HE WAS SO THIRSTY HE GULPED DOWN THE WHOLE CABINET!

With this entry we widen the scope of how to speak New
Englandese to include the words and terms peculiar to the
area. So let's start with food, and in this case, the milk shake.

According to the Wikipedia, the classic milk shake is made by
handmixing any flavor ice cream and additional flavors,
although it's more commonly done with a machine. The
"shakes" served at the fast food restaurants for the most
part are made from a frozen premade mix without ice
cream (although some chains still serve ice cream based
milkshakes.)

Of course, this being New England, we have our own spin on
the drink. It's often called a "frappe" (rhymes with ''lap")
and Janice Brown at Cow Hampshire has previously written
about the term. (Go read it here for extra credit!)

Some forty years ago when I was a camp counselor on Cape
Cod, several of us went to a local restaurant and ordered
hamburgers, fries, and milkshakes. But one of us came from
Rhode Island and when he stepped up to the window he asked
for a "cabinet" which was a frappe...which was a milkshake.
The rest of us had no idea what Jerry was talking about but
the restaurant worker did and served up a "cabinet" in a
minute.

Basically, in New England, if you want ice cream in your
milk shake, order a frappe. Personally, the best I ever
tasted are served at the Brigham's Restaurants. Get
one with a grilled cheese sandwich and a side order of fries
or onion rings!

Hmm. I'm suddenly hungry....