Rec'd this from my brother. It's a chuckle, also quite true!

Going to college in Boston? "Mary-mutha-ah-gawd, you gotta be wicked smaht!"
But we bet you don't know some things. Like, what's a three decka? A packie? How about a rotary? Ever banged a U-ey? Worn dungarees or ordered a frappe? Even a Rhodes scholar would have a tough time deciphering the language Boston calls its own.

"New Englanders have had a long and strong tradition of eccentric ways of expressing themselves, especially in Boston," said Boston University Linguistics professor Michael Feldman. "It's very distinctive."

Indeed - and we'd have a pissah time tryin' to stump ya, then make fun of ya behind ya back . . . but that's wicked mean.

Instead, here's a little primer to take with you on the T, while you're on the Common or in the Gahden, maybe catchin' a Pats game or sipping a regulah coffee at Dunkies.

American Chop Suey - Found in school cafeterias, this delightful dish doesn't resemble anything American or Chinese. It's macaroni with meat and tomato sauce.

Bangin' a U-ey - This is what you do while driving after you miss a turn and you have to turn around.

Book it - To high tail someplace, as in, "I better book it to Stah Mahket before it closes."

Bubblah - Spelled bubbler, it's a water fountain.

Der - An interjection indicating disdain for someone else's stupidity, as in, "The old Gahden was way betta than the Fleet! Der!"

Down Cellar - The basement. As in; "Run down cella and get me a dishtowel outta the drya." Derived from upstairs.

Dungarees - Jeans. Hardly heard anymore, unless you're at some sort of senior citizens event.

Frappe - What the rest of the nation calls a milkshake. But in Boston, a milkshake is just flavored milk; no ice cream allowed.

Fried and Bizaah - Weird. "That dude is wicked fried. Yah, he's totally bizaah."

Fudge-icle - To the rest of the world, a frozen chocolate pop is a Fudgesicle, but in Boston, the 's' is silent.

Hermits and black and whites - Cookies. A hermit is a molasses and raisin bar. Black and whites, known anywhere else as half moons or half and halfs, are round, cakelike cookies with chocolate frosting on one half, vanilla on the other.

Jimmies - Sprinkles you put on ice cream.

Packie - Liquor Store. You'll have to make a packie run if you want a kegga (Beer keg party.)

Pissah - Good.

Rotary - traffic circle. And in Massachusetts, those in the rotary have the right of way.

Scrod - A generic name for white fish. We think it's cod, but no one's sure. Usually breaded and laden with butter.

So Don't I / So Aren't I / So do I / So am I - "I have tickets to Aerosmith tonight." "Oh my Gawd, so don't I!" "No Suh!" "Yah huh."
"Wicked Pissa!"

Three Decker - Pronounced three decka, it's a three story house in which each story is a separate apartment.

A time - A party. "We're going to a time for Sully at McGuire's."

Tonic - Soda.

Wicked - Extremely. "Nomaaah's a wicked good baseball playa."

Yah huh and no suh - Yes and no. Usually heard during an intense conversation. "I saw Mickey at Castle Island, and he was with another girl." "No SUH!" "Yah huh."

Other tips: Don't say COPEly Square, it's COPley. Worcester isn't WOOster, it's Wisstah.

Say Commonwealth Avenue, Massachusetts Avenue or Dorchester Avenue and you'll get pinched. It's Comm-Ave., Mass-Ave., and Dot-Ave.

Now wasn't that fun?

Fudge-icle - To the rest of the world, a frozen chocolate pop is a Fudgesicle, but in Boston, the 's' is silent.

I dunno about the rest of the world, but me and mine have always said it s-less. And I've never been to Boston.

Don't say COPEly Square, it's COPley.

I yewstah werk in Copley Square, yet I called it "Cope-lay" (just to push buttons).

In reply to:

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Dungarees - Jeans. Hardly heard anymore, unless you're at some sort of senior citizens event.

