But how do you pronounce “Saw-gus”?
It’s the argument I have about dahg vs. dawg – sah vs. saw…
Many years ago a friend and I put out doe urine to attract deer near a swamp/marsh land. After about 45 minutes or so a HUGE bull moose crashed through the trees into the opening about 300 yards or so away. I remember looking around and seeing one large rock, and that was it. No trees or anything else to hide behind.
I never felt so small in my life. Luckily the moose sniffed around a bit before ambling back into the woods.
Better yet, learn to pronounce Coos County (County farthest north).
“Coh Aus”
This is the only place I’ve seen moose, but I saw like five in a day! I was driving along and thought, who left a big statue in the road?!
I never understood the bumpersticker “Brake for Moose, It Could Save Your Life”–who wouldn’t brake for a moose in the road?? But I guess it means brake even if you see one anywhere near you, because of them charging?
The idea is don’t expect them to run away as you approach; they often won’t. Make sure you can safely stop, the wait for the moose to scamper away. Some people blithely assume the moose will run away from the car so they don’t need to stop.
Hu, some people are stupid, aren’t they? I’d never assume any animal is going to get out of the way of my car. However, I wouldn’t have thought that a moose would actually attack my car, either, so shows how much I know.
During rut (November) moose will sometimes charge trains. This rarely turns out well for the moose.
Oh, yeah, Renee, a lot of place names aren’t pronounced as you might expect.
BERlin, NH.
Haverhill → Hayvrill
Lebanon → Lebuhnun
of course Worcester–>Wooster with an oo like put
Natives correct me please!! 
That’s how we say the other Lebanon too, though, unlike Berlin purposely being pronounced differently. And it’s Wus-tah!
Haverhill - HAv-rill (not Haver-Hill)
Methuen - Me-thu-en (lots of people think this one has two syllables, Meth-wan is the most common mistake)
Portsmouth - Ports-mith
Plymouth - Plim-ith
Bangor - Bane-gore. Apparently elsewhere they call it “Banger” for no good reason
Concord - conquered and concord sound the same(konk-er’d), and neither sound like Concorde (con-cord) so that old car commerical failed.
On the other hand, you can often sound out the Native American names…if, like with Methuen, you put the syllable breaks in the correct places, that is.
Pemigewasset - pem-me-ge-wa-sett
Penobscot - Pen-ob-scot
Saco - Sa-co, (not sac-o)
Natick - Na-tick
Pennacook, Sunapee, Pawtuckaway , and Abenaki - exactly how they look
Don’t forget Peabody! (PEE-buddy)
Really? I’ve never heard that before. Thanks for the heads up. Now that I live in Maine (even though I’m still “from away”) it’s good to know so I don’t sound like a complete idiot. I’m still recovering from the Wizard of Oz doors thing…
Another thing I just found out is that the Maine license bureaus aren’t open on weekends! What’s up with that?? I’m originally from Indiana and they’ve always had Saturday hours and were closed on Mondays (kinda like barbers). So now I have to take off work to get my driver’s license and vehicle plate. Not how I want to use my vacation hours.
Too many vowels. Try to think of pronouncing the word as if vowels almost didn’t exist:
P -b’D
(pee-b’dee)
I’ve spent some time in Bangor and I’ve never heard the first syllable pronounced like “Bane.” It’s always been bang-gore.
Ban-guh . Nobody north of Boston knows what an R is. Unless the word ends in an “a”. Then remove the “a” and insert “er” Pizza = Peat-zer
That’s Pat’s Peat-zer.
My personal favorite is Calais, ME, pronounced pretty much the same as callous.
I hope they’ve made it less inconvenient than when I first moved to Maine 12 years ago. I doubt they have. Be sure to visit your town offices before visiting the BMV, if you haven’t already. You’ll need to pay the excise tax and get a registration application there before the BMV will let you register the vehicle at their office. Be prepared to pay a lot for the excise tax unless your car is really old. I’ve seen it claimed that Maine has the highest vehicle excise taxes in the country, and it wouldn’t surprise me. Be sure to take proof of insurance and the vehicle’s title when you go.
Once you have your driver’s license and vehicle registration squared away this year, future years will be easier. Your driver’s license is good for 6 years and most times you can renew it online. You need an eye exam about once every 10 years, but you can get that from a private optometrist if you want. I don’t know how often you need a new photo, but I know it’s not required every time you renew. Your car registration is good for a year. For residents of most towns in southern Maine, you can both pay the excise tax and renew the registration either online or at the town offices. There’s a paltry $3 fee to get it done at the town offices, but it’s worth it.
Gaaaaaaaa! Thanks for the heads up. I didn’t know I had to go to the town hall first. Sigh.
Absolutely. For instance, the lake in the next town over from me:
Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg
is pronounced:
Webster Lake
Anyway, I love the Coat of Arms Pub!! In the summer of 2008 we went to Hampton Beach for a weekend but stayed in Portsmouth. We went to the Coat of Arms for dinner and it was excellent.
If you get to Hampton Beach, go to either B Street or C Street for lunch. Their Syrians are so good.
Taxachusetts is the state. Massholes are the residents. I’ve never actually met someone who minded being called a Masshole. Just try to remember, the closer you get to Boston, the more the Massholes act like Assholes. Don’t let that color your opinion of the rest of the state. Most of us are quite nice.
Well, I’m finally on the right side of the law. I’m officially a Maine resident, complete with license plates, driver’s license and a licensed dog. And it only took me an entire morning with an hour and a half of driving…
You’re not official until you buy a red plaid shirt.