Guide to Maine slang

This one by Abbie Norman in the Bangor Daily News is a keepah. A few of the best:

BEETAH
“Beater” — an old, rusty, piece o’ crap car, usually a pickup truck of some description, that’s not really good for anything other than hauling wood. Probably doesn’t have seat belts.

CHOUT
As in “watch out” — One might warn you, “Chout for them dee-ah at dusk on Route 1.”

CHRISTLY
An adverb, to be used like “very” — as in, “It’s christly hot out he-yah.”

DITE
As in, “just a dite” — meaning, just a little. Someone might ask if you want whipped cream on something and you’d say, “Oh, just a dite.”

GAWMY
Clumsy, klutzy, prone to doing stupid things.

KIFE
To steal something, as in “someone kifed my pen.”

MILKSHAKE
If you mean to say a drink with ICE CREAM you probably mean a frappe (just frap. not frap-pey). Milkshakes have flavored syrup. Frappes have ice cream.

MOW DOWN
To eat quickly — probably because you gotta haul some traps or sumthin.

SINCE MOSES WORE KNEE-PANTS
A very, very, very long time ago.

SO DON’T I
In agreement, “me too.”

SPLEENY
Wimpy! (Thanks for correcting me on this one BDN readers!)

THAT THEM THERE
Those or that. “That them there frost heaves up on Route 52 are sumpin fierce.”

YANKEE NOD
That thing you do when you see people downtown and you don’t say nothing but you just kinda give ‘em a nod so they know you seen ‘em but you ain’t got time to stop and shoot the shit cuz you on your way upta camp and gotta get some red hot dogs first ayuh.