Posted on 12/08/2023 4:02:36 PM PST by ConservativeStatement
My Dad was a born and raised in Provincetown, son of a Portuguese fisherman. His Massachusetts dialect remained strong still after 40 years living in Central NY. During a time, my wife was recovering from brain surgery my parents stepped in to help. My Dad took care of my 4 year old daughter during the daytime. When my daughter entered to school, a year later, the teacher told me of her strange “dialect”. I said Boston? She said yes!
Obviously the word has metastasized down from Maine since I left in '77. I never heard it at all growing up until I spent a summer in Yarmouth. I think that was 1959. My cousin used it at the supper table, and I thought Aunt Abby was going to wash his mouth out with soap. Never heard it again in Massachusetts right through '77 when I left for a job in upstate NY. That's how language goes, though. I picked up the word "spendy" during my one year TDY in Minnesota (1999) and I still use it occasionally.
Not true at all. Virtually every head of household in 1700 had a "firelock" of some kind. It was often the case that he was required to bring it to church every Sunday. General Gage confiscated every gun in Boston beginning in 1768. By some contemporary accounts this was in the thousands, and do remember that the total population of the town back then was under 20,000 souls, exclusive of Redcoats. The famous foray to Concord in April of 1775 was to confiscate a large amount of powder, muskets and at least one cannon stored there.
“Actually, Keltic is Irish and selltick is Scottish.”
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Odd, then, that the numerous Irish in Boston would (literally) buy that.
“Most didn’t have personal firearms either”
1 in 20? 2 in 20 is that number heads of households, which was a census calcuation. Do you also have median income figures?
I was talking more about the horse comment, which median income also figures into.
Ahqueesh. Which way Martin Luther King Boulevard?
“General Gage confiscated every gun in Boston beginning in 1768.”
Which is why the Colonials rushed to the Trenton Armory get muskets and defend the armory.
With the exception of the Boston Celtics I guess.
I was in Ireland for a week studying literature with faculty from my university. One was a history teacher with an Ivy League PhD. He told me that thing about the pronunciation what if I know
No idea at all where you're going with that.
Postulating on how many firearms Gage confiscated. Based on the population figure you threw out there coupled with known census numbers and if census numbers were based solely on heads of households.
Because it’s Massachusetts language
So, what’s native for, “Slow the F- down!” ?
Well I think I found the confiscation numbers. According to this website
https://davekopel.org/2A/LawRev/american-revolution-against-british-gun-control.html
“On April 23, 1775, Gage offered the Bostonians the opportunity to leave town if they surrendered their arms. The Boston Selectmen voted to accept the offer, and within days, 2,674 guns were deposited, one gun for every two adult male Bostonians.”
Of those who were involved in offenses in Boston to the crown (The Minutemen) but not the entire population of Boston.
Interesting read.
Props to David Kopel. It was he and the late Mike Vanderboegh who uncovered the Gunwalker scandal. You doubtless found his home page at https://davekopel.org
Those just starting out researching should also be reading Dr. John Lott’s site http://johnrlott.blogspot.com/
And Stephen Halbrook, although his site is pretty dense.
The most thorough dead tree treatment of the events of 1775 is, IMHO:
“The Road to Concord: How Four Stolen Cannon Ignited the Revolutionary War” by J.L.Bell
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1594162492/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
His site is https://boston1775.blogspot.com/
Thanks for the links.
Thanks for the links.
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