Up Cape

why is up south and down north? man bostonians confuse me... and howcome you say bos ton for boston, but then its bos stone ians? if u get what i mean

Because "Bos-tone-ians" sounds dumb, and we're not dumb, that's why :-).OK, the long 'o' sound is commonly found in such words, so it probably just carried over (my favorite is "Hullonian," which is what you call somebody from Hull.

The whole "South is up" is more common on the coast, particularly in Maine, coming from sailing days. Downeast Maine is the easternmost part of the state, and downwind from anyplace else. When a Mainer goes to Boston, be goes up to get there.

Explain why non Bostonians say "copEly" Square instead of the correct pronunciation "copley" square. I actually a tourist insist that *we*/Bostonians were saying it wrong ..doh!

I never say "Up the Cape" it's always "... going DOWN the cape"

The cape curves northward, so in order to drive to the end of it, at some point you do go up.

yeah this is wrong. It is up cape for off cape and down cape for down. I've lived here all my life. What is this guy talking about?

I have never heard anyone say up cape... always down cape, no matter where you're going on the cape.

From down Cape, someplace like Falmouth would be up Cape. (Heading West BTW.) For years, the Cape Cod Baseball League had two divisions: Upper and Lower (based on geography, not quality).

To go "up cape" is to head towards the Cape Cod Canal when on the Cape. As the Cape is curved, it does not indicate an ordinal direction like West or South. Likewise, to go "down cape" is to head away from the Canal when on the Cape. This is not to be confused with going "down THE Cape", which is to go to Cape Cod from anywhere else.

The story I have heard about "up Cape" and "down Cape" is that the terms originated as a result of the nautical history of the area. As you go towards Provincetown from the mainland, your west longitude decreases - you are going "down" Cape. The reverse is true as you go from Provincetown towards the mainland - your west longitude is increasing. Or maybe the locals made it up to confuse everyone.