An international travel company conducted a poll to find out which accents people consider the sexiest in America, and survey takers somehow did not find the Maine accent to be sexiest.
The Big 7 Travel sample survey of its 1.5 million or so social media followers showed signs that many respondents had never heard a Mainer speak, as three other accents were rated higher in the Top 50 list.
Texas, Boston and New York accents grabbed the top three spots on the list, in that order.
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Following Maine at No. 5 was the Chicago accent. The “Deep South” Mississippi accent and Hawaiian accent came after that.
Louisiana’s Cajun accent was down at No. 15, while in the 50th and final spot on the list was New York’s Long Island — lawnguyland — accent.
Big 7 Travel described the Maine accent, reasonably enough, as being noteworthy for dropping Rs from words where they should be and adding them to words where they shouldn’t be.
So we might, for instance, say “Acadi-er National Pahk.”
The travel company does give Maine rightful ownership over the adverb “wicked,” which, when used correctly, means “very” — think “wicked smaht” — not “evil” or “cruel.”
Folks from Boston may have tried to lay claim to “wicked,” as their accent is actually pretty similar to Mainers’.
Hollywood heartthrob and Maine native Patrick Dempsey once said in an interview that while auditioning for the now-iconic role of Dr. Derek “McDreamy” Shepherd on the ABC drama “Gray’s Anatomy,” he was able to strike up chemistry with future co-star Ellen Pompeo thanks to their familial accents.
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“I felt welcomed,” Dempsey, one of countless sexy people from Maine, told TV Fanatic. ”She had a Boston accent, and I’m from Maine. I found that endearing.”
So television viewers around the world were treated to a special relationship for years thanks to the very special bond created by these New England accents, but survey takers put Texas up at No. 1.
That’s quite possibly an indication many respondents to the Big 7 poll just haven’t heard a Maine accent and need to visit. If they stay long enough, maybe — just maybe — they’d even pick up a sexy accent.
Here’s how Tony and Academy Award-nominated actress Anna Kendrick, another sexy Maine person, probably feels about the news this state’s accent didn’t come in at No. 1.
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