Mardi Gras New Orleans Dictionary
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ALLIGATOR PEAR - Avocado. ANYWAYS - And, then; and, so. AWRITE - While "Where Y'at" is usually thought of as the common greeting inNew Orleans, "awrite" is much more universal. A man may say "Where Y'at" toa friend he passes by on the street, but he'll say "awrite" to a stranger. is the South, after all; one doesn't merely brush past someone else when walking down Carondelet St. without saying hello. We don't want to beimpolite, yet we don't usually waste time on strangers, so "awrite" is a fair compromise. Usage: One man walking down the street comes upon anotherman going the other way. The first man says "a write; the second responds "awrite." AWRITE, HAWT - A variation on the standard greeting, but using an endearmentusually reserved for a friend, usually female. AX - Ask. Usage: "Dey axed for you down by da VFW Hall last night adMadeline's cousin's daughta's weddin'." BALL (bal masque, tableau ball) - A masked ball in which scenes representing a specific theme are enacted for the entertainment of the club members and their guests; krewe "royalty" is traditionally presented during the ball. BANQUETTE - The sidewalk. Pronounced "BANK it". BERL - To cook by surrounding something in hot, bubbling liquid; the preferred method for cooking shellfish. For example, many a New Orleans student learned in World History that a great defense of a castle under attack in the middle ages was to dump "berlin' erl" on the attackers. BOO - A term of endearment......Believed to be Cajun in origin. BOUEF GRAS (French) - The fatted bull or ox, the ancient symbol of the last meat eaten before the Lenten season of fasting; a live version was presented in the Rex parade until 1909; a papier mache' version appeared in 1959 and continues as one of Carnival's most recognizable symbols. BRA - A universal name for a male, usually one with whom you are not acquainted. Usually used in this manner: "Awrite, bra" The greeting "Say, bra" is usually heard from white guys who think they're talking like a black guy. BY MY HOUSE, BY YOUR HOU SE, etc. - Analogous to the French terms "chez moi"; "chez toi"; etc. Usage: "He slept by my house last night." "At" is never used in this sense. CAP - A universal name for a male, usually one with whom you are not acquainted. Women generally do not use this term. See also PODNA and BRA. CARNIVAL - From the Latin carnivale, loosely translated as "farewell to flesh"; the season of merriment in New Orleans which begins annually on January 6, the Twelfth Night (the feast of the Epiphany), and ends at midnight on Fat Tuesday; the Carnival season leads up to the penitential season of Lent in which fasting replaces feasting. CAPTAIN - The absolute leader of each Carnival organization. CATLICK - As in Roman Catholic, the predominant religion in New Orleans. CEMENT - A standard English word, but with a special pronunciation. Yats say "SEE ment" COURT - The King, Queen, maids, and dukes of a Carnival organization. DA - The. DAT - That. DAWLIN' - A universal form of address. Women use it universally to both sexes, men use it toward women. See also HAWT. DEM - Them. DESE, DOSE - These, those. DIS - This. DEN - A large warehouse where floats are built and stored. DRESSED - When ordering a po boy, "dressed" indicates lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and MYNEZ on it. (See NUTTINONIT) DOUBLOONS - Aluminum coin-like objects bearing the krewe's insignia on one side and the parade's theme on the reverse; first introduced by Rex in 1960 and created by New Orleans artist H. Alvin Sharpe; doubloons are also minted and sold in .999 silver, bronze and cloisonne'. EARL - 1. A vegetable product used for cooking, sautéing, making roux, etc. 2. A petroleum product used to lubricate the engine of your car. 3. Your Uncle Earl. (Most New Orleanians have an Uncle Earl.) ELLESHYEW - Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge. Occasionally preceded by the term, "Go ta hell..." ERSTERS - Oysters. ESPLANADE - Walkway F'SURE! - A statement of agreement. F'TRUE - When phrased as a question, it means "Is that so?" or "Ya kiddin'!!" When phrased as a statement, it's an affirmation, a shortened version of "Nuh uh, I ain't lyin' ta ya ..." Fat Tuesday (Shrove Tuesday) - the last day before Lent: it is a day of merry-making and carnival, as in New Orleans, often marking the climax of a carnival period. FAVOR - A souvenir, given by krewe members to friends attending the ball, normally bearing the organization's insignia, name and year of issue. FAUBOURG - A suburb or outlying neighborhood, as in Faubourg Marigny. A neighborhood is considered outlying in relation to the original neighborhood, the French Quarter. Metairie would never be a Faubourg, because it wasn't part of the city in the first place. FLAMBEAUX - (plural) Naphtha-fueled torches, traditionally carried by white-robed black men; in the past century, flambeaux provided the only source of nighttime parade illumination. Float – The big things in between the bands and horses. People ride on them and throw beads. The first float probably rolled in the 1830s. FOR - a preposition used by New Orleanians instead of "at" or "by" when referring to time. E.g., "Da parade's for 7:00, but we betta get dere for 6 if we wanna find pawkin'." This one tends to be particularly confusing to non-natives. FLYIN' HORSES - Accented on the first syllable. A merry go round, sometimes specifically describing the merry go round in City Park, but also used in general. GAWD - A supernatural deity, worshipped by most New Orleanians. GRIPPE - The flu. GRIS GRIS - Pronounced GREE GREE;. Noun, A (voodoo) spell. Can be applied for nefarious purposes ("to put a gris gris on someone"), or as a force to ward off evil, like wearing a gris gris bag (the folks at the Voodoo Shop on Dumaine will make one to order for about $20). HAWT - A term of endearment. HOUSE COAT 'N CURLAS - The preferred dress for charmers while shopping at Schwegmann's. I'LL TAKE ME A... - May I have a... Indians - Mardi Gras Indians are mixed-race blacks and Native Americans around New Orleans. The roots of the group goes back the common struggle of these groups against European and American settlers. Mardi Gras Indians wear handstitched costumes with thousands of feathers INVITATION - A printed request for attendance at a Carnival ball; in the 19th century, many invitations were die-cut and printed in Paris; today, most are printed in New Orleans; invitations are non-transferable and it is improper to ever refer to them as "tickets." KAY BEE - The drugstore, as in (K&B, Katz and Besthoff). The ampersand always is silent. KING CAKE - An oval, sugared pastry that contains a plastic doll hidden inside; the person who finds the doll is crowned "king" and buys the next cake or throws the next party; the king cake season opens on King's Day, January 6, the feast of the Epiphany. Nearly 500,000 king cakes are annually consumed in the metro New Orleans area during the Carnival season. KREWE - The generic term for all Carnival organizations in New Orleans, first used by the Mistick Krewe of Comus which coined the word in 1857 to give its club's name an Old English flavor. LAGNIAPPE - Pronounced LAN yap. A little something extra. Also, the name of the entertainment pull out section of the Friday edition of The New Orleans Times Picayune. LOCKA - Where you hang your clothes, analogous to the English word "closet". Example: "Mom MAH! Where my shoes at?" "Looka in ya locka!" See LOOKA. LOOKA - The imperative case of the verb "to look". Usually accompanied by a pointing gesture. Often used as a single exclamation: Looka!" LOOKIT DA T.V. - To watch T.V. Lundi Gras - Fat Monday, the day before Fat Tuesday. MAKE GROCERIES, MAKIN' GROCERIES - To do grocery shopping. MARDI GRAS - French for Fat Tuesday, the single-day culmination of the Carnival season. MARDI GRAS INDIANS - Groups of black men in New Orleans who portray American Indians and are magnificently outfitted with handmade beaded and feathered costumes; this Carnival custom dates to the mid-19th century among the more renowned tribes are the Wild Tchopitoulas, the Yellow Pocahontas and the Wild Magnolia. MARRAINE - Your godmother. MIRLITON - A vegetable pear or chayote squash, which grows wild in Louisiana and in backyards throughout New Orleans. Pronounced MEL lee tawn, and wonderful when stuffed with shrimp and ham dressing. MISTA - As in "Throw me