Committed to his colloquialisms

(Boston Globe) Reporter Billy Baker tests his dad's knowledge of a disappearing local lingo. Produced by Scott LaPierre

[@KristineNicholas]

I'm 49 and regularly use ALL of these with the exception of "spuckie."

[@WornDownSaint]

Kristine Nicholas well that Spuckie looked pretty good!

[@MrCoolcal20]

I didn't realize all of these terms were exclusive to new england. My grandfather, who's from gloucester, still uses pretty much all of them on a regular basis, I never realized how much of a new englander he is...

[@brez9091]

This Dad, is the real McCoy. Boston all the way. And his son, I'm sad to say, is just another sheep from his cookie-cutter generation.

[@thegoodlydragon7452]

Language changes. Get over it. As telecommunications advances dialects tend to level out.

[@preston448]

fucking get over it.

[@Ricochet752]

And the Friendly's ice cream in the freezer too! Thanks for putting up these vids.

[@loulouy2946]

That is a great piece! Really personal and very engaging. I think you've captured a generation's sounds that will soon be lost entirely. What a great use of your chosen career!

[@marvack1852]

So sad that the son doesn't have a decent Boston accent like his dad.

[@AoifeNic_an_t-Saoir]

My thoughts exactly

[@jennifermenard8573]

I use all these terms. Born in Brockton 1970.

[@scituguy2538]

Father cracked me up when he talked about another definition of a hoodsie as being a young lady. Often they were a young hottie and her friends who may or may not have gotten around a bit or young girls who loved hangin around the older boys. Totally remember using that term with the guys back in the 80's. "Bunch of hoodsies were hangin at the pahk last night"

[@reptarhouse]

Spucky is the only one I've never heard.

[@tonyshannon725]

I still use most of these terms and I'm only 44

[@kyletae]

I love this. It reminds me of all the things my folks and my grandparents would say.

[@ABALLAM3]

"Clicker" is a Boston term? We use that term in my household and I am from Vancouver (Canada).

[@BrettLeMans]

I'm in Hamilton, in our house we said "Converter" for the remote control.

[@Paxtecum18]

this guy is a riot

[@swissnorvanzyl3734]

I am from Europe and we use the world supper all the time.

[@rofflesufunny]

also fridgerator was said :)

[@dinacox1971]

This could be my dad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So much alike. Dad is 87 and still plays golf. He is a little slow and his game is not great but he has friends that insist that he still come out to play. Sadly he has lost all of his playing buddies that were his age.

[@AndeePandCompany]

The Boston accent will NEVA die! Maybe some of the words or phrases used, but the accent overall is going nowhere. Perhaps a better title would've been 'Fading Words and Phrases of Boston!' My Mother still says "pala" aka parlor and even pronounces the words half and can't funny...whenever she says Can't for a split second I think she's saying a profanity! You know the one...a derogatory term for a female who's being a b*tch, I make fun of her every time she says it! #BostonProud

[@heidimsw]

When a Bostonian prounounces the words "cahhn't" and "bahhth-rm" - with the exaggerated "ahh" sound that's almost British-like, it is most likely said by a Bostonian who was born in the 1950s or earlier. That accent has died out for sure.

[@sheilahalper7428]

It has not! My husband say bahthroom and occasionally cahn't. I say Hahf pahst. This "broad a" is typical of a southern English accent and still sticks on in several words.

[@jimeb2jim256]

I have no one to speak these words with but in my head these are the mother tongue. I still use them. And I still don't read the Globe.

[@rsox26]

Hey Bill….oh man we need to get in touch as I was trying to call you on both cell and house number and neither were available

[@FiskeMi12]

Lmao my parents raised me saying supper so I'm used to saying that and everytime I say it people look so confused 😅

[@graelent9]

that last line was Golden .... he is a wickid Masshole fathah!

[@ShyVioletIsShy]

I really miss Hoodsies.

[@balsosnell2064]

Must be embarrassing and sad for the old man to have such a, metropolitan, son.

[@edwardmiessner6502]

Sad to see that both the accent and the dialect are dying out. It would be sad indeed if every place had the same vocabulary and manner of speaking: Standard American English.

[@sr.marycatharineperry547]

I grew up in Central Mass and I know all these words. Didn't use them all but they were common. My mom said tonic! You forgot Bulkie!

[@healyfamily1323]

My Dad lived by Thomas Park in Southie. Your Dad sounds like home to me. Now let’s go have some suppa.

[@heidimsw]

OMG. I totally forgot about the "pah-luh" (parlor). That's an oldie and very Boston.