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Is the word dungarees used differently elsewhere in the US or not used at all? To me, dungarees are a denim garment combining trousers and flaps for the chest and back held up by straps over the shoulders.

See the picture at: http://www.stencil-library.com/docs/exclusives.htm

Bingley

Dungarees, to me, have always been uniquely part of the enlisted uniform in the U.S. Navy. Sometimes shortened to "dungs."

Now, see, I always thought the word dungarees was a term thunk up in the south.....who'da thought it was a Bostonian term!?

On this side of the pond dungarees are the same thing as overalls and not the same as jeans. The word is quite old.

Dungarees: plural noun; British, American and Australian overalls - a pair of trousers that has an extra piece of cloth that covers the chest and is held in place by a strap over each shoulder.

(American) Dungarees are also clothes, esp. trousers and coats, made of denim.

1613, from Hindi dungri "coarse calico."

-a pair of trousers that has an extra piece of cloth that covers the chest and is held in place by a strap over each shoulder.

These are called bib overalls, or just bibbies, where I come from. They are also available in heavy canvas, thanks to the Carhart company and are very usefull to those that work in very cold climates. I used to own a pair that had knitted wool cuffs on them, like a sock without the foot part.

Re: Dungarees, to me, have always been uniquely part of the enlisted uniform in the U.S. Navy.

coast guard, too, and not they are not overalls, which have a bib that covers the chest and shoulder straps (cover alls, have sleeves, collars, and close with a zipper down the front.)

doesn't chicago have triple deckers too? NY has brownstones (very similar, and not always faced with brown sandstone, originally 1 family homes, now sometimes 2 or 3 or even 4 apartments)
NY fire code requires a metal fire escape for 3 (or more) family dwellings, (unless they are rated fireproof, and then they can get away with interior fire stairwells), so triple deckers are rare. when they exist, they are "legal 2 family homes, illegal 3's--and not too common.
(boston and chicago triples i have seen have a back porch with a stair way, but often the porch and stair way is wooden) and Boston and Chicago triples are free standing, or at best, share one common wall. the alley between them is often narrow. but NY's brownstones are almost always attached on both sides. (i know, its a bit off track and a bit of YART. we did a thread about housestyles over a year ago, but i don't think triples came up, then.)

Rotary - traffic circle. And in Massachusetts, those in the rotary have the right of way.

Yes, but don't put too much faith in that. Reminds me of the old cartoon - visitor being shown around the hospital, guide points into a large multi-bedded room and says "...and this ward is for the people who had the right of way."

Re dungarees: I thought that was a word from the American West. Thick and extremely strong cloth, no bib (those are "coveralls" though they could still be made out of dungaree cloth/denim), and the name came from their use while mucking out the barn...

and engineer pants pants have bibs too, but they would almost always be called 'osgoshes' after the clothing company in Oshkosh, (in Wisconson? or is it Indiana?) Osgosh made overalls in a heavy striped cloth, (that looked like pillow ticking of old)-- somehow, osgosh became associated with RR engineers, almost exclusively.

Oshkosh, by gosh!, offered small overalls for kids, with matching caps, and wooden whistles that sounded like RR whistles. (i suspect if you looked up Oshkosh.com, you find them for sale on the web site.) easily, 50% of the boys in US have had a pair of Oshkosh overalls, at least once in their lives-- they got them the same year they got the toy train set for christmas..
(edited, since i had osgosh, not oshkosh..and the web site does still sell the overalls)

and this ward is for the people who had the right of way.

He was right, dead right as he walked along;
But he's just as dead as if he were wrong.

Don't know the origin of that - one of my grandfather's sayings.

Or the famous epitaph:

Here lie the remains of Herman Grey
He died defending his right-of-way

Intriguing. And I heard it combined into one single quatrain:

Here lie the remains of Herman Grey
He died defending his right-of-way
He was right, dead right as he walked along;
But he's just as dead as if he were wrong.