This article includes a few examples of slang, nicknames, acronyms, and local terms that are sometimes used in New England.
Slang - Nicknames
apizza - pizza
blinks - turn signal
brum - broom
bubbler - water fountain
bug - small lobster
camp (up camp) - a summer home, ski house or hunting lodge
cabinet - milk, flavored syrup, and ice cream
carriage - shopping cart
Cape Codder - a permanent resident of Cape Cod
chowderhead - stupid person
creemee - soft-serve ice cream in a cone. Vermonters are especially fond of maple creemees
cunnin - cute, adorable
door yard - front yard or yard nearest the main door of the house
down cellar - go down into the basement
Downeast - Maine coast from Penobscot Bay to the Canadian border. The term originates from sailing down wind, not down geographically
dungarees - denim pants
elastic - rubber band
fluffchucker - fly fisherman
frappe - milkshake
flatlander - city dweller, urban person
from away - tourist
frost heave - bulged road surface, caused by freezing
grinder - submarine sandwich
horsehead - gray seal
leafpeeper, leafer - out of state visitors who have come to enjoy the foliage
lobstah - American lobster (singular, plural)
Mainer - a native of Maine
mud season - early spring, sometimes known as "the fifth season"
nutmegger - a resident of Connecticut
packie - package store, liquor store
pissa - good
P-town - Provincetown, MA
quill pig - porcupine
regular coffee - with cream and sugar
rotary - traffic circle, roundabout
rubbish - trash
scrod - firm, white fish, usually cod, halibut, haddock, or pollock
scooch - squat, crouch
skishing - saltwater shorefishing where the angler wears a buoyant
wetsuit and swims or wades out from shore to fish (primarily for striped
bass in New England)
Southie - resident of South Boston
steamers - soft shell clams
(all) stoved up - bent
stuffie - quahog clam stuffed with cracker or bread crumbs and seasonings
sugarbush - sugar maple tree (source of maple syrup)
tag sale - yard sale, garage sale
the Cape - Cape Cod
the Sound - Long Island Sound
the T - the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority; Boston subway
the Vineyard - Martha's Vineyard
noreaster (nor'easter) - a powerful storm with winds blowing from the northeast
u-ey - u turn
wicked - extraordinary, very
woodchuck - old timer from Vermont
Yankee - resident of New England
Acronyms
The region's state acronyms are well known; ME, MA, VT, NH, CT, and RI. The following list includes a few lesser known acronyms relating to New England:
ACK - Nantucket
AT - Appalachian Trail
BI - Block Island
BOS - Boston
CC - Cape Cod
GMNF - Green Mountain National Forest
GOM - Gulf of Maine
LIS - Long Island Sound
NEK - Northeast Kingdom (Vermont)
NET - New England National Scenic Trail
MIT - Massachusetts Institute of Technology
MWObs - Mount Washington Observatory
MV - Martha's Vineyard
SNE - Southern New England
URI - University of Rhode Island
WHOI - Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
WMNF - White Mountain National Forest
Other Terms
401 - area code for Rhode Island
802 - area code for Vermont. The letters are popular on t shirts and other apparel, most often followed by a Vermont shaped icon.
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New England Facts
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