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. butts: smoking, in reference to a cigarette, either an unused one, or the ones in the ashtray. coffee milk: milk flavored with coffee syrup, *not* half coffee/half milk 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. 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! 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 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. 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. 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. sneakers: tennis shoes soda: pop is your father, not a drink. 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. treats: used to describe ice cream or snack cake, or any kind of sweet junk food wicked: a modifier...equivalent to "very", only stronger. when someone in new england says something is wicked, they aren't calling it evil..