Guide
Talk like you've been here before
The conditions strip on our route pages sometimes adds a line of Newfoundland English to the numbers — never instead of them. This page is the translation table, and the receipts live in the Dictionary of Newfoundland English, the academic record of how this island talks.
Not fit out, b’y. — The weather is too poor to be outside. Triggered on our pages only by measured wind: gusts at 70 km/h or sustained 50.
Mauzy old day. — Damp, misty, soft grey weather; the island’s default setting some months. Triggered by light precipitation on a cool day.
A proper dirty day. — Heavy rain. Triggered at 2 mm/hour and up.
That water’d cut the breath out of ya. — The North Atlantic in its usual state. Triggered when the measured sea-surface temperature is 6°C or colder — which is also your swimming forecast, honestly delivered.
Screech-in. — How a visitor becomes an honorary Newfoundlander: a few words said, a cod kissed, a shot of Screech rum downed, and a certificate somewhere in it — an invitation, never a must, and it bends happily for anyone skipping the rum. The word “screech” has its own entry in the Dictionary of Newfoundland English; the ceremony belongs to whichever room you’re in. Ask where you’re staying — it finds you soon enough.
Some shockin’ good day. — “Shockin’” runs both ways here; attached to “good” it means very. Triggered by warmth, calm and a dry sky all at once — check the live strip and see if you’ve earned it.
Before you go
These change. We link the people who keep them current rather than copying numbers that go stale here.
The Dictionary of Newfoundland EnglishStanding — the scholarly source
A full academic dictionary of this island's English, free online. Everything on this page is look-up-able there; everything you hear on the wharf mostly is too.
Check it now →
Questions people actually ask
What does "b'y" mean?＋
Boy, worn smooth by four centuries of use — and aimed at anyone, any age, any gender. It softens, emphasises, or just keeps a sentence company: "not fit out, b'y" is weather commentary, not an insult. The Dictionary of Newfoundland English carries it with citations going back generations.
What does "not fit" mean?＋
Weather too poor to be out in — "it's not fit" needs no subject because everyone knows the subject is outside. Our conditions widget only says it when a measured gust or wind speed crosses a threshold; the saying is folklore, the trigger is a number.
What's a "mauzy" day?＋
Damp, misty, close and grey — the Dictionary of Newfoundland English's territory exactly. Not quite rain, not quite fog, very much this coast. Bring the layers the gear guide told you to bring.
What's a screech-in?＋
The ceremony that makes a visitor an honorary Newfoundlander — traditionally a short recitation, a kiss for a cod, and a shot of Screech rum, performed with more ceremony than solemnity. "Screech" itself is in the Dictionary of Newfoundland English; the ceremony is living folklore that varies by room. Where to get screeched in is a question for the place you're staying — establishments run their own, and this site doesn't anoint venues. Yet. And a word of responsibility: it is an invitation, never an obligation — declining is perfectly Newfoundland too, the ceremony bends for anyone who'd rather skip the rum, and nobody's honorary citizenship was ever revoked for asking for the alcohol-free version.
Why does a route website speak Newfoundland English?＋
Because the place does, and pretending otherwise would be a kind of inaccuracy. The widget's sayings fire on measured thresholds, never mood; this page translates; and the "b'y off" button turns the voice off on your device if it's not for you — no account, nothing tracked, just a setting in your own browser.
Every figure on this page was checked against its source on September 2, 2026.