Shoobie

A shoobie (or shoebie) is a derogatory term used in South Jersey and Santa Monica, California to describe a tourist who visits the seashore for a brief period of time, primarily to use the beach during the summer months. Shoobie is used in resort towns along the southern Jersey Shore, between the areas of Long Beach Island and Cape May. The term "shoobie" originated in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, and it allegedly derives from the habit among tourists of bringing everything they needed in a shoe box. Items can include a towel, suntan lotion, and food. The term "shoobie" may also derive from the fact that tourists are more likely to wear their shoes on the beach. Homeowners (whether year-round or seasonal) often walk to the beach barefoot or remove their shoes immediately upon reaching the sand. [Ravo, Nick. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE4D91F38F935A25751C0A961948260 " THE TALK OF LONG BEACH ISLAND; FOR EARLY TOURISTS, A TEPID WELCOME AT JERSEY RESORT"] , "The New York Times", February 16, 1987. Accessed April 4, 2008. "Shoobie is a name Long Beach Island residents attach to tourists, usually those from Philadelphia and the New York metropolitan region. The name is derived, local residents said, from day-trippers of decades ago who visited the island and brought their lunch in shoe boxes."] A similar term is "Benny," which is mostly used in the resort towns of the northern Jersey Shore.

Shoobies are essentially a mixed blessing for local beach residents. They bring in enormous revenue during the summer months, but at the same time they add numerous obstacles and annoyances to day-to-day life. In that sense, shoobies are not unlike the tourists that descend on any resort area.

The term has also been mentioned frequently on the Nickelodeon show "Rocket Power". The term is also used to describe "day-trippers" on Nantucket Island.

References

External links

*Shoobie.org - [http://www.shoobie.org/ Visitor Information Resource]
*Matthew in the Morning's [http://www.matthewinthemorning.com/shoeby.html Shoobie Guide]
*Surfline.com - [http://cf1.surfline.com/community/whoknows/whoknows.cfm?id=1161 "What is a Shoobie?"]
* [http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/opinion/letters/story/6340371p-6197568c.html "Locals to hard-partying renters: Show some respect"] , "The Press of Atlantic City", May 12, 2006
* [http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0606a&L=ads-l&P=14053 American Dialect Society mailing list]