ONLY AH TRINI.....

Yuh Know yuh iz ah Trini when

1.) You still eat fries with ketchup AND MUSTARD.
2.) You call fries "CHIPS".
3.) You pronounce words in plural, even though it's meant to be singular; e.g."gimme ah COKES" or "ah GRAPES". 4.) You say "FLIM" (film), "AXE" (ask) or"PITIAH"(picture).
5.) Rain is a good excuse for missing work, much less snow.
6.) You know what "WOKKIN' AH 10 DAYS" is; and know darn well it's going to take way longer than 10 days.
7.) You know the meaning of several indian words: e.g. "dahl", "bahgee","channa", "barra", "chunkae", "bowgee" and use them in every language. (and actually believe them to be the correct "English"terms).
8.) You know that a "LIME" is not necessarily a fruit.
9)You call little kids "PO PO" or "BETAH" and your (girl/guy) friends "DAAHLIN" or "PUNGKIN".
10)You eat "WILD MEAT" - stuff that some people keep as pets or may consider disgusting animals; like Iguana, Lappe, Matte, Tattoo (not the skin paintings) or Manicou.
11) What other people consider a "caf? ol?" is the way you regularly have your coffee (with lots of milk).
12)You would choose a "FETE" over anything of relative or utmost importance, even if it leads to unemployment.
13)You call any "older" woman "TANTIE" and any "older" man "UNCLE", regardless of whether or not they are related to you or even know you.
14) You could sing an entire Parang song in Spanish, word for word, but don't speak or understand a word of Spanish.
15) You know who "Anansi"and "Papa Boua" is..
16) You can't bring yourself to using the correct "scientific" names of sensitive body parts because you think it sounds vulgar. Instead you use words child-like words such as: "TOT TOTS", "TOTI", "BAM BAM" or "BUMSY" and "TUN TUN" or "TOONIE"..
17) You love Soca and know the meanings of "RAMAJAY" and "DINGOLAY"..
18) When in doubt of how to prepare something to eat ... CURRY is the always the solution. You know Trini's will curry any and everything (not just meat): mango, fish, conch, etc....
18)You can call your fellow "countryman" by an ethnic name and it would
be ok; eg. "CHINEE-MAN", "CREOLE", "DOEGS", "PYOL" or "COOLI".
19)When you ask for "PEPPER" you don't mean ground black pepper..
20)You know what a"BULL-PISSEL" (sometimes called a "bull-bouy") is made
from and what it's used for.
21) You know that using "blue" makes white clothes whiter.  
22) Just because something is called a "bake" you don't assume that it indicates the way it was cooked.
23) You have at least one relative living in either England, Canada, or the US.
24) You either see, speak to, Lime with, or hear about at least one of your "exes" regularly.
25) You know that a washy-kong bears no relationship to King Kong.  
26) You know about straightening, pressing, S-curls and Gherri curls regardless of your ethnic background.
27) You have cancelled plans because of rain even when you're going to be indoors.
28) Rain is also a legitimate reason to be late for a rendez-vous.  
29) You still wonder whether a 24-hour lizard will stick to you and have to be removed with a hot iron.
30)You know someone with a gold tooth.
31)You know someone with their name either on their belt buckle or their chain.
32)All vaccinations are called injections.  
33)You are able to recite at least one (or several) line(s) from Sesame Street.
34) You have been to at least one party where you have seen the sun rise.
35) You know someone named after either:
       a) flora:- Flora, Fern, Rose, Lily, Petal, Holly.
    or b) a colour:- Blackie, Blue, Pinky, Violet, Hazel....maybe
even a car:- Cressida.
36) You know the meanings of: washing wares; straightening a room; bodice; sucking yuh teeth; cut-eye; hot foot; bouff.  
37) All dish washing detergents are called Squezy.  
38) You still give people (youself included) meggies.  
39) A rubber is an eraser.
40) You know of at least one person who wakes up at 4am to LISTEN to cricket from Australia / New Zealand on the RADIO.
41) On at least one occasion you have:
           a) been told that you have a cold in some part of your anatomy other than your head or chest ; and / or b) had a virus named after something popular with the times  eg.  Bionic, Ninja;
42) Despite lack of interest, someone has tried to convince you of the benefits of taking a purge, or becoming a born again.  43) You can feel cold when it's 25 degrees C.  
44) No matter how old you are, you still call your parents Mummy and Daddy.
45) You use baby powder.

