The older I get, the more I realize that people who live in a given place are really bad at identifying regionalisms. This is especially true of people who have lived in the same area of the country their entire life. You’ve probably seen it in threads about things being unique to X: someone will say that they only say ___ in ___ only to be immediately corrected. Personally, I didn’t know “wicked” was a regionalism until I was 17…
So, I ask people who are from away but have spent time here this - what do we say up here that you haven’t heard (much) elsewhere? The main reason I ask is that I’d love to know how many turns of phrase I’ve already unintentionally included in a story set here. That self-indulgence aside, maybe this thread will entertain others too.
I don’t know if they’re strictly limited to New England, but I have heard that ‘bag’ or ‘sack’, and ‘pop’ or ‘soda’ fall into distinct regions of the country.
The term “water bubbler” for what others might call a “water fountain” or “drinking fountain” seems to be pretty well confined to New England and Wisconsin, for whatever reason. "Drinking fountain seems to be popular in the Michigan area. There are plenty of similar maps on the linked site.
Also, of course, the distinction between a frappe or cabinet, which has ice cream in it, and a milkshake, which doesn’t, is very much a New England thing. Cabinet is pretty much confined to Rhode Island, while frappe is a bit more widespread, centered around Boston. What we call a milkshake doesn’t really exist elsewhere, and really isn’t a popular drink, so the distinction is wearing away, especially as out of town chains don’t adopt our peculiar local terminology.
Would you call a turn of phrase from New England New English?
Calling homebase in tag “ghouls”
My mom has lived in New England for almost 40 years and claims to have NEVER heard that, even thou she had three kids running around on the lawn saying “ghouls!”
Yah Dude (although that seems to be North Shore-ish)
Does anyone in Maine actually say Ayuh or gormiest? (words I’ve picked up from reading Stephen King novels)
“Tonic” for what most of the rest of the USA calls “soda” or “pop” (“sweet non-alcoholic carbonated beverage”). Actually, this may be on its way out among the younger generations. I know only one person under 40 who uses it and she grew up in Dorchester.
“Packie”, short for “package store”, both of which I’ve not heard outside New England and mean “liquor store”. “Ah’m goan’ onna packie run, anybody want some beeahz?”
“Breakdown lane”–what most places call the “shoulder” or “hard shoulder”.
“Chowderhead”–stupid or foolish person.
“Carriage”: what you put your groceries in at the supermarket. Referred to as a “cart” or “buggy” elsewhere.
“Rotary”: what New Jerseyans would call a “traffic circle” and the rest of the world would call a “roundabout”. Actually, there are subtle differences among the three, but that’s something that’s probably only of interest to roadgeeks (like me) and traffic engineers.
I hadn’t heard the term “bulkie” for that type of sandwich roll until I moved to Vermont. I knew people around here said “wicked”, but I hadn’t heard it in the wild, so to speak.
One of the more puzzling things I found upon moving to Vermont (in the late '60s) was the common locution of “So don’t I”. This did NOT mean, as you might expect, “No, I don’t <whatever>”, but in fact, was synonymous with “So do I”.
This was widespread among kids of my age, and I still hear it from time to time.
Though I know what it means I’ve never heard anyone but Fritz Weatherbee actually say gormiest, but ayuh is a common thing to say in both Maine and NH. Basically it means “I agree,” or “yeah, I hear you.” A typical exchange might be:
“How’s it out there?”
“It’s wicked muggy today, and the mosquitoes are everywhere.”
“Ayuh. That’s summer for you.”
Ayuh may or may not be preceeded by the word “oh” but it doesn’t change the meaning any.
Chester draws. Now, I know that this is a pronunciation thing primarily for the Boston set, but I’ve seen it written that way in Boston classified ads.
Well, I was involved in the care of a few renal transplant patients while at Mass General, and there were no real special rules for visitors, unless the patient was extremely immunocompromised, and…
I’d forgotten about “ghouls.” I always thought it was a mispronunciation of “goals” that was oddly specific to tag and hide 'n seek.
Of course there’s “down East,” which means towards the shore, specifically the northern part of the Maine coast. I was told by my great-grandfather, he ran the store around the corner from this garage, that you went “down East” from Portland to Bar Harbor.
I spent quite a bit of time in the New England area on business back in the 1990s and I remember something about telling time, but can’t recall what specifically.
I think it had to do with the way the half-hour was described. Most people I know would say “four thirty” for 4:30, or in the U.K. you might hear “half four.” Anyone know what I’m talking about - or aboot for that matter?
I don’t know what you’re referring to, but I grew up (in New Hampshire) calling 4:45 “quarter of five”. Everyone else seems to use “quarter 'til five,” which really makes a lot more sense. Nobody ever seems to know what “quarter of five” actually means.
I might say “half past four” for 4:30, but I have no idea if that’s regional.
I’ve never heard “grinder” for a sub sandwich outside of New England, but I think I’ve heard of some other places that use it: Pennsylvania, perhaps?
Like I said above about locals being poor at identifying regionalisms, this is one I didn’t know was one until a couple of months ago. It never occurred to me that it could be interpreted as anything but agreement. If I were to guess, I’d think that the (now that it’s been pointed out) odd construction is related to the no longer fashionable “am I not?” in some way.
I’ve lived in the West, Southern California, Eastern Ohio/PA, and now New Jersey; the survey maps are a lot of fun for me, because I’ve experienced a lot of the regionalisms. I remember the first time I heard “yinze” in OH/PA and was very puzzled (it’s Pittsburghese).
All the cute little “accent” quizzes I’ve taken online report that I have a nondescript “anchorman” accent. However, some friends and family back West report that I’m starting to sound funny to them.
How is this pronounced? I’ve heard people say “yiz” as a plural form of you but nothing with an “n” in it. OTOH, I’ve spent a total of 3 hours in PA, so there’s that.