The following question and answer appeared in the "Ask the Globe" section of the Boston Globe on Friday, July 6, 1990.
Q. An obscure legal document states that Lake Webster in the south-central Massachusetts town of Webster is "also known as Lake Chargoggagoggmanchaugagoggchaubunagungamaug." Is this true and, if so, what does it mean?
A. 'Tis true. According to the Encyclopedia of New England, the word -- of Algonquin Indian origin -- roughly translates to "You fish on your side, I fish on my side, and nobody fish in the middle."
Author unknown.