An dat ent all!!!..... "Yuh know yuh is a Trini if....."
- you refer to all powdered cleaning agents as VIM.
- you know someone named Beulah... Sprangalang too.
- you refer to all salt crackers as "crix".
- you call hard candies "sweeties".
- you know the meaning of the word, "obzokie".
- you go to house 'limes' for the food.
- you're the one standing next to plenty luggage and boxes in the airport.
- you greet someone with a "bounce" on the fist.
- you nod your head upwards to greet someone and sideways if the joke
stale.
- you use an umbrella for shade on hot days and never have one when it's raining.
- you say "boy" at the beginning of a sentence.
- your conversations are inflected with expressions like, "Ent?" and "fuh real?"
- you know how to wine!
- you hang a rosary on your car rearview mirror even if you're not Catholic.
- you put ketchup and/or pepper sauce on your pizza.
- you make a drink from peanut butter and even ice-cream but you never eat it with jelly on your bread.
- you wash and re-use plastic and styrofoam cups...to go with the plastic take-out spoons and forks cutlery set in the draw.
- you have shares in Kool-Aid.
- the word 'storm' to you is used as a verb and has nothing to do with the
weather.
- you adore Ms.Universe '98.
- you put ice in your beer.
- you call a soda a "swee' drink" and an avocado "zaboca".
- you bring home left over food from any function and any party.
- you think a "beer is a Carib".
- you believe DuMaurier is doing it your way.
- you say,"I jus'dey" to mean I'm fine.
- you wash the 'wares' after having dinner.
- you call a quarter a "shilling" when this really means 24 cents.
- you know what a skettel is.
- you know what it means to be 'horned'.
- you know that blue soap makes white clothes whiter.
- you have at least one relative living in England, Canada or the US.
- you either see, speak to, lime with or hear about at least one of your "ex's" regularly.
- you have cancelled plans because of rain even when it's going to be indoors. Rain is also a legitimate reason to miss work at home in Trinidad....
- a rubber is an eraser.
- you are able to recite at least one (or several)line(s) from Sesame Street.
- you have been to several parties where you have seen the sun rise.
- you have missed work because of going to fetes.
- you know someone with a gold tooth or several.
- you know how to give a 'cut-eye'.
- you still give people an occasional 'meggie'.
- you can tell lots of stale jokes from the collection you've gathered over the years through friends and relatives.
- you use methylated spirits to clean your skin sometimes.
- you know at least one person with their name on either their belt buckle, ear-ring or their chain pendant.
- you eat fries often with a FORK, ketchup and mustard.
- despite lack of interest, someone has tried to convince you of the benefits of taking a purge, or becoming 'saved' by some religion.
- no matter how old you are, you call your parents mummy and daddy.
- you love salt prunes and 'chinee mango'.
- you know the meaning of "dahl," "channa," "anchar," "kurma" and
"buss-up-shot".
- you've called someone (or been called) chunkalunks, thick ting,'family'(even if she's not remotely related to you!),doo-doo,breds,horse, partner.
- you know what a maxi-taxi is.
- you know a "lime" is not always referring to fruit.
- you've eaten wild meat at some time: 'guana, lappe, 'gouti, tattoo, matte, deer etc.
- you call a friend's mother "auntie" and their father "uncle" even though they are not related to you.
- you love soca.
- you know entire parang songs in perfect Spanish, word for word every Christmas, but cannot speak a word of conversational Spanish to save your life.
- you know how to RAMAJAY and DINGOLAY.
- you know how to 'dig a horrors'.
- you know how to'fix yuh mix'.
- you doh like 'chain-up talk','ole talk' or 'mamaguy'.
- you know how to be a 'falcon' and 'maco'.
- you know of at least one person who gets up at 4 am to listen to cricket on the radio in Australia, India or wherever.
- you know the taste of solo Apple J.
- you use bitters in any and every thing.
- you know that Kiss is the name of a bread label.
- your cupboards are full of corned beef, red beans, vienna sausage, pepper sauce, baked beans and a dry coconut for the pelau.
- you tell the host "good night" when you arrive at someone's house in the evening and you probably do it whenever you answer the phone too.
- you know what a washy-kong is.
- you can remember the days when the 'dollar wine' was it and Blue Boy ruled the Road March.
- you know who Miss Jean is....and you know you are a TRINI if you really love the place you call home---Trinidad!!!!



