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 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. 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. hamburg: um.. no. hamburg is not short for 'hamburger'. it's a way of referring to 'ground beef'. 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. milk shake / flavored milk: milk and syrup. 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. piazza: a word for porch, especially a porch of a three decker. not heard much anymore. 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. tonic water: carbonated water flavored with quinine as used in a "gin and tonic". 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 wicked: a modifier...equivalent to "very", only stronger. when someone in new england says something is wicked, they aren't calling it evil..