mussel sucker
n.— «“Newcomers especially want to be a part of the community, so they figure we got rules to be called a clam digger,” Mr. Sadler said, using the folksy local term for a native. “They figure you can be a clam digger if you stand on your right foot in front of the diner for two hours.” But clam diggers are born, not made, Mr. Sadler said. Everyone else is relegated to the category of mussel sucker, the island label for nonnatives. Perhaps nowhere else in New York do natives have as strong a sense of themselves as they do on City Island.» —“In a Seafaring Enclave, Mollusks on the Mind” by Jennifer Bleyer in Bronx, New York New York Times May 27, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
A listener in Unadilla, New York, says her husband, whose family is French-Canadian, uses the phrase That burns my onions when something irritates him. There are several kitchen-related metaphors used to express anger, including that steams my...
Martha shares a funny story about her five-year-old great-niece, who misunderstood the name of her adopted home state, California. Then again, Unicornia does have a nice ring to it. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “The Republic of...