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GRANT COUNTY, INDIANA, SPEECH AND SONG
By W. L. McAxee
In 1942 and 1943* the writer distributed privately printed booklets on
the dialect of Grant County, and now presents additional material, in-
eluding folk verse. There is no need to repeat the introductory portions
of the previous papers and I wish only to state that the "rules of com-
position" remain the same.
FOLK SPEECH
PRONUNCIATIONS
air (are), dial.
airth (earth)
babtist (baptist)
babtize (baptize)
blowed (blew), now ehiefly slang & dial.
chaw (chew) ;
elum (climbed), obs. exc. dial.
dreen (d*ain), dial.
ellum (elm)
ess (let's)
f asset (faucet), dial.
fit (p. p. of fight; Ala., Va., N. C, S. C, FADS 2**), dial, or illit.
fork-ed
forrid (forehead)
garnishee (garnish), pronunciation for the word meaning attachment
of wages. Town.
gether (gather), dial.
hit (the pronoun "it"; Southern States, PADS, 2), dial.
holler (hollow), illit.
jiste (joist)
keer (care)
la^lock (lilac), dial.***
red (rid)
shaller (shallow)
*het (shut), dial.
jSickel (Seckel, a variety of pear)
snuck (p. p. of sneak; Ala., Va., N. C, S. C, Tenn., La.; PADS, 2)
wush (wish), dial.
yander (yonder), dial.
*$ee bibliography, p. 26.
**See bibliography, p. 27, for meaning of these aymbol*.
***Britten and Holland (Dictionary of English Plant Names, 1878-1886, p. 802)
note "laylock" as a common mispronunciation of "lilac" in Great Britain.
GLOSSARY
act up, v. phr., become troublesome; "My knee (or rheumatism) is
actin'
up agin".
act up, v. phr., misbehave, of people; become fractious, of
livestock.
PADS, 2.
after bit, a$v. phr., after a little while.
aggie, n., agate marble. PADS, 2 (Iowa, Mo.)
ahg, interj., expressive of disgust, the more guttural the sound,
the
more emphatic the meaning; among other uses it was a warn-
ing to a baby not to put some casual pick-up in its mouth.
ahold (or aholt), n., "I'd like to git aholt of him". Dial.
all, expletive, as in "all finished," "all ready," "all tuckered out."
ambeer, n., tobacco-stained saliva; NID notes tobacco juice.
Chiefly
dial.
amen corner, n., part of church where elders and others sat who
sup-
ported the preacher by "amens" and other interjections.
back seat," "take a, phr., retire discomfited. D.
ball rolling" "start the, phr., begin. D.
bad job, n. phr., something impracticable or impossible, a hopeless
task
or undertaking; "Guess I'll give it up for a---------------."
band box," "out of a, adv. phr., neat, new; "Mary looks like she
jest
come ——---------." W.
bark, v., knock off a piece of skin. NID defines: to abrade or rub
off,
as a barked heel. In our usage a heel probably was never
barked although it might be chafed or blistered.
bars," "let down the, phr., lower requirements or ideals. D.
bat out of hell" "go like a, phr., go with great celerity, speedily. W.
beard the Zion, phr., meet an opponent on his own ground; of
Biblical
origin. D.
beg, borrow, buy, cr steal, v. phr., get without regard to method.
binder, n., bandage usually of sheets, or parts thereof, wrapped
tightly
about the middle of a woman after childbirth to aid in re-
storing the original figure; also a flannel abdominal ban-
dage for the baby.
bird in the hand is worth two in the bush," "A, saying; as Omar said,
"Take the cash and let the credit go." D:
bitter, pill, n. phr., something hard to endure. D.
blow brains out, v. phr., "Watch or you'll blow your brains out";
said
to one blowing his nose violently.
blow up, v. phr., manifest anger.
bored for the simples," "He ort to be; said of one manifesting stupidity.
bottom of the well," "This tastes like it's from;
saying
meaning, "It's
cold."
bounce," "grand, n. phr., act of ejecting or rejecting positively
and
finally. "She gave him the------------» D,
* .••-„■>.;.
