Bawlamerese Glossary
As the popularity of “Crabs For Christmas” grew, more and more people have told me how my Bawlamerese has brought back fond memories of days gone by. I understand. I am a native “Baltimoron.” Born in Arbutus, I rented a place off “Blair” Road and have owned a house in Hampden, so, to me, Bawlamerese is the comforting sound of friends and neighbors. I guess others feel the same way and that’s why they’ve put “Crabs” in the mail so that friends and family could have a little “home for the holidays.”
Over the years I’ve seen Baltimore grow and become more cosmopolitan. And I’ve listened as the accent has slowly dissolved into the homogenization of America. I made this album to help preserve that sound, as well as to celebrate Baltimore’s true “everyman” and “everywoman.”
Or as we in Baltimore might say:
“Hiya Hons! Alluh dese words is
stuff yousel hear on mah alblum.”
BAWLAMERESE
Amlance : Will take you to the horsepital.
Arn : Will press your pants.
Baffroom : Where the terlet is.
Beehive Hair : The tall hairstyle worn by a true Bawlamer Hon.
Blair Road : spelled “Belair Road.”
Cammer : Where you put your fillum.
Chimbley : It’s on top of the ruff.
Downer Point : Down to Fells Point.
Earl : an engine lubricant or Earl’s name.
Farplace : Fireplace.
Festivus : Raven-ese for “Play-Off”.
Formstone : A cement, stone-shaped rowhouse application.
Iggles : Eagles.
Merde : French for “ca-ca”.
Natty Bo : National Bohemian Beer.
Orster : where you get perls.
Po-lice : To protect and Serve.
Ruff : What you hammer your shingles onto.
Sem-lem : A convenience store.
Stoop : Marble steps in front of a Baltimore Row Home.
Tars : What your car rides on.
Youse All : All of you.
Zink – where you wash dirty dishes.
WHO’S WHO IN BAWLAMER
Artie Donovan : Baltimore Colts Defensive Tackle.
Babe : George Herman Ruth, “The Sultan of Swat”.
Blaze Starr : Owner of the 2 0’clock Strip Club on the block.
Bob Irsay : Don’t you ever mention his name to me again!
Boog Powell : Oriole’s first baseman and bar-b-que chef.
Calvert : George Calvert, the first Lord Baltimore.
Captain Fury : Kid Show Host played by Bob McAllister.
Carroll : Charles Carroll, signed the Declaration Of Independence
Douglass : Frederick Douglass, fought for the 13th, 14th, & 15th Amendments to the Constitution.
Earl Weaver : Orioles Manager.
Elaine Stein : WBAL Radio personality.
Hyman Pressman : Baltimore City Comptroller and poet.
Jerry Turner : WJZ-TV newscaster.
J. P. : Puppet (operated by Cal Schuman) who co-hosted the weather and children’s programs on WBAL-TV.
Lorenzo : A tramp who hosted a WJZ-TV kids show.
Louis L. Goldstein : Maryland State Comptroller.
Marshall : Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American Supreme Court Justice.
Marty Bass : WJZ-TV morning host and weatherman par excellance.
Mencken : H.L. Mencken, Baltimore Sun writer.
Mister Diz : Race track aficionado Frank Rosenfeld.
Miss Nancy : Host of “Romper Room”.
Miss Rhea : Rhea Feikin, local television personality.
Pete The Pirate : Kid Show Host played by Lary Lewman.
Rosa : Rosa Ponsell, Internationally renowned Opera Singer.
Stu Kerr : WMAR-TV personality.
Szold : Henrietta Szold, educator who founded the Women’s Zionist Organization, Hadassah.
Tubman : Hariett Tubman, freed more than 300 slaves by way of the Underground Railroad.
Vince Bagli : WBAL-TV Sportscaster.
Wally Orlinski : City Council President and Millenium Cake architect
William Donald Schaefer : Mayor of Baltimore· um, I mean, Governor· no, I mean, State Comptroller, um, I mean…
WHAT’S WHAT IN BAWLAMER
The Block : Adult District of Baltimore (now about 1/2 block).
The City Fair : Part carnival, part block party, now history.
The Constellation : Docked in the Inner Harbor it is the last all sail battleship built by the US Navy.
The Dove : A ship that, along with the Ark, carried some of the first Europeans to Maryland.
The Grand : Movie Palace in Highlandtown.
Haussner’s : German Restaurant/Art Museum.
Homicide : TV series by Barry Levinson filmed in Baltimore.
Hochschild Kohn : Department store chain.
The Little Tavern : Tiny restaurant chain once famous for its mini-hamburgers.
The Pride : A Baltimore Clipper ship known as the Goodwill Ambassador for Maryland and Baltimore.
Skipjack : A type of sloop, now the State Boat of Maryland.
White Oak : State Tree of Maryland.
