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 down cellar: where the freezer is, and the tools, and boxes of old stuff. dungarees: normally called elsewhere in the country as denim jeans, levis or slacks. elastic: also known as a rubber band. flatlander: someone who is from an area south of new england. a person not from new england who does not know anything about fishing, hiking, or other outdoor activities. fluff-a-nutter: peanut butter and marshmallow fluff. for those of you who don't know, marshmallow fluff is a regional delicacy. it's a very sticky white cream, usually just called fluff. it has the consistency of a big vat of melted marshmellows. i like fluff and strawberry jam, but the traditional application is with peanut butter. you only get one pass at applying it to the bread (because it's extremely sticky) and you certainly don't dip the knife in anything else once it's been in the fluff jar. 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. ice cream soda: an ice cream soda is similar to a frappe, but with soda water instead of milk. 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. milk shake / flavored milk: milk and syrup. 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. package store / packie: package stores are not where you buy boxes, it's where you go to get beer. usually, people refer to them as "packie's". you go down to the packie on a friday to get ready for the weekend, especially if your from southie. you have to remember in massachusetts, the blue laws keep the packie's closed on the weekend. you want beer on a sunday? better drive north to new hampshire, it's cheaper there anyways. you also need to remember they don't generally sell alcohol in grocery stores here either, that requires a lot of paperwork and generally isn't done. palor: palor is not used everyday. it is/was a formal living room for guests and sometimes a formal party. i'm 65. i remember palors. parkie: a summer employee of the city or town who organizes games for the local children. usually a college age boy or girl. skilled in snaps and/or gimp. 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. racka: rocking chair spa: not a health club. a corner store with a soda fountain, selling candy, newspapers and lime rickeys. spuckie: south boston, "southie" spuckie is a grinder and or sub sandwich. tin foil: aluminum foil 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. tootle-loo: something my grandmother always says in place of "see you later". she is from concord, ma. treats: used to describe ice cream or snack cake, or any kind of sweet junk food.