- *„. . -:V'". ''',"-
breath, n., as a measure of time, "He never drew an honest (or sober)
breath."
broad between the eyes, adj. phr., regarded as a sign of intelligence in
both horses and men.
brush, n., race, test of speed; "We met on a country road and had a
brush."
build a fire, v. phr., the usual expression. W.
burr, n., millstone. (N. C.) PADS, 2.
busy as a bee, simile. W. -
« butter side wp, adv. phr., attended by good luck; in good order. "Here
I am-----------—"; "He landed —-----------." D.
call, v., recall, remember. "I can't call his name right now" (Va., N. C,
S. C, Mo.). PADS, 2.
calliope, n., NID records the popular pronunciation with accent on the
"o"; some modified the word still more into "callio."
can't, v., used to mean it's not advisable; "I can't eat onions."
captain, n., a cute boy child; a spirited and attractive young man; an
admirable rogue; a crotchety oldster; "Ain't he a------------."
(W. Va., Mo.) PADS, 2.
care, v., object. When invited to partake of something agreeable, the
acceptance was often phrased, "I don't keer if I do."
cat out of the bag" "let the, saying, disclose a secret. W.
cat's got your tongue, phr., "Why don't you speak up, has the cat got
your tongue?"
chaw raw beef, v. phr., said of boys using their teeth to loosen knots
tied in their shirt sleeves while in swimming.
cent, n., a small consideration; "I don't give a cent," meant, I don't
care, I'm indifferent.
certain sure, adv. phr., "He'll get hisn some day, that's
---------------."
Arch, and dial.
chiseUy, adj., facetious variant of chilly.
church. "In the right church but the wrong pew" saying, meaning
somewhat (often embarrassingly) out of place.
civil, adj., respectful. "Keep a---------------tongue in your head."
cipher down, v. phr., surpass in a ciphering match; parallel to "spell
down." W.
clean up, v. phr., complete an undertaking. Seems not dial, but ordi-
nary colloquial language. (S. C, Ala., Okla.) PADS, 2.
climb around, v. phr., hurry.
coffee grinder, n., a machine in every home in days when coffee was
always purchased as whole "beans."
coffee sack,
n., burlap bag.
cold feet," "have, v. phr., manifest timidity, cowardice. D.
common as an old shoe, simile, unaffected, easy to approach. Obs. exc.
dial.
company, n., visitors. Dropping a fork, spilling the salt, or experi-
encing nose itching were considered by the superstitious
as harbingers of a visit.
3
cough up, v. phr., to contribute, or repay, money. W.
cram down his throat, v. phr., make one "eat" his words; or accept
something repugnant. t>.
crawl, n., creep as a baby does.
crooked as a rail, or snake, fence or ram's horn,
similes. W.
crossways," **get up, phr., out of sorts, equivalent to "get up on the
wrong side of the bed."
cut*, adj., shy, elusive; "He's too cute for them to catch."
cut out for, adj. phr., qualified; "Bill was never---------------a
preacher."
W.
dare/' "take a, phr., decline to enter a struggle or follow a leader.
dead, "till the last dog's dead," adv. phr., to the
end, or
finish; "1*11
stay with you ——---------."
dear life, n. phr., one's best; prayin', runnin', workin' for ——:------—.
die, v., experience a strong emotional reaction;; "I laughed until I
thought I'd. die," "The way she acted, I thought.I'd die,"
"Can't you see she's jist a dyin' to go?"
dog78 life,
n, phr., a miserable existence. D.
done, v., in ft very critical sense; "Now you've done it."
double, v., some of the nuances of this word in the sense of fold are
hardly covered in NID. "Double the fist" when the pri-
mary meaning of fist is the "doubled" hand. "Double a
string," an operation to which the word "fold" can hardly
be applied. For repetition* of the act, we said "double it
twice" and so on.
down at the heel, adv. phr., in poor circumstances. W.
draw, v., among the many definitions in NID, that conveyed in the
expression "draw the feet" when leather shoes are worn
without the intervention of stockings does not seem to ^e
represented.
draiv up, v. phr., shrink (Ala., Va., N. C, S. C, Tenn.). PADS, 2.
drops, n., liquid medicine, "You can stop the pills but keep on with the
drops."
earth and a fence around it, phr., a great deal, everything; in reference
to an immoderate ambition or demand, "All he wants is
the ——------." D.
ever was one," "if there, phr. of emphasis; "He's a big liar —--------r->"
"She's a beauty ■—------—."
eye-teeth, n., something of great value; "He would give his eye-teeth
to get Mary."
fall fiat on the face, v. phr., fall unmistakenly, or unmitigatedly.
fall over self, v. phr., hurry, to the extent of being awkward.
fare thee (or ye) well," "to a, adv. phr., meant to the limit;
shews
usage of two unusual words "thee" and "ye."
fault, n., used as its own antonym; as of a boy who pushed a girl off a
high place, "It ain't his fault she didn't bre^k her neck."
