Welcome to Bawstin (Boston)

For those of you who have never been to "Bawstin", this is a good guideline.

I hope you will consider coming to "Beantown" in the near future. For those who call New England home, this is just plain great!

Information on Boston and the surrounding area:

There's no school on School Street, no court on Court Street, no dock on Dock Square, no water on Water Street.

Back Bay streets are in alphabetical "oddah": Arlington, Berkeley, Clarendon, Dartmouth, etc.
So are South Boston streets: A, B, C, D, etc.

If the streets are named after trees (e.g. Walnut, Chestnut, Cedar), you're on Beacon Hill.
If they're named after poets, you're in Wellesley.

Massachusetts Ave is Mass Ave; Commonwealth Ave is Comm Ave; South Boston is Southie. The South End is the South End. East Boston is Eastie.

The North End is east of the former West End. The West End and Scollay Square are no more; a guy named Rappaport got rid of them one night. Roxbury is The Burry, Jamaica Plain is J.P.

How to say these Massachusetts city names correctly:
**Say it wrong, be shunned**

Worcester: Wuhsta
Gloucester : Glawsta
Leicester Lesta
Woburn: Wooban
Dedham : Dead-um
Revere: Re-vee-ah
Quincy: Quinzee
Tewksbury : Tooks berry
Leominster : Lemin-sta
Peabody: Pee-ba-dee
Waltham : Walth-ham
Haverhill : HeyVrill
Chatham: Chaddum
Samoset: Sam-oh-set or Sum-aw-set but nevah Summerset!


Definitions:
Frappes have ice cream, milkshakes don't.

If it is fizzy and flavored, it's tonic.
Soda is CLUB SODA. "Pop" is Dad.
When we want Tonic WATER, we will ask for Tonic WATER.
The smallest beer is a pint.

Scrod is whatever they tell you it is, usually fish. If you paid more than $6/pound, you got scrod.

It's not a water fountain; it's a bubblah.
It's not a trashcan; it's a barrel.
It's not a spucky, a hero or grinder,... it's a sub.
It's not a shopping cart; it's a carriage.
It's not a purse; it's a pockabook.
They're not franks; they're haht dahgs; Franks are money in Switzahland.


Police don't drive patrol units or black and whites, they drive a "crooza".
If you take the bus, you're on the "looza crooza".

It's not a rubber band, it's an elastic.
It's not a traffic circle, it's a rotary.
"Going to the islands" means Martha's Vineyard & Nantucket.

The Sox = The Red Sox WORLD SERIES WINNAHS!
The C's = The Celtics
The B's = The Bruins


Things not to do:
Don't pahk your cah in Hahvid Yahd--they'll tow it to Meffa (Medford) or Summahville (Somerville).
Don't sleep on the Common. (Boston Common)
Don't wear Orange in Southie on St. Patrick's Day.


Things you should know:

There are two State Houses, two City Halls, two courthouses, two Hancock buildings (one old, one new for each).
The colored lights on top the old Hancock tell the weatha: "Solid blue, clear view...." "Flashing blue, clouds due...." "Solid red, rain ahead...." "Flashing red, snow instead...." - (except in summer--flashing red means the Red Sox game was rained out)'


Route 128 is also I-95 south. It's also I-93 north. Most people live here all their life and still don't know what the hell is going on with this one.

The underground train is not a subway. It's the "T", and it doesn't run all night (fah chrysakes, this ain't Noo Yawk).

Order the "cold tea" in China Town after 2:00 am you'll get a kettle full of beer.

Bostonians... think that it's their God-given right to cut off someone in traffic.

Bostonians...think that there are only 25 letters in the alphabet (no R's).

Bostonians...think that three straight days of 90+ temperatures is a heat wave.

Bostonians...refer to six inches of snow as a "dusting."

Bostonians...always "bang a left" as soon as the light turns green, and oncoming traffic always expects it.

Bostonians...believe that using your turn signal is a sign of weakness.

Bostonians...think that 63-degree ocean water is warm.

Bostonians...think Rhode Island accents are annoying.

Frank,

This is delightful! I'm having a great time reading your posting out loud! It's wonderful to "hear" a Boston accent again.

I'm from Connecticut and grew up in New London which is about half way between Boston and the Bronx. I have always been asked "Where ARE you from?" Even though I've been away since 1961, my accent is still strong enough to provoke that question.

My cousin calls me from Connecticut infrequently, but the minute she says "Hello, Betty, this is your Cousin Gladys" (I can't spell it the way she says it or put the yowl and inflections into it, but her voice and speech just makes me break out in a big grin!"

PianoTeacherKim should read this - as she is a new transplant to Boston (October) from Washington State. Hi, Kim!

You made me grin, Frank!

Betty

This cracks me up every time I read it! I'm a New England transplant (originally from PA), but I've been here long enough to truly enjoy these. I still find it hysterical when people ask where I'm from, because of my "accent!" Accent??? What about YOUR accent???? LOL

LOL! Oh, this made my day!!

We're back in the Boston area after living for nearly 6 years in Washington state. We had been Boston transplants before that, living in the suburbs of Boston for 6 years after growing up in the midwest.

So, we weren't born here; we didn't grow up here, but we truly feel like this is our home and we hope to be growing old here! Boston, we love you!

My favorites:
Oh, so true. So very true.

Hehe. Driving in Boston is a whole world of confusion.

:) Apparently, we're in for a dusting tomorrow!

And we LUV THOSE SOX!

Thanks for a great post!!

Kim

And I thought South End is ..... oh, nevermind.


Thanks for the warning. Now I know where all the bad drivers in Florida are from.

Don't EVEN get me started on Boston drivers.

Despite what you may hear, the Massachusetts State Bird is not the chickadee, but the driver who flaps his hand at you as he cuts you off---as if to say, "No, it's OK, it's ME."

And the rotaries (traffic circles to you non-New Englanders)! Long time ago, the person entering the rotary had the right of way. Now the person in the rotary does. The result is nobody knows WHAT to do.

And apparently Mason & Hamlins are NOT made in Hav-er-hill.

Somebody told me they call the drivers "M*ss-holes"...

It's true - It's all true.

I've lived in Mass most of my life. I only recently started to say my R's through self induced speech therapy.

My friend and I used to say (jokingly) we were going to "owdah a peetzer (pizza) and cut it with the peetzer cuddah".

A m*sshole is basically anyone who lives in mass that has an "attidute". Which is pretty much everyone(exept for me-i'm nice, most of the time) LOL

My friend who is originally from Japan loves the whole Boston attitude and way of life. He has a web sited called japanes m*sshole.

I've lived in CT for 60 + years and every time I go to Boston it is exactly as described in the first post. Maybe not exactly, it does get worse each and every time I return... But I love its history and the Independance Theme of Mass.

I'll be in the area next week so I thought I need to read the Bawstin rulez first.

Thanks for the Boston information. Lots of fun. I love visiting Boston and now will be better informed the next time we make it across our great country from the West Coast to the East.

Dr. J - The More You Play the Better Your Day

You forgot about how to pronounce Reading :P

It's fun to play piano and visit Boston.

very good information about boston,nice place to visit

Oh, I never been in that place.
Hope to visit it next summer.
we're having a family tour every year.

“Just remaining quietly in the presence of God, listening to Him, being attentive to Him, requires a lot of courage and know-how.”

This is so funny and so true!!

Some more towns:
Reading - Redding
Andover - Andovah