The Vaughn assistant is compiling a dictionary of Star Island words and expressions. Send us your own Star-specific words and/or maxims, with the Star Island Definition.
From Nancy Meyer:
“Y.F….” I was a never-been-to-the-island-before Pel (do we have a term for people who come out to work without ever having seen the place?). I remember spending my first week (OK, I confess – sitting in the bathrooms) pondering the “Y.F.…” (as in Your Friendly Chamber Person or Your Friendly Night Crew, etc.)
Pucky – lobster shells, bodies, etc. YUCK.
“We have sex!” I remember the Maintenance Crew (that year, also known as the “Bobs,” because they all got shirts made with the name “Bob” embroidered above the pocket) yelling out this phrase when ever anything went particularly well. My speculation, and this is just a guess, is that they might have sat around at one time and pondered the question, what is the best thing…
Half way: when the last piece is handed down the luggage line Pelican’s yell “Half way!”
Waitrae: food servers, meant to be a gender inclusive term.
Dave Pierson expressions: “Working hard or hardly working?”, “We started late so we better quit early.”, “Terrible!” (in answer to the question, “Howya doing Dave?”
White Knight, Black Knight: The white knights were the “Clean Crews” (waitrae, chamber, desk, bellhop, etc.). The Black Knights were the maintenance crews.
Deskie, Kitchie
From John and Leslie Lintner
As a Star-specific word or phrase, I remember, “Yes, it SHOULD,” as a response to a conclusion from some engineer or other who had said, “There, that should work now.” The tone of voice used for SHOULD in the response was heavily ironic, allowing a multitude of inflected meanings, but in particular suggesting that “should work” and factual working were not necessarily connected and that farther investigation and testing was now appropriate. I think I first became aware of this usage with Fred Mansfield and Charlie Case, but I know that it has had a long and useful and continuing history. I will add that this is really a double entry because it may also represent a change. It is a change in my impression because more things are working on the Island now that should work than was the case twenty and thirty years ago. It is probably not a change because I am sure that Pelicans continue to use the phrase and the irony and the farther testing much as we did earlier.
From Steve and Edie Whitney
Chinchilla alley-corridor between dishroom and milk machines. In days of yore, rodents similar to chinchillas were spotted here.
Not on my boat you won’t!- Anything outside the norm as construed by Capt. Arnold Whittacker.
I can haddock it!- See hack
TOBOMA= Take a bite of my ***.
Fork You!
RATS The start of the Pelican Cheer
PUCKY Stuff that is left over after a lobster is eaten
BUGJUICE Brightly colored, heavily sweetened beverages served on Star, mostly with lunch
CHANGEOVER The dreaded day when everyone works really hard
WAITRAE Gender inclusive term for food servers
DESKIE Pelicans who take your money and give you room assignments
HALFWAY What the start of the luggage line yells as the last piece is passed
KITCHIE People who prepare your food
PELICANS The mostly college-age staff of the Star Island Conference Center
PENGUINS The mostly older-than-Pelican-aged staff on Star
RICKEY Soda water, sweetened syrup and flavor
OBR Hangout spot in the underworld
HERE The Carp Shop
THERE The Paint Shop
TERRIBLE Dave Pierson’s answer to the question, “Howya doing Dave?”