| F-bomb : the F-word. "He dropped the F-bomb in fronna da nuns, da f***." |
| fagots or hot fagots : A mixture of ground pork liver and ground beef which is combined with cracker or bread crumbs, a lot of sage and pepper, formed into large meatballs, wrapped in netting, or intestine, and baked in a hot oven. The tops are cooked under a broiler to add flavor. The juice from the fagots is poured over them as they roast. According to an afficianado, in the 1950's, the best fagots in Shamokin were at Fecko's bar on Market Street. Fausts and Ghezzi's also sold them. Switzers in Tharptown was one of the last of the old places to serve them. Fagots originated in Wales and are very popular there, served with mushy peas and gravy. A number of people, all from Shamokin, have written me about these. One person says they had them in the Nanticoke area. Another says they had them in Wiconisco and Lykens. They sound sorta like the popular Scottish dish "haggis" (which the FDA will not allow into this country as they deem it "unfit for human consumption"). |
| farhead : forehead. |
| feddertick : feathertick. Used for any heavy quilt. "It's gonna be a cold one tonight. Better use your feddertick." |
| feltboot : 1) a stupid person. From a viewer: Feltboots ("valenki" in Russian) were popular in the Slavic countries, so this term could mean "greenhorn" or old-country type. Can anyone confirm this derivation? "Whaddya some kinda feltboot doin' sumptin' like dat?" 2) a liner in the miners' rubber boots to keep their feet warm. The rubber boots weren't made to be worn with shoes. |
| fer cryin' out loud : expression of dismay, disbelief, or admonishment "Fer cryin' out loud, ya dumped the whole jug of boilo on the floor!" |
| fill-um : a light-sensitive emulsion coded on a flexible acetate or plastic base, commonly used in a cam-ra. |
| filling : stuffing, as in the bread cube stuffing used to stuff a turkey. |
| fivey : the five-and-dime or five-and-ten-cent store. Usually a Woolworth's or similar store. "Run up da fivey and get me a roll of Scotch tape, will ya?" |
| da Flats : The extreme West Coal Street section of Chendo. |
| flitch : candy made of peanut butter rolled up in a mixture of mashed potatoes (yes, mashed potatoes) and powdered sugar. Often sold at block parties and church/school functions. |
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| folly : follow. Many little league coaches would say "Folly the ball, butt, folly the ball!" |
| fooler : a pacifier (like the one a baby uses) |
| da Foot : Mahanoy Plane, between Mahanoy City and Girardville. |
| 462, da f***! : a sort of anthem or pronouncement of pride for Shendo. Each town in the region has a different three-digit phone exchange (the first 3 digits of the phone number). Shendo's is '462'. These digits are commonly used to refer to Shendo in conversation, e.g. "I'm from 462-land". This kind of usage is never done for other towns. "Yo, Frackville, 874 da f***" just doesn't cut it and would be an insult to Shenandoans. Our sources tell us that a car in Schuylkill County has a personalized license plate that reads "462-TF" or "462-DF". |
| four-ways : Hazard lights on a car. "Pull over and put on your four-ways." |
| frick : a toned-down version of commonly used four-letter word. Either word (or both of them!) can be used for emphasis, exclamation, or just to fill in gaps in conversation. See Shendo. "Hey, what're yiz tryin'a do, da frick??" |
| fridge : refrigerator |
| fronna : front of. "I was in a hurry, so I cut in fronna dem in da bleenie line". |
| f**ked fer coal : Expression of despair, to be lacking in something. May have derived from coal mining days when a miner came up short on his daily quota of coal. |
| F***ing A! : expression of surprise, alarm, or affirmation, agreement. Exactly what the "A" stands for is debatable. Possibly "all right" or "amen", meaning "yes, I agree, everything you said is correct." This has a positive connotation. You will often hear people say "f**ckin' A right!" "Dat's a yooj buck ya shot. F**kin' A!" Could also be a shortened version of "F***in' A**hole!", although that connotation is a negative one. In the movie "The Deer Hunter" (set in Western PA), one character says this phrase all the time. Maybe he was a coal region transplant. |
| f***face : term of endearment, commonly used in conjunction with "Yo". See bott-l . |
| fudgsicle : (pronounced fudge ickle) a chocolate (fudge) flavored popsicle |
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