Date: Wed, 8 May 1996 06:55:56 -0400

From: "M. Lynne Murphy" 104LYN[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]MUSE.ARTS.WITS.AC.ZA

Subject: Re: packy?



Late that next afternoon, I found Det. Lt. Royce Whitlock of the state police

where he usually went for lunch on his days off: downstairs in the basement

of a thriving cement-block mini-mall in Lynnfield--convenience store selling

milk, cigarettes, potato chips, and lottery scratch cards and keno tickets

that kept a bunch of older guys in satin jackets rapt in front of a TV

screen; two-chair barber shop; sewing supplies store; packy; and a take-out

sandwich shop.

--George V. Higgins, Sandra Nichols Found Dead. New York: Henry Holt,1996



a packy, in most of massachusetts (that i know of), is a liquor

store. more formally, a 'package store'. (this has something to do

w/ liquor selling laws in massachusetts, but i don't know what.)

don't know if it's spread to other parts of new england.



_packy_ was definitely the most dominant term for liquor store in

western mass when i lived there in the early-mid 80s. (i spent most

of my time there in a umass dorm, so the packy was a frequent topic of

conversation.) a "packy run" is a trip to the liquor store (to stock

up).



cheers,

lynne

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