The Boston accent (or Bahston accent) can be tough to understand for people who haven't spent time around it. I moved to Boston from Washington, DC, which doesn't have a particularly strong local accent (at least we didn't think so), so the change was tough to get used to. And it wasn't just the accent—names of places have their own Boston-specific pronunciations, and you've got to learn the lingo if you want to fit in with the other Bostonians

Many Boston place names don't sound very much like the way they're spelled. Haverhill, for example, is pronounced Hayv-rull. The third syllable gets lost along the way. Gloucester and Worchester are pronounced Gloh-ster and Wuh-ster (or Gloh-stuh and Wuh-stuh if you're a local). When I first moved to Beantown, I just asked my neighbor how to pronounce different places according to a Boston accent. He was helpful, although I probably bugged him a few more times than he'd have liked.

Pick up the lingo of the Boston accent, too. Instead of very, say wicked. Examples include, "This blog is wicked useful!" or, "Yankees fans are wicked awful."

Author's Note: I don't actually dislike Yankees fans, but I like to blend in with the Boston crowd.

If you're driving in a car with a local and he or she tells you to "hang a louie," that means to turn left. And if they ask for your "kah-kees," they're not stealing your pants. It means car keys.

These are a few tips on understanding the Boston accent I've picked up during my time here. Don't try to use them to fake an accent, because you'll sound wicked stupid. Just try to follow along and pick up on other dialectical quirks, and you'll be pahking ya cah in Hahvahd Yahd before you know it.