They say New England has so many sayings we’re speaking a foreign language. Throw a thick Boston accent on top of that and forget about trying to understand anything. However, what’s particularly fascinating about the New England dialect is that we use many of our sayings to mean things that are complete opposites.
As a native New Englander, I wanted to have a little fun when I sat down to write this post. We’ll obviously give you everything you need to know to both understand us and get the most out of your next adventure to New England. But I also wanted to poke a little fun at this crazy place I grew up in.
By the time you finish reading this post, you’ll be able to fully understand the following sentence. I stopped for a couple wicked cold roadies at the packie, then got busted by the staties when I hit a swamp donkey trying to bang a uey at the rotary. Let’s get started.
1. Wicked
Wicked is the ultimate New England word, and we don’t say wicked like it’s a bad thing! Here in New England, wicked simply means “very”. When used with words with a positive connotation, such as “wicked good” or “wicked awesome”, it sounds like an oxymoron, but trust me, it’s not. There is a method to our madness.
2. Wicked Pissah
The ultimate of the New England sayings, there’s a very specific situation when you use “wicked pissah”. Use it when you encounter something so extraordinarily awesome that “wicked awesome” or “wicked cool” doesn’t begin to cover it. For example, when the Red Sox broke the curse in 2004 and won the World Series for the first time in 86 years, that was wicked pissah!
Wicked pissah is also not to be confused with having to go to the bathroom really bad. That’s “I gotta take a wicked piss”. The extra “ah” makes a big difference!
3. Masshole
A Masshole is someone who was born and raised in Massachusetts. I am one, proudly born and raised there. We take great pride in being called Massholes and wear it as a badge of honor.
We also use commonly use the term Masshole when referring to Boston drivers. Sticking with the paradoxical nature of New England sayings meaning the opposite of what they logically should, calling your fellow drivers a Masshole is actually a compliment. Blindly cut across 4 lanes of bumper to bumper traffic at 70 mph in a blizzard to tail an ambulance so you get to work on time? That takes precision driving and successfully executing it is deserving of being complimented. To use Masshole as an insult, you’ve gotta drop the “M” first.
Now, we fully understand that the term Masshole may come off as a little vulgar or even offensive for some people. For something a little more G-rated, the proper term is “Bay Stater”. Massachusettsian is not a word and we’ll be long since dead by the time we figure out how to pronounce it!
4. The Packie or Package Store
If you take your mail to the package store to send it off, you’re going to be greatly disappointed. Because package stores have nothing to do with mail or packages. They’re actually liquor stores. You can call them packies for short.
While you will hear packie used throughout New England, you’ll find it most commonly used in southern New Hampshire, as well as the immediate surrounding areas near the state line in Massachusetts and Maine. And make sure to plan ahead so you don’t need to make any midnight beer runs. Every New England state except Maine has laws restricting when package stores can sell alcohol.
Are you loving these New England sayings yet?
5. Statie
The term statie is used exclusively in Massachusetts. It simply refers to a State Police Officer or State Trooper. They’re hard to miss in their trademark navy blue and grey SUV’s. Keep an eye out for them sitting in the medians and on the side of the highway waiting for the next unsuspecting speeder. You’ll also see plenty of them on patrol at Logan Airport.
6. Bang a Uey
While it’s especially true when driving in Boston, New Englanders will bang a uey just about anywhere, no matter how unsuspecting it may seem. Pronounced “you-ee”, a uey is just a U-Turn. Likewise, bang means “do” in New England, especially when driving. Stop and ask any New Englander for directions and you’re guaranteed to hear either “bang a left” or “bang a right” at least once.
7. Swamp Donkey
Swamp donkey is one of my favorite New England sayings, even though I hardly ever get to use it. Any guesses as to what it means? I’ll give you a hint: you’ll only ever hear it in Maine. A swamp donkey is a slang term Mainers use to refer to a moose. And don’t try to use it outside of Maine unless you want a lot of really weird looks.
8. The Hub or The Town
If you ever hear someone mention “The Hub” or “The Town”, they’re talking about Boston, which is the center of most New Englanders’ universe. We refuse to admit that it’s actually a city. Furthermore, we never call Boston “Beantown”, so that’s a dead giveaway that you’re not from here.
