AHM |
Arm. |
AJIDA |
In the old North End and East Boston Italian-American neighborhoods, agida referred to heartburn or being mentally irritated. From the Italian word agitare which means to churn or agitate. |
ALLAGY |
Allergy. |
ANSA |
Answer. |
ANTENOR |
Antenna. Inverse "r" example. |
AUDER |
Order. |
BAH |
A bar, or place that serves alcohol. |
BAHF |
Barf. Slang for "vomit." |
BAHBA |
A barber, or person that cuts hair. |
BADING SUIT |
Bathing suit. |
BEDDA |
Better. |
BLINKERS |
Automobile directional signals. |
BLOODY BEAN |
Obscure nickname for the streets of Boston, and often used within the state and county prison system. |
BREAKDOWN LANE |
A highway shoulder. |
BUBBLA |
An office water fountain (bottled), or public drinking fountain. |
BULKIE |
A small round sandwich bread or "roll." |
CAH |
An automobile. |
CARRIAGE |
A supermarket shopping cart. |
CHOWDA |
Clam chowder. |
CLICKAH |
A TV remote control unit. |
CON |
Corn. |
CONNA |
Corner. |
CRUISER |
A police car. |
CUBBID |
Cupboard. |
CULLA |
Color. |
DECENT |
Cool or Unique; a popular term in the 1970s. |
DISINTERGRATED |
Disintegrated. Inverse "r" example. |
DOOZY BATZ |
In the old North End and East Boston Italian-American neighborhoods, it described a person that was fearless or had violent tendencies. Pazzo means crazy in Italian. "Tu Sei" (you are) + "Pazzo" (crazy) is the probable origin. "Du Say Batzo" evolved to "Doozy Batz." How one pronounced it, and one's body language, conveyed how "fearless" that person was. |
DUFF |
To deliberately avoid a person or break a promise to meet with someone. Old North End and East Boston term. |
EASTUH |
Easter. |
ELASTIC |
A rubber band. |
ENVIAMENT |
Environment. |
EYEIN |
Iron. |
FOEWID |
Forward. |
FOILAGE |
Foliage. |
FOK |
Fork. |
FOTTY |
Forty. |
FRAPPE |
Pronounced "Frap." Whipped milk, ice cream, and flavoring. This editor used to mix hot coffee with vanilla ice cream and heavy cream back in the old days! Similar to a milkshake. |
GAHBIDGE |
Garbage. |
GAVONE |
In the old North End and East Boston Italian-American neighborhoods, it meant someone that was overdressed or completely out of place; from the Italian word Cafone which roughly translates to a loud and obnoxious person. Also pronounced gavoni which is phonetically closer to Italian. |
GRAVY |
Spaghetti sauce. |
GUVANNUH |
Governor. |
HOODSIE |
A small cup of vanilla & chocolate ice cream sold by ice cream trucks. Eaten with a paper-wrapped small wooden spoon that resembled a short popsicle stick. Also (very offensive slang), a teenage girl. |
HUSSES |
Horses; in the Irish-American neighborhoods it was pronounced Husses, and in the Italian-American neighborhoods it was pronounced Hosses (often with a nasal sound). |
IDEEAR |
Idea. |
ITALIAN ICE |
Shaved ice with various flavorings added; also known as Slush. |
JIMMIES |
Ice cream sprinkles, usually chocolate. |
LAYBUH |
Labor. |
LIBERRY |
A book depository or library. |
MACKRIL |
Mackerel. |
MYIN |
Mine. |
NACKINS |
Napkins. |
NAYBUH |
Neighbor. |
NAYCHA |
Nature. |
NEKKALACE |
Necklace. |
NO'REASTER |
A weather system that swirls counterclockwise over the New England coastline. Such weather patterns can cause huge blizzards or wind-driven rain with accompanying storm surge. |
NOTH |
North. "R" is silent; add nasal sound. |
OVA |
Over; as in "Over the Rainbow." |
OUWWAH |
Hour. |
OVICHA |
Overture. |
PACKY |
A liquor store, or "package" store. |
PAHDEE |
Party. |
PAHDEE PLATTA |
A tray of cold cuts sold as one unit; party platter. |
PAHLA |
The Family or Living Room in a house or apartment; parlor. |
PATS |
The New England Patriots football team. |
PERPERTRATOR |
Perpetrator. Inverse "r" example. |
PAYPAH |
Paper. |
PIDJUN |
Pigeon. |
PIMPLE BALL |
A 1950s and 1960s inflated off-white rubber ball about the size of a baseball. The exterior had horizontal rows of bumps, with an embossed star on the top and bottom. Used for handball or step (gutter) ball games. Often cut in half for half-ball games. A popular term in many Northeast cities. |
PISSA |
Very good; often prefixed with WICKED. |
PITCHEZ |
Pictures. |
POCKET BOOK |
A woman's purse or handbag. |
PODADAH |
Potato; also pronounced Podado depending on your town or neighborhood. |
PRIVLEDGEZ |
Privileges. |
PUNKIN |
Pumpkin. |
PUSS |
To have a miserable expression on one's face; "Why the Puss on your face?" |
RAG |
To exaggerate; tell ragtime stories. |
ROTARY |
A traffic circle or round-about. |
RUBBISH |
Trash or Garbage. |
SATTADAY |
Saturday. |
SCOOTCH |
