Boston slang (live in, shops, train)

[K-Luv]

Frappe, candle-pin bowling, soda, jimmies, celler, the Sox, to name a few, are more or less general New England terms and not just Boston slang.

When ever I hear the T, I always think of the subway/lite-rail. It seems that people generally just say 'bus' or the route number when referring to the bus.

Something else that is not exactly native to Boston, but is more or less a general New England thing with more emphasis in Boston is that everything gets a nickname or has its real name shortened.

Southie...don't get this one. It seems odd to refer to a physical location as Southie. A person from the area, yeah, but the actual area? I am going to go out on a limb and wonder if it is a conjunction of south of (Boston) where south of got combined. Perhaps maybe a conjunction of south of here, as spoken while in Boston? Yeah, just go southie here.

Originally Posted by bostonguy1960

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I hate "wicked." Sounds so ghetto and uneducated. A friend who grew up in the Boston suburbs uses it. She's in her mid-40s. She sees no problem, and probably doesn't consider it slang. In 1978, upon arriving, I heard a local pol's wife use that word (in a straightforward manner) during an interview. It shocked me. It would be interesting to hear what CD members believe -- locals or not.


Certainly never utter "Beantown."

I am not a fan of 'wicked', then again, I say hella....a lot. I hear many people say wicked, young and old, and it often seems to be used out of place. Or with the wrong delivery at the least. Kind of like when someone who is really square tries to use slang, it just sounds wrong. Put some oomph into it, or at least say it with some excitement.

I do like the term wicked pissa, though. However, I tend to say it in reference to something bad. Which seems to confuse people.

That reminds me of something; I am originally from California, and lived in Minneapolis for awhile. Shortly after I moved to MPLS, a girl was regaling me with some story, to which I responded by saying that what every she was talking about was hella sick. She looked at me sheepishly and said, "yeah, I guess it is kind of bad."

When I first heard Beantown, I thought it was reference to someplace else. When I found out that Boston was Beantown, my immediate thought was that it had something to do with coffee roasters. Yeah, I heard of Boston Baked Beans for as long as I can remember, but I never connected Boston with beans.

Originally Posted by holden125

Wow. I've heard of "tennis shoes" but never used the term in my life. I've NEVER heard of "house shoes." I thought "slippers" was universal.

I can't for the life of me see what's so cringeworthy about "pocketbook" but I knew some people from Texas who used to drive me crazy talking about IN-surance and RE-cycle.

As for your debate, it's obvious. He's correct and your Texas terms are wrong.

What is wrong with RE-cycle? IN-surance? How else would you pronounce those words?

And Wisconsin says bubbler. And the midwest, as far as I can tell, says aunt -not ant.

Originally Posted by AandD

HAHA. I *SO* do that. Every time I say IN-surance he makes me repeat it several times so he can make fun of me. The first syllable is always strongest for me. You should hear him howl when I say I want to go to the "THE-ater". It's even funnier when he corrects my and I go "that's what I said. sounds the same to me". He looks so offended that I would find my pronunciation COM-PARE-able to his... lol

I find it annoying when people from Mass and Maine correct others on their pronunciation then raise holy hell if anyone even remotely makes the same suggestion to them. Sorry, but it is air-port, not aye-uh-paht.

[holden125]

Originally Posted by K-Luv

Southie...don't get this one. It seems odd to refer to a physical location as Southie. A person from the area, yeah, but the actual area? I am going to go out on a limb and wonder if it is a conjunction of south of (Boston) where south of got combined. Perhaps maybe a conjunction of south of here, as spoken while in Boston? Yeah, just go southie here.

Interesting theory. I've always heard the term used to describe the neighborhood. There's even a song, "Southie is my hometown." Much less so to describe a person from Southie, and that always sounds off to me when I have heard it.

East Boston is Eastie, Roslindale is Rozzie. Dorchester's traditionally been called "Dot" because it was pronounced "Dot-chestah" locally. That's about it for the diminuntive place nicknames.

Originally Posted by K-Luv

What is wrong with RE-cycle? IN-surance? How else would you pronounce those words?

Round here the emphasis is on the second syllable in the those words. In-SURE-ance, re-CY-cle. Not on the first syllable.

Originally Posted by K-Luv

Sorry, but it is air-port, not aye-uh-paht.

Well, obviously not.

[bsgke]

I spent 34 years living in Ma. My family and I just relocated last year. Though we are so happy with our new lives, I will always be a Boston girl at heart. To the OP, I wouldn't waste too much time trying to use terms that the natives would use. Everybody enjoys listening to people from other regions (at least that has been my experience.) Maybe you will teach your new friends some "new" words. Best of luck!
PS~ Just as another person mentioned, that he/she loves these posts, so do I. I want to go and blast Dirty Water!!!!