4
feed the face, v, phr., eat.
few and far between, adj. phr., scarce.
fight fire with fire, v. phr., repay in kind; take "an eye for an eye and
a tooth for a tooth." D.
fine, adv., well; "I feel fine." Dial.
& colloq.
fish out, v. phr., draw something forth after repeated probing or
dipping.
fiste, n., our Version of this much discussed word had a long "i" and
a "t" sound just as in the dialect term "twiste." The word
had a deprecatory significance and meant usually not only
a little dog but an objectionable one.
flare up, v. phr., become angry.
flash in the pan, n. phr., an abortive attempt; anything
ineffectual. £>.
flatten out, v. phr., knock down with the fist.
fly high, v. phr., live above one's true social level.
for,
expletive, "Are you ready for to go?"
fresh, adj., "She'll be--------------- in the spring"; while this use of
fresh is defined as to calve, it seems literally to mean that
the cow will have a fresh supply of milk. N.
front room,
n. phr., parlor. N.
gambrel, n., stick inserted under the Achilles tendons to keep the legs
of a carcass spread.
game," "beaten at his own,
saying, surpassed especially in trickery. D.
get around,
v. phr., pass; "If I can only git around Jim, I'll be with
you."
get going, v. phr., induce emotional stress, bamboozle; "he's got her
goin' now/' "That'll get 'em goin"'; also to set out or go
to work promptly.
go to do, v. phr., intend to do; "I was jist agoin' to do it"; "I ain't
agoin' to do it"; "I didn't go to do it" was an apology*
good, n., major usefulness; "I mignt as well get the good out of it"
(i.e. wear it out).
good and proper, adv. phr., thoroughly; "I'll lick him---------------."
good for (good enough for), adv. phr., "Good for you," meant you
de-
served the backset. "Good enough for 'em," an expression
of satisfaction over someone's getting a richly deserved
punishment.
good-rights," "by, adv. phr., justifiably; "---------------1 ought to
spank
you."
good thing, n. phr., personally valued item. Of some of his collecteana
threatened elimination, a boy might say: "Aw ma, that's
a good thing."
good willt "It's better to have the good will than the ill wiU of
a dog?9
goose that lays the golden eggs," "kill, the time-honored saying. D.
grabhook, n., hand; "Keep your grabhooks off of me."
gravy,rf "water, h„ made simply by heating water with thei
meat juteea
and grease in a frying pan; in contrast to milk gravy,
5
green beans, n., string beans. N.
guess coming*' "you've got another, saying, meaning you're
mistaken.
gum up, v. phr., botch, mummox. W.
haf-to case, n., phr., a necessity, the unavoidable.
hair is short," "have where the, phr., have at a disadvantage. W;
"Half a loaf is better than none'1 saying. D.
hang on by teeth and toe nails, phr., do all possible, try every
ex-
pedient. W*
hand to mouth," "from, phr., precariously, having resources for the
present only. D.
head start, n. phr., advantage. D.
heart, n., embryo of a corn kernel (Ohio).
hell, n., misfortune, retribution; "He's catchin' (or he'll catch) his
hell on earth."
hell and gone," "to, adv. phr., a long or unknown "ways."
hide nor hair, n. phr., trace; "I can't find---------------of it." W.
high heaven, n. phr., superlative degree; "It stinks to---------------." D.
hired hand, n. phr., a hired man or helper. W.
hog, make a hog of one's self, phr., be greedy.
hook, line, and sinker, n. phr., everything; the whole "business." D.
hub, v., to hit with the hub of a vehicle; "He hubbed us into the ditch." W.
ice cream pants, n. phr., white or other light-colored trousers.
indeedy, adv., indeed; "Yes, indeedy."
ingrowing disposition, n. phr., a crabbed, surly one, perhaps with the
sense of being introverted and craving to be "let alone."
ingrowing hair, n. phr., one which does not find its pore and coils under
the skin, eventually causing a small abscess.
ker, prefix, intensifies with words meaning to drop or fall heavily.
