If you’ve lived in New Hampshire for your whole life, it can be easy to forget that some of our language is not exactly the Queen’s English. Head to another part of the U.S., or invite a friend from away to stay with you and you might be surprised at what jumps out to others as strange! Some of these words and phrases are common to New Englanders and some are found just in the Granite State, but we can guarantee that they’ll all sound a little off to someone from say, Arizona.
- “You’re slower than cold molasses moving uphill in January!”
Yelp/Marshall Ever shouted this at your kids while they dillydally in the morning? You’re probably from New Hampshire. While the rest of the country uses “slower than molasses,” we embellish the phrase based on our own seasonal experience.
- “So don’t I”
Flickr/CollegeDegrees360 This means the same thing as “so do I,” so it really makes no sense when you think about it. No one seems to know why we say it that way in the Shire.
- “Bang a uey up there”
Flickr/Dave Sizer Apparently in New Hampshire we like U-turns so much we need a special way to refer to taking one. Turn that car around!
- “Wicked good”
Flickr/wilsx4 This is often thought of as a Massachusetts adjective, but we use it just as much in the Granite State. Out-of-staters, we know you think it’s weird - but just know that to us it means “very.”
- “Ugh, here come the leef peepers.”
Flickr/Alex Quintano We love the money foliage tourists bring to New Hampshire, but there’s nothing worse than being stuck behind one driving 5 mph when you’re trying to get somewhere.
- “It’s in the draw.”
Flickr/fdecomite Yes, that’s right - “draw.” Never “drawer,” we don’t care what you say.
- “Need anything at the packie?”
Flickr/Peter Dutton This one’s shared with some of our New England neighbors - a liquor store is a package store or a packie for short. This dates back to Prohibition, when people would say they were going to pick up a package instead of admit they were going to pick up alcohol.
- “What’s for dinner?” “American chop suey!”
Flickr/Juli You won’t find this regional delicacy outside New England, but we can bet that if you grew up in the Granite State this was a staple meal of your childhood. No one seems to know where that name came from!
- “Where are you’s guys going?”
Flickr/Nicholas Erwin No, “you’s guys” is not grammatically correct whatsoever, but we know what it’s just the New Hampshire version of “y’all.”
Which of these phrases are a part of your daily language? What other New Hampshire sayings have we missed?
Yelp/Marshall
Ever shouted this at your kids while they dillydally in the morning? You’re probably from New Hampshire. While the rest of the country uses “slower than molasses,” we embellish the phrase based on our own seasonal experience.
Flickr/CollegeDegrees360
This means the same thing as “so do I,” so it really makes no sense when you think about it. No one seems to know why we say it that way in the Shire.
Flickr/Dave Sizer
Apparently in New Hampshire we like U-turns so much we need a special way to refer to taking one. Turn that car around!
Flickr/wilsx4
This is often thought of as a Massachusetts adjective, but we use it just as much in the Granite State. Out-of-staters, we know you think it’s weird - but just know that to us it means “very.”
Flickr/Alex Quintano
We love the money foliage tourists bring to New Hampshire, but there’s nothing worse than being stuck behind one driving 5 mph when you’re trying to get somewhere.
Flickr/fdecomite
Yes, that’s right - “draw.” Never “drawer,” we don’t care what you say.
Flickr/Peter Dutton
This one’s shared with some of our New England neighbors - a liquor store is a package store or a packie for short. This dates back to Prohibition, when people would say they were going to pick up a package instead of admit they were going to pick up alcohol.
Flickr/Juli
You won’t find this regional delicacy outside New England, but we can bet that if you grew up in the Granite State this was a staple meal of your childhood. No one seems to know where that name came from!
Flickr/Nicholas Erwin
No, “you’s guys” is not grammatically correct whatsoever, but we know what it’s just the New Hampshire version of “y’all.”
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