9. The Cape
From Cape Ann to Cape Porpoise to Cape Elizabeth, there are many capes in New England. However, there’s only one “The Cape”, and that’s Cape Cod. In the summer, tourists from all over the country flock to The Cape for its beaches, seafood, and perfect weather. That includes all the weekend warriors from the rest of New England, who say “I’m going down the Cape for the weekend.”
Not surprisingly, of all the New England sayings in this list, “The Cape” is the one you’ll hear me use most often. And that obviously has nothing to do with the fact that I grew up on the Cape and the rest of my family still lives there.
10. The Vineyard
Nope, this New England saying has nothing to do with wine. In fact, if you’re planning to go to the Vineyard, you’ll need a boat. Because the Vineyard is Martha’s Vineyard. Located just south of Cape Cod, the Vineyard is one of the two islands being referred to when you hear “the Cape and Islands”.
11. The T
New England sayings are well-known for shortening long phrases into something witty and easy to remember. By shortening an abbreviation here, we’re toeing the line between clever and lazy, but we’ve nailed it to a T…literally.
The T is short for the MBTA (aka Boston’s subway), which everyone loves to complain about. Trains on the T do seem to love to stall out nearly every time there’s any kind of meaningful snowfall. However, don’t confuse it with “The Train”, which is the commuter rail. The Train is part of the T, but it’s not the T.
12. The Monster
While New England has a lot of maritime history, it thankfully does not include any weird sea creatures or ancient lore. The Monster is simply the iconic Green Monster, the 37-foot high left field wall at Boston’s Fenway Park.
13. The Garden
By now, you should be able to guess that this one probably has nothing to do with plants or agriculture. Indeed, the Garden is the TD Garden, where the Bruins and Celtics play their home games. But beware if you’re taking the T to the game, the game is at North Station, not the Garden. Not confusing at all, I know.
14. Wicked Hard Slapper
It may sound bad, but rest assured, it’s just a hockey term. A wicked hard slapper is a slapshot in hockey that’s traveling at a very high rate of speed. Despite making a brief comeback during the Zdeno Chara era with the Bruins, it’s one of those New England sayings that’s just not used anywhere near as much as it used to.
15. A Crash Course in Boston Highways
If driving in Boston wasn’t enough of a challenge already, New Englanders have some rather unique ways to refer to Boston Highways.
- The Expressway is Boston’s Southeast Expressway, which is Interstate 93 running from downtown Boston south to Braintree.
- The Pike is the Massachusetts Turnpike, which is Interstate 90. You’ll also hear it called the Mass Pike.
- Route 128 North is Interstate 93 South. It’s also Interstate 95 North and US-1 South. To add to the excitement of your drive, signs for 128 are pretty much non-existent today, despite the fact that New Englanders always use it as a reference point. Best of luck to you!
And if you’ve never experienced the thrill of driving in Boston, here’s a song that’ll both give you a sneak peak of what you’re missing. I first hear it on Car Talk.
16. Breakdown Lane
What New Englanders call the breakdown lane the rest of the country calls the shoulder. Unlike the rest of the New England sayings on this list, this one actually makes a lot of sense. When you break down on the highway, you pull over into the breakdown lane.
And yes, it’s completely legal to drive in the breakdown lane in the Boston area during rush hour.
17. Rotary
A rotary is a traffic circle or roundabout. However, to make sure you stay on your toes while driving, we put them on major roads, highways, and freeways instead of quiet residential streets. The rotary you see below greets you at the base of the Bourne Bridge as you come onto the Cape.
18. You Can’t Get There From Here
With Boston’s streets originally laid out by drunks and cows, it’s no surprise this New England saying originated there. If you’re trying to get somewhere that requires a particularly complicated or convoluted route, we’ll tell you that you can’t get there from here. Because if we try to give you directions, you’re quite likely to get lost, even with modern day cell phones and GPS devices.
19. Chowderhead, Wingnut, or Dipstick
New Englanders use any of these three words to refer to an idiot on the road they encounter while driving.
20. Space Saver
A space saver is any household object that you use to hold the parking spot you spent all morning shoveling out after a big snowstorm. Laundry baskets, buckets, and traffic cones are among the most common space savers you’ll see. However, for all the unusual space savers I’ve seen over the years, this one is in a class by itself.
