greatnorthwoods.org - Language and Glossary
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E-Mail: edsanders@edsanders.com
Many of the passages between the mountains in northern New England are called "notches". As settlers
cleared the woods they built log cabins. The logs were notched using an axe at either end to interlock with each
other. Since the gaps between the mountains looked somewhat like a notch, this was what they were named.
Coos: The name of the largest and northernmost county in New Hampshire comes from the Abenaki word, "coo-ash"
meaning "pines". Living in the area was a tribe known as the "Coo-ash-aukes" meaning "dwellers
in the place of the pines".
As with most areas of the country and the world, we in Coos County have our own dialect. If you don't want to
be instantly recognized as an outsider, the most important word to learn to pronounce is Coos. It is not pronounced
"Cooze", as in Coos Bay, Oregon. It's "Co-awes" as in Co-oss" County, New Hampshire.
The next word is yes. Up here, it's ayuh. In Vermont it's the same, with slightly different inflection.
In Vermont the word "idea" is often pronounced "idear".
This came from an e-mail "joke"... A lot of it is true though.
You know you're from northern Maine, New Hampshire or Vermont if...
- You only own three spices - salt, pepper and ketchup.
- You design your Halloween costumes to fit over a snowsuit
- The mosquitoes have landing lights
- You have more miles on your snowblower than your car
- You have 10 favorite recipes for venison
- TrueValue Hardware on any Saturday is busier than the toy stores at Christmas
- You live in a house that has no front steps, yet the door is one yard above the ground
- You've taken your kids trick-or-treating in a blizzard
- Driving is better in the winter because the potholes get filled with snow
- You think everyone from the city has an accent
- You think sexy lingerie is tube socks and a flannel nightie with only 8 buttons
- You owe more money on your snowmobile than your car
- The local paper covers national and international headlines on l/4 page, but requires 6 pages for sports
- At least twice a year, the kitchen doubles as a meat processing plant
- The most effective mosquito repellent is a shotgun
- Your snowblower gets stuck on the roof
- You think the start of deer hunting season is a national holiday
- You head south to go to your cottage
- You frequently clean grease off your barbecue so the bears won't prowl on your deck
- You know which leaves make good toilet paper
- The mayor greets you on the street by your first name
- There is only one shopping plaza in town
- The major parish fund-raiser isn't bingo - its sausage making
- You find -20 degrees F a little chilly
- The trunk of your car doubles as a deep freezer
- You attended a formal event in your best clothes, your finest jewelry and your snowmobile boots
- You can play road hockey on skates
- Shoveling the driveway constitutes a great upper body workout
- You know the 4 seasons: Winter, Still Winter, Almost Winter, and Construction.
- The municipality buys a zamboni (skating rink groomer) before a bus
- Your idea of a traffic jam is ten cars waiting to pass a tractor on the highway.
- "Vacation" means going to the White Mountains for the weekend.
- You measure distance in hours.
- You know several people who have hit moose more than once.
- You often switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day.
- You use a down comforter in the summer.
- Your grandparents drive at 65 mph through 13 feet of snow during a raging blizzard, without flinching.
- You see people wearing hunting clothes at social events.
- You install security lights on your house and garage and leave them both unlocked.
- You think of the major food groups as moose meat, beer, fish, and berries.
- You carry jumper cables in your car and your girlfriend knows how to use them.
- There are 4 empty cars running in the parking lot at the convenience store at any given time.
- You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.
- You think sexy lingerie is tube socks and flannel pajamas.
- You know all 4 seasons: almost wintah, wintah, still wintah and construction.
- You know you're from northern NH, ME or VT when you actually 'get' these jokes, and forward them to all your
Northern friends
If you arrived here stuck in someone else's frames...use this link to break free!
E-Mail: edsanders@edsanders.com
Copyright 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 by Ed Sanders.