"Auntie" Any older woman of the speaker's acquaintance. Not a relative.
"Bermudian" From Bermuda. Never "Bermudan."
"Bike" Motor scooter. Not the thing with pedals. Ubiquitous on Bermuda because laws allow only one car per residence.
"Dark and Stormy" A drink made of Gosling's Black Seal Rum and ginger beer. Not a weather forecast.
"Green tea" Heineken beer. "We've biscuits on the table, Earl Gray in the pot, and Green Tea in the fridge."
"Island" Bermuda. Capitalized when used in print. Yes, Bermudians realize that they live on an archipelago, composed of some 138 islands, islets and rocks that remain above sea level at high tide. But "archipelago" is too long a word.
"Mate" A friend, pal or buddy. Not a spouse.
"Paw" Father.
"Pawpaw" Grandfather.
"Piracy" Old Bermudian custom of surreptitiously relieving grounded ships of their valuables. Nothing to do with Jolly Rogers, eye-patches or peg legs.
"Uncle" Any older male of the speaker's acquaintance. Not a relative.
"Rock fever" An urgent need to go to New York and do a little shopping.
"Stop your noise" Stop speaking. The equivalent of the American "shut up!"
"The Rock" Bermuda. You have to live here to call it this, though.
"Where are your gates?" Bermudian way of asking where you reside, even if you live in a second-floor walk-up.
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