Maine Lingo: Boiled Owls, Billdads & WazzatsJohn Gould's family first settled in Maine in 1618, so by the time he came along in the early 20th century, the Gould's were well steeped in the vernacular of the region, and his first inheritance was the turned-around, honed-down, and tuned-up language of his farming neighbors who seldom strayed beyond the village store. Maine Lingo was first compiled in 1975, when TV, radio, and other leveling media had begun to seriously erode regional speech distinctions, and this dictionary will furnish anyone interested in Maine or regional dialects with the terminologies of regular folks, from lobstermen to farmers to woodsmen. Altogether it is a fun and fascinating collection of lore, humor, and straight information that will have you able to tell your billdad from your wazzat in no time flat. |
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Common terms and phrases
Acadian Aroostook County ashore bait Bangor barn barrel boat Brunswick bucksaw called canoe choppers chowder clam coastal comes cook Courtesy crew deck deer derives dictionaries doogin farm farmers favorite fire fish French Friendship sloop give gormy hand handle harbor haul heard Hence hole Holman Day horse Irish moss Island jeezer Kennebago Lake kind lady Lake land lobster lobster trap lobstermen lumber camp Maine coast Maine expressions Maine speech Maine term Maine usage Maine word Mainers means Monhegan nautical never Nova Scotia originated peavey pond potatoes pronounced pronunciation pulpwood Rangeley reference rigged river drive road rope sail salt season sense ship's shore snow sometimes spell spile sporting suggests summer complaint syllable thing timber tourtière town trap tree trout turn usually vessel Vinalhaven weather wilderness wind winter woods woodsmen