Benny (slang): Difference between revisions
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==Benny is ao cool== |
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==History== |
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The origin of the term remains the source of some debate. It has been described as an acronym for the names of the cities and counties where the tourists came from: [[Bergen County, New Jersey|'''B'''ergen]], [[Elizabeth, New Jersey|'''E'''lizabeth]], [[Newark, New Jersey|'''N'''ewark]], and [[New York City|'''N'''ew '''Y'''ork]]. |
The origin of the term remains the source of some debate. It has been described as an acronym for the names of the cities and counties where the tourists came from: [[Bergen County, New Jersey|'''B'''ergen]], [[Elizabeth, New Jersey|'''E'''lizabeth]], [[Newark, New Jersey|'''N'''ewark]], and [[New York City|'''N'''ew '''Y'''ork]]. |
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Revision as of 20:41, 9 September 2010
BENNY is a derogatory term used by year round residents of the Jersey Shore to describe summer-only residents who descend upon the Jersey Shore from more northern NJ cities and New York. It refers to the cities and counties that the tourists come from: "Bergen, Elizabeth, Newark, and New York" (hence B,E,N,NY). Now it applies to any non-resident during the summer months, when roads, stores, beaches, and restaurants are more crowded due to the influx of tourists. The term is predominantly used by year-round residents of the beachfront towns of Ocean County and Monmouth County. While it was once believed that much of the Shore economy was dependent on the money the bennies spent during the summer; with the continued increase in established businesses and the influx of permanent residents during the late 1990's and 2000's, this is no longer the case.
The term 'Shoobie' is used by residents of resort communities in the southern New Jersey Shore, from Long Beach Island to Cape May. The term shoobie was originally used to describe daytrippers who took the train to the shore. The train offered pre-packed lunches that came in shoe boxes; hence the term 'shoobie'. However, over time the meaning has changed to include tourists that wear sneakers or shoes on the beach, as opposed to most locals who go barefoot on the sand.
In Maryland, the term is used as a pejorative slang term to describe anyone of apparent mental slowness, especially by children. In parts of England it is also used to describe a person in a fit of rage or having a tantrum as in "He's having a benny" (derived from the character of the same name, played by Paul Henry in the soap opera Crossroads).
Other slang uses of "Benny" include a nickname for the drug "Benzedrine", as well as a term referring to an overcoat.[1]
Benny is ao cool
The origin of the term remains the source of some debate. It has been described as an acronym for the names of the cities and counties where the tourists came from: Bergen, Elizabeth, Newark, and New York.
A less likely theory is that it arose from a health spa fad, which began in the second half of the 19th century and continued up until World War I. This movement was popularized by Sylvester Graham, best remembered for the Graham Cracker, and Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, of cereal fame. People traveled to the shore to enjoy the "beneficial airs" of the salt water, "bene-" becoming "benny" in the process.
In the 2007 movie Greetings From The Shore , that takes place in the New Jersey shore town of Lavallette, BENNY is said to stand for Bayonne, Elizabeth, Newark, New York.
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Burroughs, William (50 Anv edition (April 1, 2003)). Junky: The Definitive Text of Junk. New York: Penguin (Non-Classics). p. 129. ISBN 0-14-20.0316-6.
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