"Beantown" - Word of the Day from the OED

OED Online Word of the Day

Now available: the Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary

This new print publication provides a unique resource for scholars researching linguistic and literary history, the history of the language, social history, and more. Read more and see a sample page.

"An indispensable tool for writers." –School Library Journal.

The updated Second Edition of the Oxford American Writer's Thesaurus is more exceptional than ever, solidifying its place as the one thesaurus writers at all levels will want to have. A perfect graduation gift!

---

Beantown, n.

DRAFT ENTRY June 2010

Brit. /bintan/, U.S. /bintan/  [< BEAN n. + TOWN n., in allusion to the popular association of Boston with baked beans; compare Boston baked beans n. at BOSTON n.² Compounds, BEAN-EATER n.] 

    (A nickname for) the city of Boston, Massachusetts.
  In quot. 1862 in humorous reference to an unspecified New England town, as contrasted with a Midwestern one.

1862 Vanity Fair (N.Y.) 15 Feb. 88/1 We would compromise the affair by having the following paragraph printed in six consecutive numbers of the Beantown Journal and the Porkville Express. 1883 Washington Post 18 Feb. 5/6 Solid old Boston is delighted with the new play, and if Beantown enthuses over anything it is a big go in every other place. 1901 ‘J. FLYNT’ World of Graft II. 58 P'raps Bean-Town ain't so rotten as Chi..but that ain't the point. 1946 Los Angeles Times 16 Oct. 1/6 The American Leaguers from Beantown..took it on the chin. 2002 U.S. News & World Rep. 26 Aug.-2 Sept. 57/1 The 40-ish swindler was tooling around Beantown in a blue limo and talking of running for mayor.

---

    DERIVATIVES

    Beantowner n. a native, inhabitant, or representative of Boston; spec. a member of the Boston Red Sox baseball team.

1915 Trenton (New Jersey) Evening Times 24 Sept. 17/5 The Phillies will have a mighty hard row to hoe when they stack up against the Red Sox next month and on paper it looks as if the *Beantowners will be an odds favorite. 1997 Hartford (Connecticut) Courant (Nexis) 31 Dec. F2 Bostonians tell me a Beantowner's ‘spuckie’ is a dinner roll, not a sandwich.

To cancel this service, send a message to wotd@oed.com consisting of the text signoff oedwotd-l and leave the subject line blank . Alternatively, use this unsubscribe mail link.

Written requests to unsubscribe may be sent to:

Online Products
Oxford University Press
Great Clarendon Street
Oxford OX2 6DP
UK

Visit the OED's home page at www.oed.com

Copyright © Oxford University Press 2008

Oxford University Press (UK) Disclaimer

This message is confidential. You should not copy it or disclose its contents to anyone. You may use and apply the information for the intended purpose only. OUP does not accept legal responsibility for the contents of this message. Any views or opinions presented are those of the author only and not of OUP. If this email has come to you in error, please delete it, along with any attachments. Please note that OUP may intercept incoming and outgoing email communications.