The following came to me from Atlanta:
Yuh know yuh is a Trini if...
- You refer to all salt crackers as "Crix".
- Hot chocolate means melted Milo, in water.
- You know the meaning of the word "obzokie".
- You call everyone "breds" (meaning brethren) who is not a relative
- You arrive 2 hours late for everything and still believe you're on time
- You go to parties for the food... and the word free never quite had the same meaning.
- Your recipe for making orange juice is plenty water, plenty sugar, plenty ice and only 2 orange... and ah pak ah red
kool-aid tuh stretch it...
- You say "boy" at the beginning of a sentence and "man" at the end of it...
- The words "yes we" doesn't refer to any people. .
- "Priority" doesn't have anything to do with what you have to do right away.
- You put ketchup and peppersauce on your pizza.
- Anchovies? Yuh losin' it or what?
Your cupboards are full of canned corned beef, pepper sauce and red beans   and baked beans ...and a dry coconut for the pelau.
- You think steak is a waste of good meat. You rather cut it up and stew it with some potatoes instead ... or curry it and
make roti.
- You use your finger to measure the water when cooking rice. You bring home food from a party.
- "Dis August holidays" actually start in July. .
- You show disappointment by sucking on your teeth (steupsing) ...
- You can conjugate "ah steupse" by age four (three if yuh smart)
- You still call a soda a "sweet drink" and an avocado, a "zaboca". and you   go to the shoprite clerk and ask them "whe allyuh have de breez?" meaning "where is the laundry detergent?".
- You say "whappenin" even at a funeral.
- You tell the host "Good Night" when you arrive at someone's home in the   evening. When someone pays you a compliment, you say "Doh mamaguy meh". .When  someone sympathises with you, you comment "Yuh think it easy?".
- You refer to all sweet coloured juice as "Kool-Aid".. .
- You call a quarter a "schilling" when this really means 24 cents.
- You know that using "blue" makes white clothes whiter.
- Just because something is called a "bake" you don't assume that it indicates the way it was cooked.
- You have at least one relative living in either England, Canada, or the US.
- You know that a washy-kong bears no relationship to King Kong.
- You know about straightening, pressing, S-curls and Gherri curls   regardless of your ethnic background.
- You have cancelled plans because of rain even when you're going to be   indoors
- Rain is also a legitimate reason to be late for a rendez-vous...or to   miss work. ...
- All vaccinations are called injections.
- All dish washing detergents are called "Squezy". .
- You know of at least one person who wakes up at 4am to LISTEN to cricket   from Australia / New Zealand on the RADIO.
- On at least one occasion you have: been told that you have a cold in some   part of your anatomy other than your head or chest and/or had a virus
named after something popular with the times eg. Bionic, Ninja, the hijab and
the sting.
- You can feel cold when it's 25 degrees Celsius.
- You pronounce words in plural, even though it's meant to be singular,   eg."gimme ah COKES" or "ah GRAPES".
- You pronounce words in singular, even though it's meant to be plural. Eg.   " ah goin to ah Leaf game" or " pass me meh pant"
- You say "FLIM" (film), "AXE" (ask) or "PITIAH"(picture), "STATELLITE"
    (satellite), "CUTLASH" (cutlass). .
- You know what "Wukking a 10-days" is, and know darn well it's going to take   much longer than 10 days.
You know the meaning of several indian words, eg. "dahl", "bahgee",   "channa", "bharra", "chunkae", "bowgee" and use them in every language and actually believe them to be the correct English terms. . You know that a lime is not necessarily a fruit.
- You call any 'older' woman "Tantie" and any 'older' man "Uncle",   regardless of whether or not they are related to you or even know you.
- You could sing an entire Parang song in Spanish word for word, but don't   speak or understand a word of Spanish.
- You can't bring yourself to using the correct "scientific" names of   sensitive body parts because you think it sounds vulgar. Instead you use child-like words such as "tot tots", "bam bam",
or "bumsy"
- When in doubt of how to prepare something to eat ... CURRY is the always the solution. You know Trinis will curry any and everything (not just meat) even mango, fish, conch, chataigne, etc...
- You can call your fellow "countryman" by an ethnic name and it would be   ok, eg. chinee-man, redman, or doegs.

