When New England Slang Leaves Everyone Else Puzzled

Stymied, at a standstill, or behind, as in “I’m all aback with my homework.”

“Yes,” especially in Maine The first syllable is sometimes pronounced to rhyme with “day,” but the term is apparently derived from the old English term (now mostly nautical) “aye” — as in “Aye, aye, Captain.”

Also “bang a U-ie.” To make a U-turn. (In other parts of the country, the phrase might be “Hang a Uey.”). It is also possible to “Bang a left” or “a right.”

A Boston term meaning to call in sick to work. “Bang” also means to move quickly (see “bang a Uey,” above), so to bang out could also be to book it (see below).

A trash can or garbage bin.

Also “booking it.” Leaving quickly, running away.

A water fountain. For some reason the same term is also common in Wisconsin. Typically pronounced “bubblah.”

A lobster. Mostly used in lobster-centric Maine. (Australians also call certain types of lobsters bugs.)

A grocery cart.

The remote control for a TV or entertainment center.

A Vermont term for what is known elsewhere as soft-serve ice cream. Also creamie.

A car turn signal, especially in Boston. Also called a blinker, or “blinkah.”

Short for “down in the cellar,” used as a synonym for “basement” — as in “Put those boxes down cellar.”

A portion of northeastern coastal Maine — not southeastern, as the term would suggest. The phrase has nautical origins: Eastward winds would push sailing ships towards the coast; they were said to be traveling downwind — hence the “down” and the “east.”

Blue jeans or denim trousers. Also used in the United Kingdom and, in earlier times, in other parts of the U.S. The term comes from one of several languages on the Indian subcontinent, originally referring to a fortified port from which the cloth was traded.

Otherwise known as a rubber band.

A disparaging term used in Vermont to describe out-of-staters who are unfamiliar with local ways or bring negative values with them.

In New England, a “milkshake” is usually just milk with chocolate or some other flavor syrup blended in. If you want ice cream to be involved, ask for a frappe — not a “frap-pay,” as the French would pronounce it; just a “frapp.”

A term unique to Maine, meaning klutzy, accident-prone, likely to do something dumb.

A Bostonian word meaning an illegal Irish immigrant. The term presumably is both a reference to the Emerald Isle and an indication that the newcomer is “green,” or inexperienced.

A sub or hoagie or wedge or hero, among other things, depending on where you’re from. Some say “grinder” was slang for dock workers (who might have had one for lunch), while others believe it’s a reference to the amount of chewing required for the hard roll it’s on. Some people call only hot sandwiches grinders, while others use it for hot or cold. (The term “sub” or “submarine,” incidentally, may also have New England origins: It is said to have been so named because its shape resembled that of the submarines at the Naval Submarine Base in New London.)

Not exactly a hamburger — not yet, anyway. It means “ground beef” — as in “Pick up a pound of hamburg when you go to the store.”

A refrigerator. The term is a reference to a bygone era when food and drink were chilled in insulated boxes filled with ice.

A grinder (see above) — or whatever else you want to call a sandwich on a long roll, often made with Italian deli meats and cheeses — as in “Pick me up an Italian and a tonic.” The term is heard almost entirely in Maine.

A fireman. Possibly named after a particularly famous or heroic exemplar of the profession.

Chocolate or multi-colored sprinkles, like those on birthday cakes or ice cream.

Also Johnnie. What they give you to wear when you go to the hospital — a hospital gown. Primarily heard in Boston. It is believed to be derived from the gown’s design that allows better access to the restroom, also called the john.

Another one from Maine, simply meaning “stupid.”

Short for “package store” — that is, a place to buy liquor.

A Boston living room. Pronounced “pahlah,” of course.

A porcupine to a resident of New Hampshire.

A Mainer’s way of saying “very busy” — as in “Can’t come over now, I’m right out straight.”

Also road soda. Not a stagehand who travels with a rock band, but a beer you drink while driving.

A traffic circle. Called a roundabout in some places.

Boston slang for shady or sketchy.

In Boston and vicinity, a neighborhood shop selling soft drinks, sandwiches, miscellaneous grocery items, etc. Known elsewhere as a bodega, a convenience store, or a deli.

A synonym for nervous or anxious in Maine.

Basically the same thing as a grinder (see above). A term used primarily in Italian neighborhoods in East Boston, said to be short for “spucadella,” an Italian-American name (of uncertain origins) for a kind of long, hard roll.

A Massachusetts State trooper (or “troopah”).

Also just stoved. A Mainer’s way of saying broken or messed up.

This is what some people call a moose in Maine.

Not tonic water, as in vodka and tonic. A generic term for soft drinks — soda, pop, etc.

Originally somebody from the Boston neighborhood of Charlestown, or one of the city’s other Irish-Catholic areas. Also someone who has spent his or her whole life in one town.

Counterintuitively, this means “thaw” to Vermonters.

An all-purpose directional in Boston, meaning “up to” or even just “to,” as in “I’m going up Canada on vacation” or “The kids have gone up the movie theater.”

Extremely, very, really. Something may be “wicked cool,” “wicked bad,” etc. Widely used around New England.

The vehicle that cleans up after a wreck or takes your car away if it’s parked improperly — a tow truck.

A definite yes in Boston. A response to “No suh!” (meaning more or less “no way!”).

A Vermonter’s “Yes.”