New England Slang, Nicknames, and Acronyms

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

New England Facts

This article includes a variety of facts, statistics, and trivia about New England.

The New England region consists of six U.S. states:  Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.

Maine was part of Massachusetts until 1820. Maine is the largest New England state, Rhode Island is the smallest. Massachusetts has the highest population, while Vermont has the least residents.

New England is bordered by the U.S. state of New York. and Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec.

Several deep-draft commercial ports are located in New England including Boston, New Bedford, and Fall River, MA; Tiverton and Providence, RI; New London and Bridgeport, CT.

The Port of Boston is the busiest in New England. More than one million tons of cargo passes through the Port each year. The Port of Providence is New England's second biggest deep water port.

Portland Head Lighthouse Maine | credit: USCG

New England's maritime coast includes the North Atlantic Ocean, numerous estuaries, other natural resources.

The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument is located about 130 miles off the coast of Cape Cod. The area is the first and only marine national monument located in the Atlantic Ocean.

Major New England estuaries include the Gulf of Maine, Buzzard's Bay, Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts Bay, Nantucket Sound, Narragansett Bay, and Long Island Sound.

Important rivers of New England include the Saint John, St. Croix, Penobscot, Kennebec, Charles, Merrimack, Salmon, Sakonnet, Providence, Mystic, and Connecticut.

Located in New England are several world-famous islands including Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, and Block Island.

Nantucket Barrier Beach and Wildlife Refuge is designated as a National Natural Landmark.

Off the coast of Rhode Island, Block Island Wind Farm holds the distinction of being the first commercial offshore wind farm in the USA.

Rhode Island is one of the few states where public access to shorelines is granted by its constitution. In 2023, legislation clarified the law, setting the access line at six feet landward from the recognizable high tide line, also known as the 'wrack line'.

Boston Light is the oldest U.S. lighthouse station. Originally built in 1716, the lighthouse became a National Historic Landmark in 1964. The lighthouse is still an active aid-to-navigation. 

Located in the Maine Highlands Region, Moosehead Lake is the largest mountain lake in the eastern United States. The lake is the source of the Kennebec River.

Lake Champlain, the sixth-largest body of fresh water in the United States, separates Vermont from New York.

The New England Region is known for its natural beauty, especially its geography. Many of the largest ski mountains on the East Coast are located in New England.

In New Hampshire, Mount Monadnock is one of the most climbed mountains in the USA. With an elevation of 6,288.2 feet, Mount Washington is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States.

Touted as "Home of the World's Worst Weather", the Mount Washington Observatory (MWObs) is located on the summit of Mount Washington.

The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, generally known as the Appalachian Trail, begins in Georgia and ends in Maine.

The New England National Scenic Trail (NET) is a 215-mile hiking trail route. The NET travels through 41 communities in Connecticut and Massachusetts.

The time in New England is equal to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) minus 5 hours. For Daylight saving time, clocks are advanced 1 hour on the second Sunday of March and are set back to standard time on the first Sunday of November.

Two of the most recognizable styles of American architecture originated in New England; Cape Cod and Saltbox. Both types of homes are common in New England.

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New England Slang, Nicknames, and Acronyms