McDonald is a professional storyteller and Portland radio personality, but mostly he’s a Mainer of sixty years’ standing. He loves his state and its unique brand of American English. Mainers, he explains, are above all “brahpt.” Which is to say, “Mainers believe you should never say a word that cahn’t improve on silence.” With over three hundred lexical gems, and fifty witty, wacky cartoons from Peter Wallace (long admired by readers of the Boston Globe), The Maine Dictionary makes talking like a Mainer easy as A, B, C: A—“Aya Line”: If you see a road sign in Brewer that says Air Line you might think it’s directing you to the Bangor Inernational Airport (BIA)—but it isn’t. The Air Line is a road that got its name from its bein’ so hilly it’s almost like flyin’ in an unruly ayaplane. It was built through the woods between Brewer and Calais as an alternative to the coastal road. B—“Burgoo”: Time was when the word “burgoo” referred to oatmeal or porridge. These days if you hear the word “burgoo” at all, the person using it will most likely be referring to any kind of thick stew. C—“Chum”: Chopped-up bait. Also a close friend who may or may not smell like chopped bait. And then there’s D for “Dawyahd”: That paht of your yahd that’s by your back daw.