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Wicked Good Guides / Wicked Good Guide to Boston English /

A-B

Compiled by Adam Gaffin

Across the river

What lies on the other side of the Charles. Often tinged with a derogatory connotation: "He never amounted to much; he's a lawyer across the river."

Ahnt

Your uncle's wife.

All set

When one is done or ready. "As in when a waitress brings your food and asks 'Now, y'all set?' or when you're ready to leave, 'I'm all set tah go.'
Erica Hruby

American chop suey

Has nothing to do with Chinese food (then again, only in Boston do Chinese restaurants serve French rolls): Macaroni with hamburg, a little tomato sauce and a bit of onion and green pepper.

Take-out American chop suey at Roche Bros:

Av

An avenue with a long official name, for example, Mass-av (instead of Massachusetts Avenue) and Comm-av (rather than Commonwealth Avenue). For many years, the Boston Globe even used "av." (yes, in lower case) rather than "Ave."

B'daydas

You can serve them mashed, or whipped or boiled.

Bahn

Garage, especially in the Haverhill/Merrimack Valley area.Usually bigger than the house, but attached.
Joe Angers

Bahnie

In Cambridge, a Havihd student. In Sommaville, a Cambridge resident. Local speakers argue about its derivation: Some say its from "Bahnyahd," a derisive term for Hahvihd Yahd; others argue it comes from the old MBTA cah bahns just outside the Squayuh (the bahns went away when the Red Line was extended to Sommaville).

Eric Vroom recalls: "I can remember about ten years ago people in Somerville had bumper stickers and hats reading "NO BARNIES IN SOMERVILLE!!" And it just didn't mean Harvard students, it was any geek from Cambridge."

Meanwhile, R.D. McVout shows how to use the word as an adjective, in his contribution to a debate in the ne.food newsgroup about trendy restaurants in Somerville: "Why don't all of you terminally hip folks go and discover some other environment to befoul and bemoan? As a resident of Somerville, I'd be beside myself with glee if all of you Barney-assed pseudo-cognoscenti would climb into your Explorers and go back across the river where you obviously long to be."

Bang

Make an abrupt left turn (see hook for the right-turn equivalent): "He went to bang a left and take a uey but lost control." For more normal turns, the appropriate word is "hang."

Steve Trinward elucidates: ''Two frat-brothers of mine, back in '69 or '70, once double-dated two Long GUYland-raised ladies, and later regaled us all with their tale of the drive back from picking up their dates. Doug (from out Stuhbridge-way) was driving, Jim (from western Maine and a part-time cab driver) was navigating; the girls were in the back seat. As Doug wound his way through Boston's notoriously snarled traffic, Jim, in an effort to bypass the worst tie-ups, kept barking out directions, as in "Bang a left here, then hang a right at the next light, etc." After about three rounds of this, the gals in back couldn't stand any more, and in their best Lower Island hard-g whine, said simultaneously:

HANG-AH? BANG-AH? WHAT DO THESE WORDS MEAN?"

Keith McDuffee and Steve Trinward

Bankin

A small hillside or river bank: "The best place to see a game at Fallon Field is on the bankin."

Barrel

What you deposit trash in.

Basement

A school restroom, at least in the Stoughton area. Pete Costello recalls: "The lavatories in all the schools I went to grades 1-12 were called 'the basement,' even if they were not on the lowest floor of the school."

Bazo

Drunk, at least in Southie.
Jonathan E. Dyer

Big Dig

Massive project to build a new underground highway through the heart of the city while keeping the existing elevated Central Ahtery open during construction.

It is the most expensive highway project in U.S. history - at a cost of more than $1 billion per mile. U.S. Rep. Barney Frank once said it would be cheaper to elevate the city than depress the ahtery. He also once answered the question "how do you depress the Central Artery?" by saying "Have Fred Salvucci talk to it." If you get that, you probably have more of an intimate knowledge of Dukakis-era politics than is good for you.

Official Big Dig site

Bluebird

Old-style Red Line train.
Jeff Kline

Boahded

Exclamation to confirm a selection, for example, when selecting seats: " 'I call this seat.' 'I call that seat.' 'OK, boarded.' "
Jonathan E. Dyer

Bobos

Boat shoes, i.e., Keds.

Bomah

Somebody who's wicked smaht; a Brain. At least in Saugus, that is. From the Bomar Brain, one of the first affordable calculators, which was made in Acton.
Annette Leonard

Book

To make tracks: "The cops came and we booked outta there!!" Sometimes, "book it."
Elizabeth Kelley

Boss a tonic

Two-liter bottle of tonic.
The Burke Boys

Boxball

Game similar to punchball, except the ball had to first bounce in the "infield." Played with "pinkies" or "pimple balls" - soft, small, white balls.
Reuven Brauner

Brahmin

A member of the WASP overclass that once ruled the state. Typically found on Beacon Hill. Cleveland Amory's The Proper Bostonians remains the definitive study of this group.

Brar

Female undergrament. "I have to buy a new brar, the straps on this one have had it".
Debra DeSando

Breakdown lane

Highway shoulder. Also, an oxymoron - the last place you want to break down in greater Boston is in the breakdown lane, especially during rush hour, when it becomes the high-speed lane (in some places, even legally). The state has built a series of emergency turn-outs along Rte. 128 so you can pull out of the breakdown lane if, in fact, your car breaks down.

Bubbla

That's a water fountain to you, bub.

Bizah note: People in Wisconsin also drink water from "bubblers."

Bucka

A Charlestown term for a stupid person; comes from "bucket head."
Jonathan E. Dyer

Budge

To steal: "I budged a bag of chips from the store."
The Burke Boys

Bug

A druggie, at least in Weymouth.
Kathie Young

Bulkie roll

A soft, fluffy roll, you know, like a Kaiser roll. Only in Boston are they sometimes served at Chinese restaurants.
Kelly Holmes

Bullshit

Adjective meaning "very upset," as in: "So, I was running to catch the T, and the driver closed the door on me and drove away. I was so mad - I was bullshit."
Laura Mitrovich

Bundle

Grocery bag.

Bury, the

Roxbury.

The Ahbs

The Ahnold Ahboretum, which is a wicked good place to see trees. Jo Ann Kendricken says it's also "a wicked pissa place to have a kegga on Friday or Sattaday nights - especially on Peetah's Hill."

The B's

The local NHL team. Also known as Da Broons.

The boys

The police in West Roxbury.