In the old North End and East Boston Italian-American neighborhoods, it referred to someone that was annoying; from the Italian word Scocciare which roughly translates to the verb "to bother." Also, in old Yankee slang, to scooch was to crouch down. Often pronounced similarly in a way that rhymes with "Butch." Children and pets could be called "Scutches" for example. Irksome is a close match in English. |
SCROD |
Fish; sometimes haddock, sometimes cod. Originally derived, most likely, by the combination of Scrawed (to cut and then dry) and Cod. |
SELLA |
A cellar; or basement. |
SELTS |
The Boston Celtics basketball team. |
SHERBERT |
Sherbet. Inverse "r" example. |
SHOTS |
Shorts, as in cut-off jeans. |
SHOUWAH |
Shower. |
SKEAVE |
Repulsive or disgusting (often describing another person). From the word schifo in Italian. Very popular term before 1990 in the old Italian-American North End and East Boston neighborhoods. |
SLUSH |
Shaved ice with various flavorings added. Also known as Italian Ice. |
SNEAKIZ |
Sneakers; tennis or athletic shoes. |
SODER |
Soda Pop. See "Tonic." |
SOLDJA |
Soldier. |
SOLDJIZ |
Soldiers. |
SOX |
The Boston Red Sox baseball team. |
SPA |
A mom & pop small luncheonette. |
SPEEKAH |
Speaker. |
SPUCKIE |
A short, stout French roll with pointy ends; bigger than a bulkie roll, but smaller than a submarine roll. If memory serves, grilled sandwiches such as Chicken Parmesan and Meatballs were popular in Spuckie rolls. A sub would be wrapped in paper, while a Spuckie may be wrapped in foil to keep it warm. Purportedly coined from a North End Spucadella roll, and the Italian word Spacatto which means cracked or cross-section. |
SKWAYAH |
Square. |
STAHVIN |
A person that is hungry; "starving." |
STAYPUHLA |
Stapler. |
SUB |
A hogie, hero, grinder, "submarine" sandwich. |
SUPPA |
Dinner. |
TEMPUHCHA |
Temperature. |
TEYEID |
Tired; exhausted or fatigued. |
TONIC |
Soda pop. |
TRIPLE-DECKER |
3 story wood house, usually all apartments. Also known as a Three-Deckah or Tree-Deckah house. |
ULTZSIR |
Ulcer. |
VARIETY STORE |
A mom and pop convenience store. |
WEIUD |
Weird. |
WICKED |
Extremely good. |
WHIFFLE |
A short crew cut, or boy's or men's haircut done with clippers. |
WOM |
Warm. |
WOTTA |
Water. |
YAWW |
"Yes" + "Yay" combined; very popular in the 1970s. |
YAWS |
Yours; as in "yours truly" or "your's, mine, and our's" (an old slang cliche). |
YOGITT |
Yogurt. |
|
RAT (THE) |
A famous metal and punk rock night club in Kenmore Square, short for Rathskeller (closed). In German, rathskeller means "council cellar." |
SANDS (THE) |
Short for Blue Sands. A famous bar on Summer Street that catered to patrons ranging from punk rockers to artists to blue collar workers (closed). |
SPIT |
A famous 1970s punk rock & new wave night club on Lansdowne Street (closed). |
|
BACK BAY |
The area west of the Public Garden. |
B.C. |
Boston College. |
B.P.L. |
Boston Public Library. |
B.S.O. |
Boston Symphony Orchestra. |
B.U. |
Boston University |
CAPE (The) |
Cape Cod. |
CHAHLZ RIVAH |
Charles River. |
COMBAT ZONE |
The old burlesque area of Boston at the foot of Washington Street near Essex Street. |
COMM AVE |
Truncation of Commonwealth Avenue. |
HAHVID |
Harvard University. |
I.C.A. |
Institute of Contemporary Art. |
LANDSDOWN |
Lansdowne Street, Boston. |
MASS AVE |
Truncation of Massachusetts Avenue. |
M.F.A. |
Museum of Fine Arts |
PRU (The) |
Prudential Center. |
QUINCY MARKET |
Faneuil Hall Marketplace. |
SCOLLAY SQUARE |
The old burlesque area of Boston at the junction of Tremont, Court, Hanover, and Cambridge Streets. |
T (The) |
The MBTA transit authority. |
|
CHATTIM |
Chatham, Massachusetts |
CONKIDD |
Concord, Massachusetts |
EVRIT |
Everett, Massachusetts. |
FLORIDER |
The State of Florida. |
GLOSSTA |
Gloucester, Massachusetts. |
HOPKINGTON |
Hopkinton, Massachusetts |
INDIANER |
The State of Indiana. |
LEMMINSTAH |
Leominster, Massachusetts |
MEDFID |
Medford, Massachusetts. |
NEWHAMSHA |
The State of New Hampshire. |
NEWHAMSHIN |
A Person From New Hampshire. |
NEWYOK |
The State of New York. |
PEEBAHDEE |
Peabody, Massachusetts. |
P-TOWN |
Provincetown, Massachusetts. |
QUINZEE |
Quincy, Massachusetts. |
RHODEYELIN |
The State of Rhode Island |
RUHVEEA |
Revere, Massachusetts. |
SUMMAVILLE |
Somerville, Massachusetts. |
VAHMONT |
The State of Vermont. |
VAHJINYA |
The State of Virginia. |
VINYID |
Martha's Vineyard island. |
WATTATOWN |
Watertown, Massachusetts. |
WINTRUP |
Winthrop, Massachusetts. |
WHISTAH |
Worcester, Massachusetts. |
WOOBIN |
Woburn, Massachusetts. |
|
BURRY |
Roxbury neighborhood. |
EASTIE |
East Boston neighborhood. |
DOT |
Dorchester neighborhood. |
J.P. |
Jamaica Plain neighborhood. |
ROZZY |
Roslindale neighborhood. |
SOUTHIE |
South Boston neighborhood. |
TOWNIE |
A Charlestown neighborhood person. |