Wednesday, July 19, 2006

I love language. This past weekend I was in Boston and although my dealings with the general population of Boston was minimal it did remind me of a regionalism that always immediately hits my ears, not as bad as when someone says "pop" for soda. In Boston and I am going to say the majority of New England there is an overabundence of the terminology "All set". "All set meaning finished or satisfied. It is not uncommon to overhear an entire exchange of "All sets". For example in a diner at the end of the meal.

Waitress: All Set?
Patron: All Set.
Waitress (as picking up the empty plate): All set.

In the New York Metropolitan Area maybe if you are lucky one of those would be an "All set" more typically it would go like:

Waitress: Are you finished?
Patron: Yes Thanks
Waitress (as picking up the empty plate): Can I get you anything else?

I write all of this not to speak ill of Boston, because I know they dispise when people from New York speak anything remotely negative about Boston. It is just an observation.

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