![Is This the Front Yard or the Dooryard?](http://townsquare.media/site/696/files/2020/09/front-yard.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Is This the Front Yard or the Dooryard?
Well, the answer depends on if you know what a door yard is.
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First and foremost, front yard and dooryard are NOT interchangeable. The best explanation came almost 4 years ago from the Bangor Police Department by TC:
The best indicator of the area of which the person speaks would be to pay attention to the movement of their head or shoulders when they use the term. Pointing is too obvious. If the person is indicating the dooryard near the side of the house, he or she might glance in that general direction. You will know, but only if you pay attention.
When you arrive at a home in Maine (and I have arrived at many in many different towns during my time as an investigator) you need to look for door with the most worn path in the grass or mud. Just because there are pavers or crushed rock leading to a door does not mean that it is the clear choice in entry and exit for the homeowners. You must find the dooryard. Screw it up, and you will not be welcomed. Trust me here, I know how not to be welcomed into a home.
I have a front yard, but I've been through plenty of dooryards.
Don't even get me started with the front door or back door - that's an argument for another time.
Maine Slang to Master
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