Ipsum

Basement: the restroom, especially of a school. when i was growing up in the 60s and 70s, we would ask to go to the basement. boyos: "southie" young thugs clicker: remote control for a tv or other similar devices. coffee milk: milk flavored with coffee syrup, *not* half coffee/half milk draw: this is the way my friends and i pronounce, drawer, as in, "it's in the top 'draw' of my bureau." or, "open the 'draws' and look for it!" which tends to confuse people from out-of state, who don't really understand what drawing has to do with shelving. dungarees: normally called elsewhere in the country as denim jeans, levis or slacks. elastic: also known as a rubber band. frappe / cabinet: a frappe is made with milk, ice cream, and flavoring syrup, blended together in a frappe machine (mixer). cabinet is a word used primarily in rhode island. grinder: i'm told that elsewhere the long sandwiches they serve in pizza joints are called subs and hoagies. bizarre! hoodsie cup: commercial at first, but came to include ice crean manufactured by companies other than hood. a small cardboard cup of ice cream. kenya: not the african word, it means can you leaf peepers: people who head up to new england to check out the foliage. usually found driving 20 mph on major roadways. of course, this is usually restricted to the mohawk trail (route 2 west of westminster). interstate i-190 is really nice too, and not really well known, of course the speed limit is like 70mph, so it's not as cool for the old folks. no-suh: translates to "i don't believe it" and is usually followed by "yes-suh" and maybe derived from "no, sir" out-of-stater: you ain't from around here are you? anyone who hasn't lived here their whole life basically. you can tell them apart because they usually have funny accents like those people on tv and don't know what the "curse of the bambino" is. parlor: living room or family room piazza: a word for porch, especially a porch of a three decker. not heard much anymore. pock-a-book: it could also be pronounced as pocket book. it is another name for handbag or purse. soda: pop is your father, not a drink. tonic: this is another word for soda, i don't hear it in worcester too often, mostly out by boston. this is the original word for soda in new england. tonic water: carbonated water flavored with quinine as used in a "gin and tonic". tootle-loo: something my grandmother always says in place of "see you later". she is from concord, ma. water bubbler: drinking fountain? who drinks out of a fountain? i'm told this is used outside of the region as well, so i guess we can't claim it as a unique new england word. wicked: a modifier...equivalent to "very", only stronger. when someone in new england says something is wicked, they aren't calling it evil..