People

  WPA workmen pouring asphalt on North Peters Street near Conti, August 11, 1936. This work started under a separate project prior to consolidation of all street paving under a city-wide project.
The area to the left in this photograph is now the site of the recently relocated monument to Jean Baptiste Lemoyne, Sieur de Bienville. The warehouses to the right are now part of the Jackson Brewery complex, housing the Hard Rock Cafe, Tower Records, BookStar, and other stores.
Image & text source: http://nutrias.org/~nopl/monthly/apr99/apr991.htm'
href='http://nutrias.org/~nopl/monthly/apr99/apr991.htm'>http://nutrias.org/~nopl/monthly/apr99/apr991.htm
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Bruddinlaw = Brother in law

fawd-in-law = father in law

Grammaw = Grandmother

Gamp paw = Grandfather

Joe a.k.a. Mista = Everyone on a float in a parade

Maw Maw = grandmother

Mudder-in-law = Mother-in-Law. A Mother was usually not reffered to as 'Mudder', she was 'Mama'.

Nannan or Nanny = godmother
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Nicknames abound - a few common ones include Sonny, Tiny, Weenie, Bunny or Bun, Bootsie, Brother, Dinky, Pookie, Gummie, Honey Girl, NooNoo, and of course Bubba! Anj for Andrew. DooDoo - but with the accent on the second syllable - 'DooDOO'. Rho & Rho-Rho--for Rose. 'patsy', 'cookie', 'reetzie'. Boys might be called 'little' (whatever the daddy's name was whether or not they were offically junior) or 'brother' (not to be confused with BRURTHA).
'Snow-ball' & 'Whitey'

'Whitey was my grandfather--of German decent having very blond (white) hair as a young man. My mother says that she never remembers him with ANY hair. He was bald by the time he was 30 but he went to his grave with his Times-Picayune obituary referring to 'Walter 'Whitty'(they mis-spelled it) Knower'. My family was afraid that if they left out the 'Whitey' no one would show up at the wake because they wouldn't know who 'Walter Knower' was. Some people did report afterward that they missed the services because they didn't realize that this mis-spelled 'Walter 'Whitty' Knower' was 'Whitey'.

One writer reported '...N.O. must be the nickname capital of the universe.
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Parrane = godfather

Paw Paw = grandfather

Sistinlaw = Sister in law

Tee - Sometimes used alone but
often nicknames are prefixed with a 'tee', such as 'Tee' Jean, 'Tee' Eva (One of
Ernie Kadoe's {Nathan Abshire} backup singers and his wife's cousin) and 'Tee'
Lee (an old dance hall on the banks of Bayou Lafourche in Raceland). It comes
from a shorthand Cajun patois meaning 'petit', or 'little'. One writer reported
'When I lived in Lafayette, the epicenter of 'Tee' names, I worked with an
Asian-American man whose name was Charles Wong, Jr. His father also worked for
the same company and was known to everyone as just 'Wong', so, you guessed it,
Charles Wong, Jr., became known as 'Tee-Wong.' Wrote another 'THAT'S where Edwin
Edwards got his ailias. EWE actually used 'T-Wong' as an ailias in his gambling adventures.'

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Diamond Jim Moran

I remember a big sign on the corner of Esplanade and N. Rampart of
Diamond
Jim Moran. The sign was painted on the side of a house and was two
stories
high. It showed Jimmy Moran with all his diamond rings, diamond
stickpins,
diamond bracelet and watch and even diamonds mounted all over
his
eyeglasses! I stared at that sign every time the St. Claude trolley
would
stop to let passengers on and off.

Diamond Jim operated a
restaurant in
the 700 block of Iberville Street. His trademark was his
diamond
accessories and it is said that he would hide a diamond in a meatball
for a
customer every once in awhile. I wonder if he ever got sued by
someone
cracking a tooth?

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From whatah hurd, bahda one poisen ah evah nu dat got wonna den
rings,
yagotta strong hint bafoehan dat somebin might be inna patickula
meatball.

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I went out with his grandson. Really a nice guy. My mother kept
saying
"He's a nice guy, an' he's Jimmy Moran's grandson. Ya' outta
keep
him." It didn't work out, an' I nevah got one diamond.

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Or what if the customer was a pig and swallowed the diamond
whole?