In Maine we use an expression, wicked. We use it to emphasize a description. In grammar it would be considered a compound adjective. It almost never means it’s dictionary definition. None of that matters though. Not for us Mainers anyway.
Wicked has been a Maine word for as long as I can remember. In fact, when I was a kid our neighbors nicknamed my mother Wicked-Wanda because we said it so often. They thought it was a wicked unique expression. I once met a girl from Maine who grew up in another state, she told me how she lived with people who forbade her from using the term. They feared that it might evoke some sort of evil in their home. That’s a wicked-scary thought.
While in Maine it wouldn’t be uncommon to hear something like: Its a wicked-nice day today. Meaning it’s not just a nice day but it’s a very nice day. You might hear that new restaurant has wicked-good food. Someone might say it’s a wicked-good movie, have a wicked-fun time, or that new gadget is wicked-cool (while not being evil or cold).
I was thinking this weekend, it was wicked-nice that I didn’t have a million things to do. ‘Cause I had a little free time, I started wondering how many other states had wicked neat slang? You know, specific to their state and the people living there. Then, I thought about how a pumpkin whoopie-pie would be wicked-good right now! Sorry, it’s just that it’s fall and even the whoopie-pies get pumpkin spiced this time of year.
Anyway, I was hoping you might want to share your unique words and their wicked neat meanings in the comments. And if you’d share this blog, I’d be wicked-grateful.
Maine Waypoint 