Posted by on Mar 23, 2009 in Words, Writing | 2 comments

This is a book I could just sit and read for hours on a rainy afternoon:

The Dictionary of American Regional English

Try some of the quizzes. Larrup! Maypop! Mulligrubs! Noshery! Being from Texas, I actually know what Juneteenth is.

Speaking of words, my revisions are moving forward in fits and starts. The new book is clamoring for attention and I’m having to pet it and chuck it under the chin and reassure it that yes, I will take it out for a nice long walk and maybe even a ride in the car next month when its older sister is finished.

2 Comments

  1. 3-25-2009
    Bryn Greenwood says:

    Larrup is one of my favorite words, which I use primarily in the phrase “larrupin’ good.” The Okie equivalent of “finger-lickin’ good,” I suppose.

  2. 3-25-2009
    elizabeth says:

    I used to hear “larrup” as a child, in the sense of “You’d better behave if you don’t want me to larrup you good.” Heh. The DARE is actually indexed by state, so one can see the colloquialisms of one’s childhood. Although I don’t remember a “potluck” ever being called a “scramble,” which they give as a northern Illinois usage. Must have been a different part of northern Illinois.

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