Boston accent - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Some words used in the Boston area but not in many other American English dialects (or with different meanings) are:
* bubbler or water bubbler — 'drinking fountain'
* cleansers — 'cleaners (mostly on signage)'
* dooryard - the front yard or driveway area
* down cellar — 'in the basement'
* frappe — 'a blend of ice cream, milk, and syrup'[3] (milkshake refers to a concoction not made with ice cream)
* hoppa (hopper) - toilet or toilet seat; "He can't talk now, he's onna hoppa."
* into town — 'into Boston' (similar to New Yorkers' use of "the City")
* jimmies - chocolate 'sprinkles'
* johnny — a medical gown worn by patients for examinations
* milk shake - 'drink composed of milk and flavored syrup, without ice cream[4]'
* packie — 'liquor store', short for "package store"
* parlor - 'living room', 'family room'
* pissa (or pissah) - Good, great, fantastic.[5] A superlative often combined with wicked (see below) as in "Tommy threw a wicked pissa party last night!" Rarely, it is spelled "pisser," but even rhotic speakers usually "drop the R" at the end of the word.
* puffer — hand-held asthma inhaler
* regular coffee — 'coffee with milk (or cream) and usually two spoonfuls of sugar'
* rotary — 'traffic circle or roundabout'
* spa — 'convenience store' (originally, it meant a store with a soda fountain). A "Town Spa" is often a pizza restaurant.
* time — 'a party', e.g., "My buddy's having a time over at his place."
* tonic — 'soft drink' (tonic is retreating in favor of soda among younger speakers)
* town club or sports club - When Boston surburbia was woods and farms, men would gather here for deer hunting expeditions. When the land was subdivided into Levitt houses and McMansions, these "clubs" became places where the aging, ex-hunters would gather to escape their wives and get sloshed.
* The T - Public transportation in the Metro Boston area. Refers to the subway, the streetcar, the ferry, and the bus. The ferry is highly recommended because it bypasses traffic, and they serve beer.
* triple decker — or more commonly three decker a three-story, three-family home with one unit built on top of the other'
* wicked — 'very'; alternatively, 'wicked' may also indicate approval or become a universal descriptor, e.g., "That chowdah was wicked good."
Some words used in the Boston area but not in many other American English dialects (or with different meanings) are:
* bubbler or water bubbler — 'drinking fountain'
* cleansers — 'cleaners (mostly on signage)'
* dooryard - the front yard or driveway area
* down cellar — 'in the basement'
* frappe — 'a blend of ice cream, milk, and syrup'[3] (milkshake refers to a concoction not made with ice cream)
* hoppa (hopper) - toilet or toilet seat; "He can't talk now, he's onna hoppa."
* into town — 'into Boston' (similar to New Yorkers' use of "the City")
* jimmies - chocolate 'sprinkles'
* johnny — a medical gown worn by patients for examinations
* milk shake - 'drink composed of milk and flavored syrup, without ice cream[4]'
* packie — 'liquor store', short for "package store"
* parlor - 'living room', 'family room'
* pissa (or pissah) - Good, great, fantastic.[5] A superlative often combined with wicked (see below) as in "Tommy threw a wicked pissa party last night!" Rarely, it is spelled "pisser," but even rhotic speakers usually "drop the R" at the end of the word.
* puffer — hand-held asthma inhaler
* regular coffee — 'coffee with milk (or cream) and usually two spoonfuls of sugar'
* rotary — 'traffic circle or roundabout'
* spa — 'convenience store' (originally, it meant a store with a soda fountain). A "Town Spa" is often a pizza restaurant.
* time — 'a party', e.g., "My buddy's having a time over at his place."
* tonic — 'soft drink' (tonic is retreating in favor of soda among younger speakers)
* town club or sports club - When Boston surburbia was woods and farms, men would gather here for deer hunting expeditions. When the land was subdivided into Levitt houses and McMansions, these "clubs" became places where the aging, ex-hunters would gather to escape their wives and get sloshed.
* The T - Public transportation in the Metro Boston area. Refers to the subway, the streetcar, the ferry, and the bus. The ferry is highly recommended because it bypasses traffic, and they serve beer.
* triple decker — or more commonly three decker a three-story, three-family home with one unit built on top of the other'
* wicked — 'very'; alternatively, 'wicked' may also indicate approval or become a universal descriptor, e.g., "That chowdah was wicked good."