Still more on Trinis.....

Hi Alloy, I am sending you some more items add to your list of "yuh know if yuh from Trinidad"

1.yuh know if yuh is ah Trini if you still calling zero, north. or oh.
2. yuh know if yuh is ah Trini when you begin the alphabet A for apple and end wid z for zeedebull, , and still pronoumcing zee, Zed
3. yuh know if yuh is ah trini when you keep saying ah go axe she , the word is ask.
4. yuh know yuh is ah Trini when you have a cold, and start looking for tiger balm, or tomogene.
5. yuh know yuh is ah trini when you still rubbing your face with soft candle.
6.yuh know yuh is ah trini when you still calling hot chocolate, cocoa tea.
7.yuh know yuh is ah trini when instead of saying meh skin itching meh, yuh keep sayng meh skin scatching meh.
8.yuh know yuh from Trinidad when yuh still calling magarine,--- butter.
9. yuh know yuh from trinidad when youh still calling saucepan or frying pan----pot
10. two things yuh know go really show yuh up in a foriegn land, when you see some one across the street, yuh calling eh, eh , wha going on, and when yuh walking and every two steps yuh make yuh keep looking back.

YOU is  A REAL OLD TRINI WHEN

-You still ask for a piece of "Gazette" paper, though you haven't seen the Trinidad Gazette in decades.
-You remember buying Crix and Paradise Plum three for a cent, and saving your farthings to make up the cent.
-The first time you thief a smoke as a child the cigarette was an Anchor Special, without filter.
-Your mother used to tell you "Stop behaving like a warahoon."
-You still tell the joke about the Chinese vendor  saying "Governor plum, I killim."
-You are certain Learie Constantine caught the bottle aimed at the governor in the Queen's Park Oval test match cricket riot.
-You went to shows with Toolum Dindial and Champa Devi.
-You went to see the first Indian film in Trinidad "Bala Jobhan."
-You know when snowcone used to be called press, and was sold without a cup for a cent.
-You know the meaning of the word wajang (bad woman).
-You tell people how you used to listen to Armed Forces Radio WVDI.
-Songs by Nelson Eddy and Jeanette McDonald mean something to you.
-You know by heart the poem "When I was sick and lay in bed I had two pillows at my head…"
-You can give details of the Mano Benjamin and Boysie Singh murder trials
-You say these modern calypsonians still can't match King Radio.
-You remember TUB Butler preaching under a rum shop with candle and bell and cussing your mother when you heckled him.
-You had a copy book with King George or Queen Elizabeth face on it instead of a ring binder.
-You used to listen to Rediffusion.
-Yuh radio only had three control knobs up, down and volume.
-You wore Bata crepesole to school and bought toolum at the school gate.
-You remember Local Talent on Parade and Sam Ghanny show used to come on at 11.00 am on a Sunday.
-You never buy a top, yo yo, kite or sling shots in a store but made them yourself
-You know what a Hillman, Vanguard and Zephyr is.
-You used to get senna or castor oil or some kind ah purge the end of summer holidays.
-Your school graduation was called "prize giving."
-You still have a BOAC bag hidden somewhere in a closet.
-You Remember when people used to go to the airport and come back with a twang.
-You remember Second Spring used to come on at 12. 15 pm., after the death announcements.
