Boston slang (Shrewsbury, Dedham, Rutland: military, versus, shop)

[jfitt]

Originally Posted by maggiekate

charlie on the t got to ride the T with no money to pay! Why poor Charlie had no money to get off! I still hear that song with poor Charlie stuck
and moving on to fenway?

Actually, Charlie had already paid and was riding the MTA when the fare increased and he didn't have the extra cash to get off. The real question is why did his wife bring him a sandwich everyday and not the change to get off?

[maggiekate]

Originally Posted by jfitt

Actually, Charlie had already paid and was riding the MTA when the fare increased and he didn't have the extra cash to get off. The real question is why did his wife bring him a sandwich everyday and not the change to get off?

I do agree and also when the Red Sox did
win why was Charlie not in a Box seat and at Fenway Park! He did ride the MTA for a long time! Anyway if you do know the story of Charlie on the T
neat

[Tombstoner]

Originally Posted by K-Luv

I've looked into this and it seems that there is no definitive answer. Some say that it is strictly a Sicilian thing, where gravy is poured over meat and sauce is not (ya know, no meat on Friday kind of thing). Others say that gravy contains meat. Some claim that it is more of a NY thing, and others say that it is more of an 'old school' thing that people under 40 may not be aware of.

I think you're mostly correct about the gravy vs. sauce distinction, K-Luv. My Italian-American family actually uses the two terms to mean these two different things: "gravy" I think has an anglo-saxon root connected to the idea of grease/animal fat. "Sauce" is from the latin salsa that has roots in the word 'salt' but a salted liquid. My mom still makes gravy for pasta every Sunday (with sausage or frigole--a kind of stuffed flank steak), but during the week she sometimes prepares a quick sauce for pasta. Unfortuantely, I'm not there to eat it. Woman does a damn fine gravy...

[CityGirl52]

I didn't hear "gravy" for "sauce" until I met my good friends from Southie who are of Italian descent, they use it all the time and still do to this day. I grew up on the other side of the City in Charlestown and had neighbors from Italy & the North End & never heard "sauce" called "gravy", but may be I wasn't listening for it!

It is pretty interesting just the same....I say 'frappe' and always will. They have them at McDonald's now, but you have to get it without the creme, it's better!

As a kid, I used to think that my father & his 4 brothers were "Charlie on the MTA" since they all worked for the "T", but of course they weren't.

Here's an interesting article all the way to the bottom of the page & a good history lesson on "Charlie on the MTA".

Charlie on the M.T.A.

[ogre]

Originally Posted by maggiekate

I do agree and also when the Red Sox did
win why was Charlie not in a Box seat and at Fenway Park! He did ride the MTA for a long time! Anyway if you do know the story of Charlie on the T
neat

But back when that song was recorded, the Sox were, um, not too good. Attendance at pro sports events generally was not as good back then as it is now. I'm guessing the attendance now at sports events is boosted by a combination of a larger population and the amount of disposable income these days. Used to be, even a few years into the '70's, that a single-season attendance of a million was the mark that a MLB team was doing pretty well on attendance. That would be pretty pitiful attendance by today's standards. I'd guess a lot of today's clubs would be operating deeply in the red on attendance of one million for a season.

Speaking of Charlie, Jfitt, I've wondered the same thing about Charlie on the MTA. Why did his wife hand him a sandwich each day? Why not just give him the nickel he needed to exit the train? I've always wondered what this said about their relationship.

Just saw an ad on television for that Frap-pay drink at McD's. Looks like the coffee drink K-Luv was talking about. And they're advertising that in Boston where what most of the country (and McD's on its menus) calls a milkshake is a frap (not frap-pay). It gets confusinger and confusinger.

[Sikaranista]

Originally Posted by ogre

Speaking of Charlie, Jfitt, I've wondered the same thing about Charlie on the MTA. Why did his wife hand him a sandwich each day? Why not just give him the nickel he needed to exit the train? I've always wondered what this said about their relationship.

Perhaps his wife wanted a Boston marriage? *rimshot*

[ogre]

Originally Posted by Sikaranista

Perhaps his wife wanted a Boston marriage? *rimshot*

Well, I suppose that's one of many possible explanations for why their relationship may have been strained. Many possible explanations for this, but I've definitely wondered for a long time whether there was some problem in that relationship, whatever it might have been. I mean, Mrs. Charlie must not have wanted Charlie back too badly. All she had to do was hand him one little nickel instead of a sandwich "as the train [went] rumblin' through."

[Woof]

Sometimes macaroni - elbow macaroni for the most part - is served with gravy, but it's the brown stuff made from roux cooked with a strong beef or pork stock. The gravy is not a tomato sauce of any kind.

Very tasty, not all pasta sauces have to be tomato.

[maggiekate]

Originally Posted by ogre

But back when that song was recorded, the Sox were, um, not too good. Attendance at pro sports events generally was not as good back then as it is now. I'm guessing the attendance now at sports events is boosted by a combination of a larger population and the amount of disposable income these days. Used to be, even a few years into the '70's, that a single-season attendance of a million was the mark that a MLB team was doing pretty well on attendance. That would be pretty pitiful attendance by today's standards. I'd guess a lot of today's clubs would be operating deeply in the red on attendance of one million for a season.

Speaking of Charlie, Jfitt, I've wondered the same thing about Charlie on the MTA. Why did his wife hand him a sandwich each day? Why not just give him the nickel he needed to exit the train? I've always wondered what this said about their relationship.

Just saw an ad on television for that Frap-pay drink at McD's. Looks like the coffee drink K-Luv was talking about. And they're advertising that in Boston where what most of the country (and McD's on its menus) calls a milkshake is a frap (not frap-pay). It gets confusinger and confusinger.

Fenway
Park and our beloved Sox number 9! Poor Charlie stuck on the T

[Davante]

Wickedness is what some people are labled as. That "wicked" refers to Satan himself. Don't be perplexed because "wicked" is what some people do, and who they are. So yes, it can be good on one who learne form "wicked", but bad on one who practices "wicked".