21. Way Out West
Due to the small size of New England states and the fact that The Hub (Boston) is the center of most New Englanders’ universe, many New Englanders tend to have a warped sense of geography. As a result, anything west of Worcester, Massachusetts is considered to be way out west.
Believe it or not, most of the die hards even consider anything west of Interstate 95 to be way out west. Albany, New York might as well be on another planet!
22. Fluffernutter
The fluffernutter is one of the staples of non-seafood New England cuisine. It’s a peanut butter and marshmallow fluff sandwich on white bread. It’s the perfect go-to sandwich for a picnic because it doesn’t make the bread all soggy the way your standard peanut butter and jelly does.
23. Scrod
You will see scrod on seafood menus in nearly every restaurant in New England. But did you know that there’s no fish, crustacean, or anything else living in the ocean called scrod? That’s because scrod is a New England saying that actually means any type of white fish, kind of like a classy version of mystery meat. That being said, the vast majority of the time you order scrod, you’ll be getting cod.
25. Roadie
A roadie is a beer you take with you to drink on the road. And no, just because there’s a saying for it in New England doesn’t make it any less illegal here.
26. Additional New England Food Terminology
- Grinder: A submarine sandwich
- Hots: Hot peppers (usually jalapenos) that you put on your grinder
- Bubbler: A water fountain
- Coffee Regular: A coffee with cream and sugar. If you want black coffee, you have to order it black.
- Frappe: A milkshake made with ice cream. It rhymes with “trap”. If you order a milkshake, you’ll get a weird concoction made with milk.
- Dunks or Dunkie’s: Dunkin’ Donuts. New England literally runs on it. Even though their name is just Dunkin’ now, we still call it Dunkin’ Donuts because we refuse to accept change.
- Cumbie’s: Cumberland Farms, which is a popular convenience store and gas station you’ll only find in New England.
Finally, you don’t under any circumstances put tomatoes in clam chowder here. That’s a New York thing. Clam chowder is one of the instances outside of sports where the Boston-New York rivalry runs deep. And we take it wicked seriously. It’s actually illegal in the State of Maine to put tomatoes in clam chowder.
27. This Friggin’ Guy
Of all the New England sayings on this list, this one is particularly fascinating because its two definitions mean completely opposite things.
- A stranger who’s pissed you off, commonly used while driving
- A friend you’re either wicked excited to see or haven’t seen in a long time
With this saying, New Englanders have traditionally used a word that starts with F and rhymes with the little black rubber disc you play hockey with. We’ll stick with friggin’ because we’re running a family show here.
28. Dirty Water
Dirty water refers to the famously dirty water in the Charles River in Boston. Interestingly, despite it being a very Boston-specific reference, people use it all over New England in the context of sports. You’ll hear it said at the immediate end of Red Sox and Bruins wins, when The Standells song by the same name reverberates through Fenway and the Garden in celebration.
And speaking of dirty water…
29. The Charles
You can probably guess this one. It means the Charles River, particularly the part that runs through Boston. Keep in mind that New Englanders never say “Charles River”. It’s always “The Charles”. If you use the full name, it’s a dead giveaway that you’re not from around here.
30. Down East
No matter what direction New Englanders are traveling, we always refer to it as going “down” somewhere. This likely stems from the Boston-New York rivalry. Listening to the Manhattan elite talk about going “uptown” or “upstate” just makes you sound really snooty. As a result, New Englanders always go “down”.
Someone who is heading down east is going to Down East Maine, which is anywhere on the coast of Maine.
31. Down the Cape
We’ve already covered “down” and “the Cape”, so just put the two together. Someone going “down the Cape” is on their way to Cape Cod. You’ll hear this phrase routinely in the summer, particularly in Boston…”I’m going down the Cape for the weekend”.
Do note that “down the Cape” is never used on Cape Cod itself. Because that makes no sense. You can’t be going somewhere if you’re already there. However, it does lead straight into our next saying.
32. Down Cape
Drop the “the” from “down the Cape” and you’ll get a saying that’s only ever used on the Cape. Cape Cod is divided into two sections, the Upper Cape (the western half) and the Outer (or Lower) Cape (the eastern half). Interestingly, nobody knows exactly where that dividing line is, but it’s widely believed to be somewhere just east of Hyannis.
