20 Distinctly Boston Words and Phrases

Go to New England and you’ll hear any number of accents, the two most common being the East Coast Italian-American accent and the Boston accent (which reaches far outside the Boston metro area). Along with these ways of speaking you’ll also encounter some slang words that are uncommon outside the area. This is partially down to the to local pride combined with the mixing of many different cultures. It should be noted that some of these slang words have very different meanings outside of New England, so keep that in mind when reading the list below. So without further ado here are 20 uniquely Boston words and phrases that you probably won’t hear anywhere else.

1) Bang a Uey– to make a u-turn

2) Boston Brahmin– the name is taken from the Hindu caste system and refers in this case to upper class, influential members of Massachusetts society. Many place names still honor these families, such as the city of Lowell (named after John Amory Lowell), the city of Winthrop (named after the Winthrop family), and the many Lyman streets all over MA (named after the Lyman family who were historically diplomats, scientists, and merchants).

3) Bubbler– water fountain, pronounced “bubblah”

4) Buggy– shopping cart

5) Bulkhead– the basement entrance. Unlike other types of vernacular architecture, the homes in and around Boston don’t usually rely on basement doors near the kitchen. Most houses have a bulkhead outside entrance that’s (hopefully) water tight like a ship would have, but some houses have both an indoor basement entrance and a bulkhead.

6) Carriage– also means shopping cart

7) Eastie– a resident of East Boston. Adding an “ie” sound on the end of a word is a popular Boston tradition, so many different Boston-ified words like this are thrown around. This is also a very British way of speaking so this slang makes sense coming from one of the first colonies in the US. Boston strongly holds onto tradition.

8) Down cellar– short for “down in the cellar.” But this also refers basements and nearly every old house in Massachusetts has one.

9) Dunkies– short for Dunkin’ Donuts, also affectionately known as Dunkies, Dunk, or Dunkins (their official storefront name since 2019). There really is a Dunkin’ wherever you look, so if you want coffee fast this is the most common place to order from in New England.

10) Jimmies– chocolate candy sprinkles

11) Mickey Mouse– to cobble something together in a hurried way. This can also mean to fake your way through something, similar to how the character of Mickey Mouse just floats through life relying on luck rather than good planning.

12) Nor’easter– short for a “Northeastern storm” ie a storm off the coast near New England

13) Packie– short for “original package store”. During the nation’s early years alcohol and beer only came in barrels and larger containers. Any store or shop had to then repackage the bulk shipments into smaller containers for retail sale. Since bottle caps and other stoppers had not yet been perfected this was the only way to ensure that shipments didn’t leak all over the place during transit. When Massachusetts (and a handful of other states) made themselves the middlemen in this process it was legal only for state-run stores to do the re-packaging into smaller bottles of alcohol. It wasn’t until 1890 that a legal loophole allowed for re-selling in original packaging, which also led to smaller bottles being used from the manufacturers. In 1892 the bottle cap was patented which changed the way beer was packaged.

14) Pats– short for the Patriots, beloved underdog of the football world

15) Pissah– means awesome

16) Rippah– a wild event that will be remembered, possibly where things got crazy resulting in property damage.

17) Southie– a resident of South Boston, one of the oldest. The character of Will Hunting from Goodwill Hunting is a Southie, known for having very strong Boston accent.

18) Steamers– soft shell steamed clams

19) Triple decker– a 3 story house, usually with 3 apartments (sometimes 2) that’s common to the area. Apartments are divided by floor instead of vertically like townhomes. Some have a distinctive square shape with both front and back balconies on the upper floors. Many Boston streets are lined almost exclusively with these triple-decker apartment buildings.

20) Wicked– means very