Nonantum born actor Matt LeBlanc (Friends, Episodes) was on the Conan O’Brien show last night talking about Nonantum slang.
Hey, mush, Matt LeBlanc talked about The Lake and quister jivals on Conan O’Brien show
by Chuck Tanowitz | Jan 23, 2014 | Newton | 29 comments
Yo Mush, I never heard anyone talk like that.
Tom here is a quick tutorial: http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/newton/2009/02/by_erica_noonan_globe_staff_2.html
@Tom, come over to this side of Comm Ave once in awhile and you will hear it all the time!
This is too funny!
I first heard this language before I lived in Newton. I was friends with a kid from the Lake at UMass and his friends came up to visit him. I had no idea what they were saying half the time. Pretty cool.
I didn’t realize that this was limited to Newton until I left … I was in college and said “Hey Mush” to someone, not even thinking about it, but from the look I got back, realized “oops I guess this is just a Newton thing…” (or more precisely, a Nonantum thing)
From Boston Magazine today.
I loved it- thanks for posting. I’m Newton Corner not Lake, but would love to learn some more of this lingo.
BTw, I watched the clip, and didn’t think Conan “wasn’t buying it” as Boston Mag suggests. I also suspect he might have been playing the dunce for the national audience. I didn’t know what LeBlanc was saying wither until he translated
@Greg – Hey mush, that’s “Fat” not “Fats”
He wasn’t talking Italian slang he was talking Gypsies talk!
Clearly Conan O’Brian never left Brookline.
I went to HS with “Fat” Pelligrini’s nephew, Rico, knew his son, Frank. Old enough to remember when the “lake” was still there, and Silver Lake Dodge was right in front of it.
Bunny’s Market, anyone?
Happy Hank
Joe Meedoo
Florida Steve
Billy T
Chickie Batman
If you lived in Newton in the part of town north of the Mass Pike for long enough at least one of these names might sound familiar.
Is it yo mushes? or is it yo miesh?
I’ve hung out at the lake and while I have heard of the term mush, I never heard of the rest of the sentence.
Patrick and TWT let’s do lunch at …..and you can fill me in the rest of the lake language. It’s on me.
@Christopher – my friend Scott Wilson lived upstairs from Bunny’s Market.
Tom, I grew up in the ‘Ville; some of my friends/classmates were from the Lake. I suggest you contact Joe DeNucci if you want to really appreciate the language.
And now for another episode of Leave It To Beaver from the Lake coutesy of a former Lake resident:
Eddie:Hey guys.Did you see Matt Leblanc on Conan Last night?
Wally:Yeah we saw him trying to explain Lake language to that divia Conan O’Brian.
Lumpy:Yeah,it was wicked pissa watching Matt give Conan the overchay.
Eddie:Yeah Lumpy.He was driving him divia with the Lake language.
Lumpy:I know Eddie he was really jawlin his corey.Conan didn’t know if he was coming or going.
Wally:Maybe Conan should pay Matt some wonga to teach him the language.
Eddie:Hey sam.Maybe we can send that half pint chabby brother of yours to teach him.
Wally:You’re such a chuccuo Eddie…You’ll never get a quistia jivel,you’ll be jawlin’ your corey for the rest of your life
Eddie.You sure know how to hurt a guy Wally.I can’t help it ,i’m just a little more divia than the average mush.
Wally:Eddie,you were born a divia.
Patrick wins the internet today. +1!
Yes he does.
/win.
Wow, I did not even know there was a contest. I would like to thank the Academy, my family, God, and most of all my life long Nonantum friends who provided me the information. I was just the messanger (but I will keep the trophy).
I would like to add on a serious note that next month marks the 10th anniversary of Fat’s passing. We have yet to replace this charismatic individual in 10 long years, and Newton misses him.
http://www.dailynewstranscript.com/news/x1720567357
@Patrick – I have memories of Fat running his Pizza joint in Newton Center, him pretending he wasn’t conducting, shall we say less than legal activities with the old gents who dropped by, and us kid’s pretending we didn’t notice. Good times.
Also: a friend from Attleboro and I were chatting about the story, and he noted that “Jibbie” is Yacht-Racing slang that he used to hear down in Newport during the 60s and 70s.
Louis CK had a scene in his show when he came to Newton. Not only did he drive around Newtonville (and the GPS tracked it all perfectly) but he had a run-in with a local. At the end the guy said “Take it easy mush!”
Subtle, quick, and a joke intended for the relatively few people who
1) Watch Louis
2) Live in Newton
3) Know about the Lake Language
I just got off the phone with Terry Sauro. Terry organized the team of Nonantum greeters for last falls Tour de Newton (nearly everybody’s favorite stop on the Tour). I asked her if she had hear about Matt LeBlanc on the Conan show.
It turns out that Matt LeBlanc lived across the street from Terry and pretty much spent 20 years or more in and out of Terry’s house with her kids. She pointed me to the Nonantum Neighborhood Associations Facebook page to a photo from last Thanksgiving when Matt came back to visit.
She had all sorts of funny stories and assured me that despite Hollywoood, TV, money, etc that Matt is still a Lake guy through and through.
It’s called the LAKE, not Nonantum! Matt should know better!
this is funny to me im from the uk and this lake talk is just manging the cant its gypsy or roma words mixed wiv cant”traveller talk” there must have been settled gypsy there mush”my good friend”corey”boy or penis”divia is divy to us or dinlo means idiot
The “ville”??? It’s T-ville ya mush.
http://www.thelakelingo.com