somethin' mista". Never used in any other context; "bra" or "cap" is used regularly. MYNEZ - Mayonnaise. NEUTRAL GROUND - The grassy or cement strip in the middle of the road. The terms "median" and/or "island" are NEVER used in New Orleans. Use of one of those foreign terms instead of "neutral ground' is a dead giveaway that you ain't from around here, or anywhere close. If you're lucky, you live on a street with a neutral ground big enough to play football on. NEW ORLEENS - The way silly tourists pronounce "New Orleans". Natives do not do this. Exception song lyrics, as in "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans", for example, and when omitting the "New", as in "Orleans Parish", which is always pronounced or LEENS. Confusing, isn't it? More on this below. NUTTINONIT - A po-boy that is not dressed, which only contains the main ingredient. OR WHAT - Pronounced "r WUT," and placed at the end of a question: "You gonna finish eatin' dat , 'r what?" OVA DA RIVER - Across the river. OVA BY - A general replacement for the prepositions "at" and "to", particularly when referring to someone's home, or a destination in general. "Where ya goin'?" "Ova by ma mamma's." PARISH - A Louisiana state administrative district, analogous to the American "county". When used by Yats in the phrase "da parish", it generally means St. Bernard Parish specifically, which is suburban to New Orleans. PARRAINE - Your godfather. PASS BY - To stop at a place, for a visit or to accomplish something. "Ya gonna be home later? I'll pass by ya house." It doesn't mean just to drive by in our car and keep going ... PO BOY - The quintessential New Orleans lunch, a sandwich on good, crispy New Orleans French bread. This definition doesn't begin to describe what a po boy is all about, so if you really don't know you need to get one soon. PODNA - A universal form of address for a male. Frequently used in the emphatic statement, "I tell you what, podna ..." 'SCUSE ME PAWDON ME - Polite expression when trying to get by somebody or moving through a crowd, spoken as one word. SHOOT DA CHUTE - A playground slide. STOOP - Usually expressed as "da stoop". The front steps to your house, particularly if it's a shotgun duplex. What ya go out and sit on to chat wit'ya neighbas (an' ta keep an eye on 'em). SUCK DA HEAD, SQUEEZE DA TALE - 1. The technique for eating crawfish. If you've never done this, have someone demonstrate. 2. A song by the Radiators. SUG - A term of endearment used primarily by Yat females. Pronounced SHOOG; with a soft "oo"; as in "book". THROWS - Inexpensive trinkets tossed from floats by costumed and masked krewe members; among the more popular items are krewe-emblemed aluminum doubloons, plastic cups and plastic medallion necklaces. Reprinted with permission from Arthur Hardy's Mardi Gras Guide. ©Arthur Hardy. TURLET - A device for the sanitary disposal of human waste and for nasty food ya snuck away from da table as a child (like ma mamma's roast beef...yuck). UPTOWN SIDE, DOWNTOWN SIDE, LAKESIDE, RIVERSIDE - The four cardinal poi nts of the New Orleanian compass. "North, south, east, west" do not work in New Orleans. VALISE - Suitcase. VEDGE A TIBBLE - Neither animal nor mineral. What ya mamma used to make ya eat before ya could leave the table when ya were a kid. The word has four syllables. WHERE YA STAY (AT)? - Where do you live? WHERE Y'AT? - The greeting. The proper response is, "Awrite." WRENCH - To clean something under running water. "Aw baby, ya hands 'r filthy! Go wrench 'em off in da zink." See ZINK. YA - You, your. YA MAMother. Used in a variety of ways, usually endearing. Also usable as an insult, specifically as a simple retort when one is insulted first; simply say, "Ya mamma." Be prepared to defend yourself physically at this point. YAMAMMA'N'DEM - A collective term for your immediate family, as in "Hey dawlin', how's yamamma'n'dem?" Spoken as one word. YEAH YOU RITE - A sign of definite agreeme nt. The accent is on the first word, and it's spoken as one word. ZATARAIN'S - A local manufacturer of spices, seasonings, pickled products and condiments. In context, it's used by some as a generic term for either crab boil or Creole mustard. |
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