7 Things Bay Staters Do That Make No Sense South of Hartford

You probably don’t think twice about half of what you say and do as a Bay Stater.

Someone from farther south might.

Here’s what gets a second look once you’re a few hours from home.

1. Rotaries

A rotary asks you to merge into a circle first and sort out the rest as you go.

MassDOT describes a rotary as a large circular intersection with wide sweeping lanes that allow much higher speeds.

Merriam-Webster puts rotary on its list of New England words.

It defines the word as a junction built around a central circle, with traffic moving one direction only.

Some drivers from south of Hartford treat a rotary like a puzzle.

You read the signs and hope the other driver did too.

2. Wicked

Wicked can stand in for very, as in wicked fast.

The dictionary lists it as another way to say very or extremely.

A grammar project at Yale calls the intensifier characteristic of New England, especially Eastern New England.

The Dictionary of American Regional English labels it New England, chiefly Maine and Massachusetts.

You can be wicked tired or wicked happy.

Wicked can be a compliment or a complaint, depending on the noun that follows it.

3. Patriots’ Day

Patriots’ Day commemorates the Battles of Lexington and Concord in the American Revolutionary War, according to Britannica.

It started out on April 19 and has fallen on the third Monday in April since 1969.

Many people south of Hartford don’t know the day exists.

The Boston Athletic Association says the Boston Marathon has traditionally been held on Patriots’ Day.

If you go to watch, you’ll join spectators who line the course every year through the eight cities and towns leading to the finish line.

4. Frappes

A frappe is the New England name for a milkshake made with ice cream, according to Merriam-Webster.

If you order a milkshake in a place like Braintree, you might get only milk mixed with flavored syrup.

The word comes from the French verb frapper, which means to chill or to ice when it is used of drinks.

So the word you use at the counter can change what ends up in your cup.

5. Space Savers

Space savers are objects like trash cans or cones that hold a parking spot on the street, the City of Boston says.

Boston.com reported in January 2026 that residents have used traffic cones, folding chairs, and even a commode.

Some people south of Hartford would wonder why a chair is holding a parking spot.

Boston.gov says you can only use a space saver when the city declares a snow emergency.

After the city ends the emergency, you have 48 hours before you must remove it from the street.

Space savers are banned in Bay Village and the South End.

6. Fluffernutters

The New England Historical Society says Marshmallow Fluff was, and still is, made from sugar syrup, corn syrup, vanilla flavor and egg white.

The earliest known Fluffernutter was a peanut butter and marshmallow creme sandwich.

WBUR’s September 2025 weekend guide listed the What the Fluff? festival in Somerville’s Union Square, with Fluff Jousting and a Marshmallow Toss.

The City of Somerville’s 2015 festival announcement names a game called Blind Man’s Fluff.

A state senator filed a bill in 2006 that would restrict the serving of fluffernutter sandwiches in schools.

NBC News reported that a state representative responded with a proposal to make the Fluffernutter the official sandwich of Massachusetts.

7. Town Meeting

A Town Meeting is both an event and an entity, according to the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s guide to Town Meetings.

The event is a gathering of a town’s eligible voters, and the entity is the legislative body for towns in Massachusetts.

Those voters set salaries for elected officials, appropriate money to run the town, and vote on local by-laws.

Any member of the public may attend a Town Meeting, so you don’t need to be a voter to listen in.

In some towns the quorum is zero, so a single citizen who appears may start the meeting and conduct business.

Towns with fewer than 6,000 inhabitants must have an open Town Meeting, the guide says.

Annual Town Meetings must be held in February, March, April or May unless a special law or charter provides otherwise.

Suffolk County’s Extra Holidays

The General Laws name Evacuation Day on March 17 and Bunker Hill Day on June 17 as legal holidays for Suffolk County only.

The statute’s general list of legal holidays, which isn’t limited to Suffolk County, includes the third Monday in April.

Evacuation Day marks March 17, 1776, when British troops and allied loyalists left Boston during the Revolutionary War.

Bunker Hill Day goes back to the battle fought on June 17, 1775.

Boston’s public radio station, WBUR, notes that Suffolk County covers Boston, Chelsea, Revere and Winthrop.

Boston Public Schools got the day off through 2016.

Evacuation Day is celebrated as a holiday in Suffolk County today, the Secretary of the Commonwealth says.