grass@uiuccsb.UUCP (03/23/84)
#R:decwrl:-636200:uiuccsb:10500021:000:569 uiuccsb!grass Mar 22 11:22:00 1984 When I lived in Somerville (near Boston), the local kids referred to ANY carbonated beverage as "tonic". I am a native New Englander too, and have lived in Connecticut, Mass. in the Boston area and further out around Framingham and Maine. It was ONLY in Somerville that "tonic" was used that way. In Illinois "tonic" is not club soda, because tonic contains quinine and a bit of sugar. Other odd New Englandisms: "basement" referring to the W.C. (Eastern Mass. only as far as I know), "grinder" for a sub sandwich... There's lots more but I'll leave it at that.
boyajian@akov68.DEC (03/27/84)
As I've always understood the terms (I'm born and bred New England and have lived here all my life): Tonic is used mostly for that peculiar mixer often called "Club Soda". Eg. "gin-and-tonic". It is also used, although much less so, to mean soda water in general. Last, but not least, it used to refer to various other liquids such as "hair tonic". I, myself, hardly ever use the term "tonic", prefering "soda". The difference between frappes and milk shakes is that frappes have ice cream and milk shakes don't. As for "water bubblers", I suspect that the term originated as one for those thingies with the upside-down bottles and a spigot in which air bubbles to the top to replace the water that gets poured into one's cup and was later used to refer to any kind of water dispensing machine. --- jayembee (Jerry Boyajian, DEC Maynard) UUCP: (decvax!decwrl!rhea!akov68!boyajian) ARPA: (decwrl!rhea!akov68!boyajian@Shasta)