—------------- bang, bump, chunk, flummox, plunk, slam, etc.
kerslaunchways, adv., obliquely.
kin folks, n. relatives; NID has "kinsfolk." N.
knock (a person or animal) kickin', v. phr., stun so that only reflex
motions are made.
last straw, n. phr., final provocation to action. D.
lay out, v. phr., knock unconscious.
let live," "the Lord ever,
phr., indicating the superlative; "The meanest
(or homeliest, etc.) man ."
licking, n., something disagreeable; "I'd rather take a lickin' than to
tell Emmy what Bob done."
listen to, v. phr., pay attention; obey; "Now-----------— to me," "You'd
better---------------."
little old, adj., familiar or affectionate address; "--------------- feller."
(Ala., and other southern States). PADS, 2.
loaded for bear,
adj. phr., prepared for any emergency; to have more
than enough of whatever might be required. D., W.
6
lock, stock, and barrel, phr., everything, the whole "business." D.
lollypaloozer, n., something remarkable or distinguished of its kind.
long and th& short of it," "the, phr., all there is, a final opinion; often
delivered as an ultimatum. "That's------------—; take it or
leave it." W.
* make mincemeat of, v. phr., whip thoroughly.
man and a boy io help me," "I need a, saying; jocular indication of
a
need for help in a task of no consequence.
manners, n., good manners or politeness; another term of different
meaning in the plural form, which is ignored in dictionaries.
We often heard, "Where's your manners," the verb being
singular, the object plural, in form, though singular in
concept. "You ain't got the manners of a pig."
meat, n., something especially suitable for one; or that can be
easily
handled. "He's my meat."
medicine," "Give him some of his own, saying, meaning return "tit
for tat."
misery," "put out of, v. phr., perform a "mercy killing."
mop (or wipe) the floor with, phr., give a sound thrashing.
motions," "go through the, v. phr., pretend to do something, work
in-
effectively.
mouth full of mush, phr., "You talk as if your mouth is---------------";
that is indistinctly, not understandably. W.
mouth right," "hold, v. phr., in allusion to the puckerings and
other <Ji«-
tortions often shown by one absorbed in an effort; "You
have to hold your mouth right to do that, don't you, George?"
nail spots. In my 1942 paper, p. 44, I recorded the superstition
that
white flecks in the finger nails indicate the number of fibs
told. That this belief is held across the Atlantic also is indi-
cated by the following excerpt from a conversation among
the nuns of Poissy, as related by Honore de Balzac; "Ah!
I you have lied to our mother; your nails are marked with
white." (Droll stories collected from the Abbeys of Tou-
raine. London, ? 1874,1, p. 246).
natural born, adj. phr., incorrigible; "A---------------liar."
not worth a [w]lkoop in hell, adj. phr., worthless.
now then, adv. phr., at last, "---------------, I've got you." W.
old, adj., intensifier in uncomplimentary terms; "old hound," "old
skunk."
on needles and pins, prep, phr., anxious. D.
open link, n., a chain link with one side split for use in making
quick
or temporary connections; most common use to connect a
singletree to the doubletree, (open ring, Ala., Md.)
out, expletive, as in "dry-------------r-."
pain in the neck," "gives me a, phr., disgusts, "makes me tired."
paling fence, n. phr., a fence of pales or pickets; N.I.D. has this
under
"paling", but does not give the combination. N.
7
paper sack, n. phr., paper bags ordinarily seen in stores. N.
pay the fiddler, phr,, pay for one's fun, indiscretions, or worse;
such
compensation was deemed inevitable. D., W.
pear tomato, n., a small, yellow, somewhat pear-shaped tomato.
piece of one's mind'9 "Give a, phr., excoriate.
(Southern States; in
English usage 1572). PADS, 2.
play like, v. phr., pretend.
poor; adj., thin; "lie eats so much it makes him poor to carry it";
defi-
nition but not this saying is in N.I.D.
popgun, n., an ingenious one easily carried into school and
concealed
from teachers, consisted of a section of the quill of a large
feather, the ammunition being disks punched by the quill
from a slice of potato and shoved through with a small stick.
prairie, n., in this generally wooded country, open areas were
called
prairies; they varied from wet to flooded, which may have
been the reason they were treeless.
