down-easter

[ doun-ee-ster ]

noun

1. a full-rigged ship built in New England in the late 19th century, usually of wood and relatively fast.
2. a native or inhabitant of Maine.
3. a native or inhabitant of New England.
4. Canadian. a native or resident of the Atlantic Provinces.

Word History and Origins

Origin of down-easter¹

An Americanism dating back to 1810–20; down East + -er ¹

Example Sentences

Drinks continue the down-easter theme, with $3 Narragansetts and $7 draft Cape Codder and Fish House Punch cocktails, while locals are represented by $5 DC Brau and Port City pints.

From Washington Post

But I do wonder if a down-Easter, sitting on a nylon-and-aluminum chair out on a changelessly green lawn slapping mosquitoes in the evening of a Florida October—I do wonder if the stab of memory doesn’t strike him high in the stomach just below the ribs where it hurts.

From Literature

The third youth was long and lank and talked with a nasal drawl and a manner of speech that proclaimed him a down-easter.

From Project Gutenberg

"They wus good pyrates," continued the down-easter.

From Project Gutenberg

"He's a down-Easter—a horse jockey chap, I'll be bound," cried another.

From Project Gutenberg