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 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. 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: known as a rubber band elsewhere 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. 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! 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. ice cream soda: an ice cream soda is similar to a frappe, but with soda water instead of milk. 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. johnnie: another word for a hospital gown. milk shake / flavored milk: milk and syrup. racka: rocking chair sneakers: tennis shoes spuckie: south boston, "southie" spuckie is a grinder and or sub sandwich. 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..

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. ice cream soda: i don't know where you get your ice cream sodas but in lowell, ma. an ice cream soda is a mix of equal portions of cream, syrup, and soda water mixed together with a scoop of ice cream on top. kind of like a float. johnnie: another word for a hospital gown. 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 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 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..

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: known as a rubber band elsewhere elastic: also known as a rubber band. 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! hamburg: um.. no. hamburg is not short for 'hamburger'. it's a way of referring to 'ground beef'. johnnie: another word for a hospital gown. 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. 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. racka: rocking chair sneakers: tennis shoes 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. 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.