[Ads-l] Dorchester

[Joel Berson]

"Dot" not as a noun referring to the town, but rather as an adjective, according to:

5 Things You Didn't Know About Dorchester



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| 5 Things You Didn't Know About DorchesterThe Boston neighborhood of Dorchester is home to a lot of history. And there's a lot you don't know about it. Here are five things. |
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| View on boston.cbslocal.com | Preview by Yahoo |
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5. Not ‘The Dot’Perhaps you’ve heard Dorchester called ‘The Dot.’ But ‘The Dot’ is NOT short for Dorchester, at least according to people who are OFD. The Boston-centric website Universal Hub, relying on some help from long-time Dorchester residents, explains in its Wicked Good Guide To Boston English, Dot is “an adjective referring to something or somebody from Dorchester,” but it’s not a synonym for Dorchester. Only “people from Southie” use it that way, the definition explains. Instead, it only works in phrases like “Dot Rat” and “Dot Ave.” OFD, by the way, is short for “originally from Dorchester.” But you didn’t hear that here.

(I remember initially being puzzled by "Dot Avenue.")

Joel
      From: Mark Mandel <thnidu at GMAIL.COM>
 To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU 
 Sent: Saturday, April 23, 2016 12:13 AM
 Subject: Re: [ADS-L] Dorchester
  
I lived in eastern Mass. for 20 years, and I remember seeing it called
something that started with "Dot".

Mark(edness)

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org



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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org