A Mess A, as in "A Mess A Bugs"

Watch me explain what "a mess a bugs" means to a Mainer here,




or read about it below.

Picture this. You're visiting an old college friend for a week of rest and relaxation at her beautiful little harborside home. There's a wharf not too far from the house from which lobstermen and other fishermen leave early in the morning and return in the afternoon. A couple of days in, you've gotten quite used to the clear, golden sun filtering in through the curtains early in the morning--seriously, the sun rises early in Maine in the summer--and to the sound of the boats leaving the harbor at about the same time, then chug, chug, chugging back later in the day.

One particularly fine day, you finish your lunch and walk down to the wharf to watch them unload their catch, something you've never seen before. One of the fishermen arrives, and after she does what she does, she walks up to you and says, "I've got a mess a bugs if you're looking to buy."

"Excuse me?" you say, wondering what the heck she's talking about. Well, there are two parts to this possible misunderstanding. Number 1. The word "bugs" is another word for lobsters, and 2. "a mess a" really means "a lot of." She's offering to sell you some lobsters straight from the cold waters of the Atlantic, and unless you're allergic, flat broke, or already have plans for supper, you should probably answer "You betcha." You'll get a better price from a lobsterman than from any dealer.

Most people use "a mess of" to mean disorder, or something that needs to be cleaned up, as in "Boy, you made a mess of your room. Clean it up before your mother gets home, or she's gonna be awful mad at you." In Maine, though, we use "a mess a" often to mean "a lot of," as in "You're gonna be in a mess a trouble if your father finds your room lookin' like this." or better still, "Barbara baked a mess a pies for Thanksgiving dinner: apple, blueberry, pumpkin, graham cracker, chocolate cream, lemon meringue. You'd better bring your appetite!"

Now ya know!