h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

George Bernard Shaw once said that Britain and the USA are two countries separated by a common language. It sounds like the same could be said of Boston and the rest of the USA, or maybe even Boston and the rest of Massachusetts!

Long live English, and may it always evolve into strange and wonderful forms.

Cheeful Dragon
An Englishwoman who loves the way different countries speak English

You know, Boston slang sounds at lot like if New York were situated on the West Coast...

and I don't remember voting for Boston as Center of the Universe!

They insist on 'Hub' not 'Center.' It's kinda cute, though, don't you think?

I love this article!!!!
I've often wondered what a lot of those phrases mean't when I've been watching films etc.However some of them I've never heard before.
It really makes you wan't to go and visit just to hear the dialect!
A Uey or a Huey where I come from (W.London) means to throw up (vomit)
There were a couple of other words that have completely different meanings in London.
Could someone explain what a Turnpike is? I've heard this on loads of
US films and although I know its some sort of road I'm not completely sure which type-Freeway or By pass?
Anyway top marks for all your efforts!!!!

as far as I know, a turnpike is a very large highway frequented by commuters, as in the New Jersey Turnpike is a way for those in Philadelphia, Newark, and Jersey City to get to New York City. The New York Turnpike is for all of upstate New York to get into New York City. But of course, I could be wrong.

A turnpike is a toll road and the word itself comes to us in the US from merry olde England.

See http://www.m-w.com/dictionary.htm

Which yields the following:

Main Entry: turn·pike
Pronunciation: 't&rn-"pIk
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English turnepike revolving frame bearing spikes and serving as a barrier, from turnen to turn + pike
Date: 1533
1 : TOLLGATE
2 a (1) : a road (as an expressway) for the use of which tolls are collected (2) : a road formerly maintained as a turnpike b : a main road; especially : a paved highway with crowned surface

The turnpike is a big highway that runs from downtown Boston straight to New York.If you evry have to drive it you will see it is a very boring ride.

Being a native Bostonian this is probly the most accurate list of of Boston slang. I am very impressed.

Yes, I agree. This entry is wicked pissa!

Maybe a pronunciation guide of "Kennedy" English is called for here.

As for the Mass pike.....I've found that the only way to enjoy the ride is as fast as possible. Just ignore the speed limit signs and pay no attention to your speedometer......and avoid the center lane....more pot-holes there.............

No matter how much my friends joke about stuff being a "wicked far way", I will always be a Jersey girl. However, I thought a "pissa" was what one would take if he/she had to urinate? Or is that a New Jersey thing?

I have to admit that that was the first time I have ever used the phrase "wicked pissa" I had refused to say it up until last night regardless of how often those that I know use the phrase.

As far as I'm concerned it's all about urination....

went from Rochester to Boston to look at colleges on the pike. very boring... until you got to the city, i think it would have been a lot easier if i had just parked the car and walked.

George Bernard Shaw said that England and America were "A common people seperated by a common language."

'The pedants are revolting!'

BLASPHEMY!

by the way, I thought that the Long Island Expressway was officially termed the world's longest parking lot... just ten years after it was built, actually.

I thought that honour went to the M25 around London, England - within weeks of it opening!

i am from boston, and the Mass Turnpike is a 3-4 lane highway that goes from New York (where it is rt90) to the heart of boston, where at the moment it is nearly impossible to find becaese of the Big Dig, which i don't think was explained quite well in the article: the Big Dig is a massive project relying on government funding, it cuases traffic backups like you would not believe, and there was just,a few months ago, a huge scandal, the people working on it were hiding costs.. it is the most massive pain in the ass you could ever imagine..

Not only were they hiding costs but drivers were stealing truckloads of steel and other materials.