New England Terms Ipsum

Butts: smoking, in reference to a cigarette, either an unused one, or the ones in the ashtray. clicker: remote control for a tv or other similar devices. 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. drug store: also known as a pharmacy. this is where you went on sunday when the package store was closed and got your bottle of pickwick ale for medicinal purposes. dungarees: normally called elsewhere in the country as denim jeans, levis or slacks. elastic: known as a rubber band elsewhere 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. jimmies: tiny candy that goes on ice cream. come in plain 'chocolate' and 'rainbow' varietys. known elsewhere as sprinkes! sprinkles to me sounds a little, well, feminine. 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" 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. piss-ah: (really spelt pisser). which means awesome, very good. no, i'm not making this up, i don't know how this one started. pock-a-book: it could also be pronounced as pocket book. it is another name for handbag or purse. racka: rocking chair sneakers: tennis shoes soda: pop is your father, not a drink. spa: not a health club. a corner store with a soda fountain, selling candy, newspapers and lime rickeys. 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. 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. townie: someone who has basically lived in the same town for an extended period of time. ie. since the dawn of time. (not that awful tv show that used to be on, where the accents of the actors changed every episode). treats: used to describe ice cream or snack cake, or any kind of sweet junk food 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..