When you hear someone say, “I’m going down Cape”, it means that they’re heading towards the eastern part of Cape Cod. Their destination is often the north/south part that runs from Chatham down to Provincetown. That is where the best beaches are, after all. If you’re heading in the opposite direction, there’s no such thing as going up Cape. You either reference the town you’re going to or you’re going off Cape.
33. Off Cape or Over the Bridge
While most New Englanders’ universes are centered around the Hub, Cape Codders center their universe around the Cape. And going off Cape (leaving Cape Cod) is usually a big deal, because it’s often to run an errand you really don’t want to.
Cape Cod is connected to mainland Massachusetts by two bridges that span the Cape Cod Canal. In order to get off Cape, you have to go over the bridge, which is where both those sayings come from. Furthermore, whenever you hear anyone on or near the Cape refer to “The Bridge”, they’re talking about either the Bourne or Sagamore Bridge, which are the two bridges that connect the Cape to the rest of Massachusetts.
34. Leaf Peepers
Leaf peepers are people who come to New England in September and October to see its famous fall colors. Paradoxically, New Englanders both love leaf peepers and hate them at the same time. On one hand, they spend a lot of money to boost our local economy. On the other hand, they drive wicked slow and clog up the roads.
35. Down Cellar
Of all the New England sayings on this list, down cellar makes some of the most sense. Unlike many other parts of the country, pretty much all houses in New England have basements, which we call cellars. So when we want to go downstairs to the basement, we go down cellar.
36. Flatlander
If you’re reading this post to learn New England sayings, you’re probably a flatlander. It doesn’t mean you’re from Kansas, either. A flatlander is someone who is not from New England. Like the leaf peepers, we both love them and despise them for the same reasons, particularly on the Cape.
37. Mud Season
Despite New England having four distinct seasons, we actually have a fifth, albeit unofficial one. Mud season is the awkward period when the snow and ice melts at the end of winter, but spring hasn’t fully set in yet. The snow melt turns everything into a giant mud bog, hence the name.
38. Clicker
You’ll find clickers in the living room of every New England household. They’re most commonly used to control your television. But a clicker actually means any type of remote. Besides your TV remote, the most common types of clickers you’ll find in New England unlock your car and open your garage door.
39. Blinker
You may have seen the electronic signs on the highways in Boston reminding you to “Use Yah Blinkah!” Your blinker is the turn signal in your car. But beware if you’ve never driven here. To keep other drivers on their toes, most New Englanders consider the use of blinkers to be illegal, especially in the snow.
40. North Shore vs South Shore vs South Coast
Oh, Massachusetts, you pesky devil! You’d think that being an east coast state, all the shores and coasts would be east. But that makes way too much sense. Here’s how the Massachusetts shores and coasts break down.
The North Shore runs from Boston north to the New Hampshire state line. The South Shore runs from Boston down to the east end of the Cape Cod Canal. The South Coast is the off-Cape side of Buzzards Bay, which covers the west end of the Cape Cod Canal to the Rhode Island state line.
Unlike the Rest of the Country, New England’s Alternate Languages are French and Portuguese, not Spanish
Come to New England and you’ll be hard-pressed to find anything in Spanish. In the northern New England States (Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine), French is the alternate language because of their proximity to Québec. Meanwhile, you’ll hear lots of Portuguese in southern New England because of the huge Brazilian population there.
Bonus: A Crash Course in Boston Geography for the Uninitiated
It’s no secret that Boston’s streets are old cow paths. Yes, you read that right. The Hub was literally laid out by drunks and cows. Just look at a map. No two streets are parallel. Not surprisingly, the definitions of north, south, east, and west are – let’s just say a little warped – in The Hub. So this should clear things up a bit.
The geographical center of Boston is Roxbury. Head due north from there and you’ll reach the South End. But don’t confuse it with South Boston, which sits directly east of the South End. North of South Boston is East Boston. Southwest of East Boston is the North End. West of Boston, you’ll find the Back Bay, which was once an actual bay full of water, but was filled in many years ago.
You should be able to get around just fine now, right?
Final Thoughts
While you could easily write a book about all the New England sayings, these 40 should at least get you started on your journey to talking like a local. And as for driving in Boston, that’s a topic for a whole other post, as well as a discussion for another day. What’s your favorite New England saying? Let us know in the comments below.
And there’s more coming, too. We’ll get Dani to write one of these posts, too. She was born and raised in Texas, which should be a very interesting contrast to this.