[@kevintoomey4527]

Billy..ya shoulda asked your dad @goin down to joe &nemo's for"one dog allaround" or up maes for "a honeydipped".. or down the pbl for "a boila makah"

[@utube9000]

So the rest of the country DOESN'T use the word supper? Is that true?

[@thekidjfh]

That is pretty much true, yes.

[@utube9000]

James Harrington Wow, that is surprising. I grew up with the word "supper" - I can still hear my mother telling us kids to "be home in time for supper." Interesting enough, I don't think even New Englanders use the word as much any more. In fact, I think even my mother would now say "be home in time for dinner." I suspect that years of sharing a national mass media experience may be homogenizing the nation's language.

[@ryankennedy9268]

I'm from western Canada, 34 years old. I always say supper. I'm pretty sure everyone else around here does too.

[@edwardmiessner6502]

When I moved down here to New Orleans, I found out the locals called lunch, dinner, and dinner, supper.

[@BrettLeMans]

@@ryankennedy9268 - I'm from Hamilton, jokes aside - if you were on the poor side, "Supper" - and rich "Dinner".

[@georgethomas276]

Shows how much so-called "experts" know. These have not disappeared. Many people in New England, especially eastern MA and RI, use these terms daily.

[@jimeb2jim256]

Still use all of those, at least in my head. Spuckie is more the roll than that sandwich - that is a sub.

[@heidimsw]

I'm in CT and we always say "grinder".

[@ruthannon7272]

Yep, in RI we say grinder.

[@genomic_]

Overalls are dungarees outside the USA

[@milkman3797]

I know north carolinians use hamburger as ground beef as well

[@ChrisRubeo]

Your father is a National Treasure.

[@noahgoyette467]

Hoodsies! Does he Tri-Sum though.

[@vanzarockin]

Got them all and find it sad they have become a thing of the past. These colloquialisms were a part of what made Boston unique, authentic, vibrant and singular.

[@nikhiljoshiPi]

Okay this is extremely helpful for someone who is visiting friends in Boston and want to sound local

[@JD-eq1gk]

Love Billy, Globe still sucks. Herald 100%

[@christophermoriarty7843]

Can’t stop watching this

[@admiralflynn895]

Oh how I miss Hoodise Cups.

[@jhh162]

Too funny

[@webwarren]

Been over 30 years since I lived in Cambridge. Except in the Boston area, "tonic" means "tonic water" or "quinine water", a bitter carbonated beverage used only for mixed drinks. As I recall, a proper frappe is much thicker than a milkshake, though not quite as thick (and a lot more "real") than a Wendy's Frosty.

[@suemcgreevey8852]

In Boston a frappe is thicker than a milkshake, which is just and syrup whipped up until it's frothy. But what the rest of the country calls a milkshake -- milk, syrup and ice cream -- is called a frappe in Boston and other parts of eastern Mass.

[@AintSkeerdNWO]

There's no ice cream in a milkshake from an old school RI or Mass luncheonette, also called a "spa" for some reason.

[@chrisrobarge8034]

Yeah, a traditional New England frappe is thicker than a New England milkshake, but only in that a milkshake has no ice cream and is literally what it says: Milk and flavor syrup, shaken. A frappe is what most other places in the country would refer to as a milkshake, but while we have both in MA they're very different things.

[@kevintoomey4527]

Billy..ya shoulda asked your dad @goin down to joe &nemo's for"one dog allaround" or up maes for "a honeydipped".. or down the pbl for "a boila makah"

[@someyoutuber1062]

I love this Accent and his Era 😢 sadly it's almost 2024 now

[@timguillory6339]

I’m only 39 and knew all of these and use most of them haha. He didn’t even get into regional bowling dialect, who knows what a half Worcester is?

[@judevenalian5008]

Nah brah if you ask for a tonic anywhere they will bring you tonic water. That's a soda, cola, pop, soda-pop, Pepsi.

[@tc2334]

I think referring to all soda as just “coke” is more a Georgia (perhaps parts of Alabama, Mississippi, or Tennessee too?) thing than it is a southern thing. The only people I know who call all soda coke are from Georgia and I was born and raised in the south.

[@WornDownSaint]

Trent Campbell totally! I’m from Georgia and lived 13 years in Indiana, and many in the south refer to most sodas as “Coke”. My wife (who is from Indie) calls it all “pop”. My dad on the other hand, (who is born, bred Ga boy) calls it “sodie pop”.

[@ihittabusta]

His old man ain't lying.