New England humor subdivisions

Plaque near the New York Public Library

Plaque near the New York Public Library

“Basically, there are two New Englands, northern and southern, with plenty of shared schizophrenia between them….The Connecticut Yankee and the Maine Yankee may both trade on rurality for their wit, but the one is garrulous and the other taciturn. When the Bostonian tells a story the Vermonter becomes an ignorant hayseed; when the Vermonter tells a story the Bostonian is a pompous ignoramus. Usually in such a match there’s no contest; the Vermonter will inevitably prevail.’’

 

— Jim Brunelle, in The Best of New England Humor