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Directional

What you use to signal that you're about to make a turn - or to signal to the guy behind you that you've just cut him off and you want to rub it in. "No one out here in Arizona knows what I'm talking about with that one," reports Mark Badolato. "They only know from 'blinker' or 'turn signal'."

Glossary: 
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Comments

By graeme on Sat, 11/13/2004 - 4:35pm.

For us it was always the blinka, at least on the south shore.

By Scott on Sun, 01/09/2005 - 11:03pm.

In worcester county we say blinkers more often...i only hear directional when someone wants to speak grammatically correct english...go figure...

By Steve on Fri, 10/28/2005 - 8:44pm.

Yeah, I agree on the blinka. Here in Rhode Island, "directional" was for people who tried to hard to get rid of their accents.

By Justin on Thu, 01/26/2006 - 1:20am.

Oh man, I am currently living in Salt Lake City and they all call it blinker /turn signal. My friends and girlfriend though I was nuts for calling it a "directional signal", however, over Christmas I was back in Merrimack, NH with my girlfriend and there is a sign before the stop light at the new middle school that says "Please use directional signal" I actually stopped the car and reversed to show her. She replied ?that is so weird, in Ohio everybody calls it an ?indicator?." Indicator- now that is funny!

By frank on Thu, 06/07/2007 - 6:52pm.

ive heard directional, but in the the context, "USE YOUR F'ING DI-REC-TION-AL!"with the middle finger on my way to mass. (church)

By Al Kirsch on Mon, 06/30/2008 - 11:07am.

My girlfriend from Salem calls it a blinka. I grew up in NYC (I am a refugee) where it was a directional signal. Out Chicago way it was a turn signal.

By MaryAnn on Wed, 08/13/2008 - 9:28pm.

It was always Blinka in Dorchesta.And I still yell it out the window. :-)

By bk on Wed, 09/24/2008 - 3:25pm.

A what? Oh right - Bostonians don't use those.

By Dee Bee on Fri, 10/21/2011 - 4:52pm.

In Boston it was always a blinka...but in Fl I got tired of explaining so I call it an indicator and then people stare at me like I am weird. Apparantly, its a turn signal down here. Whatever, I call it a indicator

By Fenris on Sat, 01/09/2010 - 10:59pm.

Here is Western Mass we use "blinker". Though my dad's from Northampton and he says "directional".

Though I have no idea why it's in a Boston Dialect glossary. Bostonians don't use those ;)

By Ashley on Mon, 04/19/2010 - 11:54pm.

The only person I know who says "directional" is a guy from Attleboro with no accent but who desperately tries to pass himself off as a Bostonian.

By Chris M. on Sun, 11/20/2011 - 7:06pm.

Born and raised in/around Cambridge for nearly 30 years, and it has always been "blinkah" or the more colorful "f-ing indahcahtah"