[goyguy]

I've had three other regional expressions pop into my head as I've "chewed on" this topic over the past few days.
Two of them originally found favor among White suburban kids north and west of Boston - at least that's where I first picked up on 'em. "Sick" being used to mean "good" (or "awesome," if you must) now seems to have caught on all over the place; i.e. "Did you see that sick home run Youk hit in the fifth? I think the ball landed in the river!" But "acky" as shorthand for having been in a motor-vehicle accident has never left the mouth of anybody unless they're from Sudbury or Wayland! (I'm happy to stand corrected on the latter, but that's been my experience.) Astute scholars of the lingo are spot-on in thinking that someone could therefore conceivably say that if they skidded off the road in front of a liquor store they "ackied at the packy!"
And my ears have only heard the expression "sh*ts n' giggles" issue forth from South Shore residents. It's used in place of "kicks," as in "Mahhk and I decided to go skinny-dipping in Mahhshfield, just for sh*ts n' giggles."

[K-Luv]

Goyguy,

Growing up in California, I've been saying sick since, well for as long as I can remember. While I am sure that Boston teens have been using this word for some time now, I am certain that it originated on the West Coast. I've heard sh*ts and giggles most of my life, and say from time to time myself, but its usage seemed to be more prominent in Minnesota. I've always assumed it was one of those phrases that is universal. While it might mean 'kicks' to some, I the phrase more-or-less simply means just for the heck of it and is generally used as a means to convince someone of something or to do something that they otherwise would not do, such as Hey, I'm bored. Let's through paper airplanes from the bridge for sh*ts and giggles. It could also be used as a catch-all phrase for when a better explanation is to be avoided.

[Henna]

Is this a Boston thing: "He's gonna sleep over my house tonight."

Wicked: yes, I have a highly educated 40 year old relative who was raised in the Boston suburbs and uses this word. It drives me crazy and I wish she wouldn't say it.

Another much older relative who lived for many years in Massachusetts but had been raised exclusively in NY/NJ uses the word "pocketbook" so I am not sure if she picked it up upon moving to Massachusetts or if it was already in her vocabulary.

I once read an anecdote of a tourist visiting Boston who thought she was being asked if she had "PSDS"
It took her a minute and she realized the person was asking if she had pierced ears.

It would be interesting to sort out which terms on the list are only used by blue-collar native Bostonians and which ones everyone uses regarless of socio-economic status. For instance, I believe every native might use the term "rotary" but "wicked pissah" is definitely not something a Boston Brahmin would say!

[Woof]

The main thing is getting used to the different accent, the pronunciation. Young people in all of New England find all Southern accents to be endlessly amusing, so you might want to socialize more with polite older people.

Most of your list, Jayangel, is set in terms of "this, not that" which is mostly not the case. Almost all of those words or phrases are acceptable and understood as you would say them. There are only a few things like the "tennis shoes" or "house shoes" that wouldn't be understood easily. You ought to understand the Boston expressions, but mostly you don't need to use them other than those few exceptions.

For one example, "hang a u-ie" (not "bang a u-ie" that I've ever heard) or "do a u-ie" is something you should understand, but it's perfectly acceptable to say "make a u-turn". However "u-ie" is also common in most northern states.

Of your list, I'd say you'd only need to learn to not say:

"Flee". While it's understood, it has a comical sense and is unusual, more written than spoken. "We booked" "we boogied" "we sped outta there" or maybe "we moved like hell" would work better.

Everywhere I've lived, (including the Boston area) gravy is the brown stuff that is lowclass but tastes great on mashed potatoes etc, and tomato sauce is either tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, or marinara sauce.

"Soda" is what most people in New England say, but "soft drink" is ok. Don't use the word "Coke" as a generic term for any soda, as is common in the South. Iced tea is disgusting and different from the Southern drink - in a restaurant it will come completely unsweetened.

Fricking is also pronounced "friggen" and is more acceptable than "****ing" as noted, but still it's a strong term to be used in polite society.

"Very" is used more often than "wicked", which is a word used mostly by young people. It expresses great juvenile enthusiasm for something ("That pizza last night was wicked good!". I'd say to avoid using it unless you're under 30 yo.

“Yah huh” and “no suh" - I don't know where that came from, maybe as suggested above from some little kids. Bostonians say "yeah" or "no".

Woostuh instead of Worcester was my first exposure to a Boston accent, since my first roommate was from there (they' uh). Bostonians seem to have a bit of a problem pronouncing some "r"s.

Frappe vs milkshake is found throughout the US. A milkshake is what you make at home or get in a fastfood restaurant. A frappe is what you get at a fine restaurant or cafe. Pretty much the same thing. I'm in California and I just had a mocha frappe.

[AandD]

Wait... gravy is low class?

[holden125]

Originally Posted by Woof

Frappe vs milkshake is found throughout the US. A milkshake is what you make at home or get in a fastfood restaurant. A frappe is what you get at a fine restaurant or cafe. Pretty much the same thing. I'm in California and I just had a mocha frappe.

I think that's a little different. In Boston frappe and milkshake are two different things, not the same basic item called differently if sold in a more upscale store.

[Highwyre237]

Originally Posted by AandD

Wait... gravy is low class?

if you get ready made from a can maybe?

If you can make good brown gravy, its great for everyone!