A funny thread----Boston'isms (Harvard: college, DMV, restaurant)

[haberstroh]

I have been on these boards for a while and realized that we are all very serious sometimes. I blame myself, of course.
Today I want to start a funny (and 'educational") one. I got the idea from the NJ forum and it made me laugh. Somebody started a thread of famous Jersey'isms (like jeat? did you eat)
Can we do the same with "Boston'isms"? Since I am a transplant and even immigrant I only know that one with parking the car in Harvard yard (although you can't even park there). So all you locals please delight us!

[holden125]

There are lots of them but I can start it off. My uncle used to ask us, writing out the letters on paper, what these meant:

T.S.
E.S.
C.S.
P.S.D.S.


T.S. = when (or what?) you cry
E.S. = what you hear with
C.S. = a department store started with Roebuck
P.S.D.S. = what you have if you can wear earrings

Of course there is a whole separate vocabulary. The breakdown lane (elsewhere a "shoulder"); the rotary ("traffic circle"), the RMV ("DMV"), grinders and spuckies ("sub sandwich" or "hero"), bubbler ("Water fountain"), tonic ("soda"), soda ("club soda"), and lots of others.

One of the funniest I heard was my friend's aunt, who has a thick, thick accent, was asking Trivial Pursuit questions one night and asked, "On the popular TV show Starsky and Hutch, what was Hutch "shaht fow-ah"? A guest, from NJ, answered "because the bad guys figured out he was a cop" or "sleeping with another man's wife." The aunt looked at her, said, "Ah you retahded, Hutch is shaht for Hutchinson."

[holden125]

Another thing comes to mind but this is sort of crude so I apologize in advance and anyone not interested, read no further.

Many Boston speakers have a rapid fire breathy speech that is unique. I remember my cousins in South Boston in the 80's and they would say the words that gave rise to the phrase known as "WTF" without really saying that first word. It would be something like "TF you looking at?" Casey Affleck did this in Good Will Hunting when they were talking about having 15 minutes to go to Kelly's for a sandwich at the little league field.

[BillyPilgrim]

I've never heard grinder or spuckies and seldom tonic. It's a sub and a soda. And we always say the Registry. My wife (from Tahntn) says Massachuzits. In college guys would say "let's go drink sum beahs (more like a NE -er sayin bear than a Maine bee-ah)."

[holden125]

Originally Posted by BillyPilgrim

I've never heard grinder or spuckies and seldom tonic. It's a sub and a soda. And we always say the Registry. My wife (from Tahntn) says Massachuzits. In college guys would say "let's go drink sum beahs (more like a NE -er sayin bear than a Maine bee-ah)."

The tonic was big with the grandparents' generation but my girlfriend revived it after working in a restaurant with a lot of older customers, so now I hear it all the time. Grinder I heard more in Western Mass. and maybe it's used in Rhode Island. We had a neighbor who grew up near Newport and said that a lot. Spuckie was originally Italian, I think, and was used in the North End, but everyone in my family in South Boston called them that.

Definitely beahs, short and sweet, and not not bee-ah as in Maine.

Massachuzits sounds right. Like Quinzee.

[LeavingMA]

Some in MA might not even know this one, but calling the liquor & beer store a "packie". Usually said, "want to go to the packie". Never really used anywhere else and some parts of MA they don't use it.

[CaseyB]

Originally Posted by BillyPilgrim

I've never heard grinder or spuckies and seldom tonic. It's a sub and a soda. And we always say the Registry. My wife (from Tahntn) says Massachuzits. In college guys would say "let's go drink sum beahs (more like a NE -er sayin bear than a Maine bee-ah)."

Tonic is northshore, my grandfather used to use that term. I say sub instead of grinder, I don't know exactly where that comes from except that I see it in Greek pizza places a lot.

Haberstroh, do you mean colloquialisms or the supposed "Boston accent"?

[holden125]

Originally Posted by LeavingMA

Some in MA might not even know this one, but calling the liquor & beer store a "packie". Usually said, "want to go to the packie". Never really used anywhere else and some parts of MA they don't use it.

absolutely, that's what we said

[drouhin]

Said to anyone slow to catch on: "...And the light dawns ovah Mahblehead."

[homer jay]

wanna go to da packie?git sum beahs