Wicked Good Guides / Wicked Good Guide to Boston English /

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."

Comments

its so funny that barney is on here - my dad's always told me the story of that word. obviously i have no way of proving it, but why would he make that stuff up? he always told me about how a chunk of his friends (all somerville natives) worked in the harvard cafeteria serving food and the students were so ridiculously geeky, they would call them barnies as joke slang. my dad never realized how well it caught on until like 10 years ago when he called a bike messenger a "Fahkin Bahnie" and the guy flipped out and started chasing his car.

haha well i believe it, but maybe i'm more inclined to. it seems to fit though, am i right?

mary on August 15, 2007 05:09 PM.

Post a comment

NOTE: Due to those durn spammy spammers, your comment won't show up right away - an actual human-type person has to review it first. Sorry!