Headin' for the Rhubarb!: A New Hampshire Dictionary

by Rebecca Rule

Hilarious New Hampshire storyteller Rebecca Rule performs in every nook and cranny of the state, so you can bet she knows how to speak and understand the local language. In "Headin' for the Rhubarb!" she shares that knowledge to help visitors, transplants, and natives alike make sense of the state's unique vernacular and pronunciations. And she has a good time doing it!

Genres: Humor

252 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2010

Reviews

[Lize]

The normally taciturn librarian became very animated when I checked this book out. Ms. Rule is a storyteller, and apparently something of a local treasure. And she's quite a hoot, as I discovered while reading. I'll have to catch one of her talks in person one of these days.

Just a few of the things I learned:

Glacial erratic -- when the glacier went through, it picked up boulders and deposited them in strange places. That’s what we call the huge boulders in the middle of everything.

“Hotter’n the hinges’a hell” – anything over 75 degrees Fahrenheit.

Line Storm – Ferocious final winter storm that marks the coming of Spring. Also the storm that signals the end of fall and the beginning of Winter.

Native – someone born in a place who—years later—remains. Requires between five and seven generations to be considered so in New Hampshire.

Pissa – of high quality. (See ‘wicked pissa’)

Yankee Hug – consists of standing side by side about a foot apart, arms crossed, then rutning your heads so you’re looking into one another’s eyes. Nod.

"Your personality is showing" – a polite way of saying a gentleman has forgotten to zip his fly after shaking the dew off his lily.

[Colleen]

3.1/5* was too similar to a Maine book. Terms such as crackadon- morning; hoozie whiskers - person w/ a beard who you can't recall his name; stick to your knittin'- mind your business; Piscataqua River - from the Abenaki, meaning grumpy swimming cat