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Associated Press needs to update its Stylebook: People from South Boston are NOT Southies

The Associated Press sent a story out over the wire about Dana White, a guy from Southie who has gotten rich arranging fights involving people in a cage trying to beat each other up. It's the ultimate success story, but AP's Dan Gelston needs to be put in a cage himself with a guide to Boston English, because he keeps calling White "a Southie."

No, just no, stop it:

Long before he ran the UFC White was a "Southie" trying to make his way in boxing who dodged the money collectors for notorious crime boss Whitey Bulger that came knocking at his door. ...

Had you not known White was UFC's maestro of mayhem, he'd be mistaken for just another Southie. Bald, street tough, Patriots jacket and T-shirt, poking around for a way into a building without an invitation. ...

White could be one of them today, because for 10 years he was one — a Southie just trying to stay afloat in his adopted hometown.

The story is appearing in newspapers and on Web sites across the country. Now, none of them would know how grating that is, except maybe the Boston Herald, but the Herald has whittled down its copy desk, and nobody caught or corrected the mistake in their version.

Earlier:
California newspaper apologizes for calling South Boston residents Southies, but says it's kind of our fault.
The Times hears the outraged Southie howls.

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Comments

I think we've past the point of no return on this now. See 1:20.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKLRF_A85N0

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They’re Southerby’s

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God, I love that term and hope they are just trolling people who get really worked up about it. Boston Strong, at least until there is some perceived slight and skin becomes thinner than that of the commander in chief.

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Trying to rattle us with how pretentious and stuck up we are, I could see it, but this isn't trolling, this is just writers who've seen one too many Affleck movies and are trying to show how well they know Boston, but winding up just proving they don't.

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They hate being called townies and apparently southies. Prior to cashing out and moving to the burbs I knew a family who would refer to themselves as southie naturals, but IMO that sounds even dumber than southies. I do really enjoy whenever someone gets worked up over something so meaningless though.

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How difficult was that?

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a nickname is something that should flow off the tongue, South Bostonian certainly does not do that. I'll just stick with townies.

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Townies are from Charlestown.

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you should check it our sometime.

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You should not get so excited to insult people and slow down and spell the right word.

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.

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Welcome! Sorry son...just not a good look.

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I have always called myself a South Bostonians , I have never called anyone in this town a Southie . I was told as a kid that we were South Bostonians .

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On the one hand, yeah, if this is all we (meaning in this case, me, I guess) have to worry about, we're doing pretty well.

On the other hand, words do have meaning, and people should be allowed to call themselves what they want, in this case, I guess, South Boston residents or Southie guys or whatever. I mean, what do you call people from JP? And in all my time in Roslindale, I've never heard anybody call himself or herself a Rozzie.

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People should be able to call themselves what they want? That’s really rich coming from you, Adam, given the way you label folks as “Trumpkins.” (And you even do it in cases where they’ve said nothing about whether or how they support Trump.)

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Funny, my mom always taught me "sticks and stone may break your bones but words will never hurt you". What do I know though, I'm just a millennial snowflake. When someone calls me a yuppie I just brush it off and don't feel the need to call the wambulance.

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Wow you’re amazing and thick skinned!

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I subscribe to the TB12 method, I don't even have to wear sunscreen.

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I certainly wouldn't call myself a rozzie, but faced with the implied challenge above to name myself something, I came up with "Rozzident". You can groan now...

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When I was a kid, those of us who grew up in Roslindale were called "Rossie Rats" by both ourselves and others.

We didn't have nicknames for kids from other neighborhoods, as I recall, because they were't important enough to merit one.

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Olde Southrons, to distinguish them from those *ghastly* arrivistes in the Seaport.

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There was never “ye” olde anything. You’re looking at “th” in an archaic typeface. See how words change.

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It is the same phoneme as modern "th", but was actually representing the character thorn (Þ, þ). Printers used Y,y to represent Þ, þ as a shortcut.

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When you're a kid and a friend comes up with a new nickname for you, then you can either accept it or resist it.

If you try to resist it, you're going to have a hard time.

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Southies are really gonna Streisand Effect themselves with this one.

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SoBoZos

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...the proper term is "trekker," not "trekkie."

— Jeffrey "Comicbook Guy" Albertson

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See ya in th funny pages

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SoBoNoDo? SoBoNoDot? A Southie? Nope. "Youse from heeyah? Fahckin Yuppie Fahck." *sucka punches Yuppie and takes wallet* Basically, you're a Southie Native or a Yuppie and that's that. A Southie? Lmfao smh

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