-You still refer to any smooth stretch of road as "barber greene."
-You have Limacol and Bay Rum on the night stand . 
-You remember candy being referred to, as sweetie...and sweetie had names like hangman, kaiser ball, paradise plum, halay feelay, chillibeebee, peppermint stick, peanut and coconut brittle and toolum.
-You could remember the parlor by the school selling green pommecythere, tambran daysan, padoo, peewah, kerekel, gri-gri, pennypiece, sugarcake, rockcake,
bellyfull, milkcake, petit po'chambre, aloo pie, bara and kachorie.
-You had to lineup every morning in the schoolyard according to 'houses' for inspection, which included an examination of teeth, ears and fingernails for cleanliness.
-You had to sing " God Save the King" before and after school and every public function.
-You had to sing in the school choir at Speech Day and the fellas standing behind you keep trying to make you laugh or sing offkey.
-You were given a purge at school after the August vacation, consisting of chinnapoleum and lamp oil, followed with a sweetie, usually paradise plum.
-You know that sweetlime is a whipping cane.
-You know that when your mother give you a cut-eye......cut-ass go follow!
-You had the experience of running around shut-tail.
-You experience 'boy-days.'
-You still calling zero, nort or oh.
-You begin the alphabet A for apple and end wid Z for zebubull, and still pronoumcing Z, Zed
-You have a cold, and start looking for tiger balm or tomogene.
-You still rubbing your face with soft candle.
-You still calling hot chocolate, cocoa tea.
-You still call an itch a scratch.....and a real acute itch is "ah sweet scratch"
-You still calling magarine,--- butter.
-You still calling saucepan or frying pan----pot
-You recognize MUM as a deodorant and not a relative.
-You use aloes for a bad chest cold.
-An aspirin is Phensic.
-Fry-dry is a fish.
-"Bata c'est bon soulier" is part of your advertising history.

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If you have failed to relate to any of the above, you are by all means now considered a "bogus Trini". Without question, a "true" Trinidadian knows or at least has heard of all of these things.

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TRINI MOVIES WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE:

I Know What You Did Last Dry Season
 Four Prayers And A Puja
 Men In Brown
 There's Something About Primatee
 How To Kill A Corbeau (Mockingbird)
 Panorama (Titanic)
 Republic Day
 A Trinidadian Werewolf In Guyana
 Biptee, The Soucouyant Slayer
 Rumble In The Beetham
 Lethal Cutlass 1, 2, 3 &4
 Rubbing Wood and his parang side
 Big Stone (The Rock)
 Shanty Town Of Angels
 Driving Miss Mazie
 Pointless
 Nightmare On Frederick Street
 The Manicou King
 Saving Ryan's Privates
 Ramesh And Drupatee(Romeo & Juliet)
 Pouff! (Gone With The Wind)
Home Alone 2 - Lost In Mayaro
 Basdeo's Advocate
 Fried Green Baigan
 One Flew Over The Corbeau's Nest
 Chadee's List
 The PNM Strikes Back
 The Silence Of The Goats
 The Untouched-Doubles (Untouchables)
 Breakfast At Chorros
 Maxispotting
 Escape From Guerra Island
 The Birdman from Carrera
 The Tattooslayer
Guess who's coming for roti?
Panday vs Panday
De Compere
Bridge over the Dry River

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