Sharkbait: Lil' Rhody Survival Guide
Chris Ferdinandi
Issue date: 9/13/05 Section: Editorial/Opinion
09/13/05 - Hey! I hope everyone had an awesome summer and a great first week of class! I'd like to welcome URI's new students with a "Survival Guide to Rhode Island." If you're from out-of-state, you may already have noticed that Rhode Island is, well, weird. Fortunately, we're also the coolest state in the Union!
Rhode Island (aka Lil' Rhody) culture can take some getting used to, especially if you're not from New England. So without further ado, I present the "Survival Guide to RI."
One of the most notable qualities of Rhody culture is our language. The most common characteristic of the Rhode Island dialect is the "Rule of R," best explained by example. The sentence "I spilled soda on the posters," would be pronounced by a Rhode Islander as, "I spilled soder on the postahs."
Another amazing aspect of Rhody vocab is the word "wicked." Wicked isn't an adjective in RI - it's an adverb. It means "really" or "very" or "hella" or whatever your word of choice is. Improper use: "The beach was wicked today." Proper use: "The beach was wicked nice today." Learn it, love it - we use it all the time!
Fast Fact: It's not pronounced Rhode Island. It's Roe Dyland.
Another unique piece of Rhode Island culture is our food. We've got stuff that you just can't find anywhere else. One must have is hot wieners ("weinahs"), which are essentially glorified hot dogs covered in meat sauce. They taste best when the guy making them lines them up on his naked, greasy arm to put the toppings on them. I'm not sure what's in them that make them different from dogs, but damn are they tasty!
Another Rhody staple is Del's Lemonade. It's essentially frozen lemonade blended into slushy form, with chunks of lemon added to it. It's wicked good! And you can't forget pizza strips - pizza cut in strips (duh!) without cheese. Best served at room temperature.
We also have many unique - and confusing - names for things. Submarine sandwiches are called grinders ("grindahs"), pasta sauce is called gravy, and milkshakes are called cabinets. Drinking fountains are descriptively named bubblers ("bubblahs").
Rhode Island (aka Lil' Rhody) culture can take some getting used to, especially if you're not from New England. So without further ado, I present the "Survival Guide to RI."
One of the most notable qualities of Rhody culture is our language. The most common characteristic of the Rhode Island dialect is the "Rule of R," best explained by example. The sentence "I spilled soda on the posters," would be pronounced by a Rhode Islander as, "I spilled soder on the postahs."
Another amazing aspect of Rhody vocab is the word "wicked." Wicked isn't an adjective in RI - it's an adverb. It means "really" or "very" or "hella" or whatever your word of choice is. Improper use: "The beach was wicked today." Proper use: "The beach was wicked nice today." Learn it, love it - we use it all the time!
Fast Fact: It's not pronounced Rhode Island. It's Roe Dyland.
Another unique piece of Rhode Island culture is our food. We've got stuff that you just can't find anywhere else. One must have is hot wieners ("weinahs"), which are essentially glorified hot dogs covered in meat sauce. They taste best when the guy making them lines them up on his naked, greasy arm to put the toppings on them. I'm not sure what's in them that make them different from dogs, but damn are they tasty!
Another Rhody staple is Del's Lemonade. It's essentially frozen lemonade blended into slushy form, with chunks of lemon added to it. It's wicked good! And you can't forget pizza strips - pizza cut in strips (duh!) without cheese. Best served at room temperature.
We also have many unique - and confusing - names for things. Submarine sandwiches are called grinders ("grindahs"), pasta sauce is called gravy, and milkshakes are called cabinets. Drinking fountains are descriptively named bubblers ("bubblahs").