"Pretty is as pretty does.'9
pretty looking thing (or sight), n. phr., the reverse;
"Ain't you a
————-," "You're a —-------—."
pull a hill, phr., succeed in ascending; "Do you think the team can
pull Conner's Hill with that load?"
pull ears, phr., in threats to children; "Behave now or I'll pull
your
ears."
pulling teeth? "like, simile, coming hard, or painfully; "Gettin'
money
out of him is---------------."
put a spoke in his wheel, phr., interfere with; "throw a
monkey-wrench
in the machinery." W.
quick as greased lightning, simile. W.
quick as you can wink your eye, simile, as in the song:
Can she bake a cherry pie?
Billy boy! Billy boy!
Can she bake a cherry pie?
Charming Billy
Yes she can bake a pie
Quick as you can wink your eye,
But she's a young girl [or thing]
And can not leave her mother.
quinces. Were used to scent bedrooms and bureau drawers.
rag, n., scum forming on boiled milk or mixtures containing milk.
rail fence, n. phr., zigzag fence made of rails split from logs;
N.I.I).
has under "rail", but not the combination. N.
raise," "take to, v. phr., said of a marriage in which an older
person-
wed a much younger one.
rat terrier, n., the only terrier known to me in youth was
so-called; it
was used to kill rats routed from their harborage or re-
leased from a trap. I have seen the breed referred to in
print as the black and tan terrier, but neither that tern* nor
our dialect, one is in N.I.D.
8
roost high, v. phr., live above one's true social level.
rub his nose in it, advice in house-breaking an animal; also used fig-
uratively of a person.
salt, v., a brisk fall of snow; "It's jest a saltin' down."
say, v., of inanimate objects; "What does the thermometer say?"
scrooch or scrooch down, v. or v, phr., crouch. Dial. N. (Va., N.
C,
S. C.)
shank's horses," "ride, v. phr., walk. W.
shero, n., female hero, facetious.
shet (shut), v., "shet yer mouth"; "get shet of"; i.e. get rid of.
Dial.
shock, n., a group of grain sheaves, or stalks of corn. Dial. N.
shoot an anvil, v. phr., use an anvil in Fourth of July celebration to
put
pressure on a charge of powder so that it would make a
louder report upon exploding.
shorn lamb, n. phr., in the Biblical sense; in ordinary senses, we said
"sheared sheep." ©*
silver bullet, or hook,
n. phr.* money" gpeni for game to conceal
one's
failure as a sportsman*
skirmish around, v. phr., hunt for; "Let me
v
■' ■ ■ • ''—- a while and
see if I can find it."
sleeping dogs 1m" "Let,
phr., a negro version is: "Never trouble trouble
till trouble troubles you." D;
sleeve holder, n„ sleeve garter to hold the fold in a too long sleeve;
once an object of commerce,
sneezing and 8nizzlingy
v. phr., latter term a corruption of
snivelling (?)
or more likely a synonym of sneezing.
snake in the grass,
n. phr., a treacherous or disloyal person. D., W.
snug as a bug m a rug,
simile; W.
so, adv., positively; "They do so lay eggs."
spell down, v. phr., defeat in a spelling match, dial. U. S.
spoil, v., reduce appetite or enjoyment of food; said of something eaten
between meals. "Better not, it will spoil your supper" (or
dinner).
square, v., fit properly; "—-----------yourself in that chair."
square with the world, adj. phr,, with the axes directed toward the
cardinal points; "John's house is not-------———."
sf&ndup with, v. phK, act as best man or bridesmaid.
steal in, v. phr., make one's way into an entertainment, as the circus,
without paying. T.
stinkin' hot, adj. phr., very hot.
strike out, v. phr., leave; start on a trip, "strike out for the
tall timbers."
suck the hind; Ut, v. phr., get the worst of everything. (Ozarks.)
sugar for a cent," "Too much, phr., improbability;
"That's---------------"
meant there must be a catch in it.
Sunday clothes, Sunday-go-to-meetin' clothes,
n. phr., one's best.
9
sunny side of," "on the, prep, phr., on the morning side of, i.e. younger
than; "--------------- of forty." N.I.D. has the contrary,
shady side, but not this expression.
sun-up, n., sunrise. Dial., N.
sure as God made little apples, adv. phr., certainly.
sure as hell, adv. phr., certainly.
tail over the lines," "have the, phr., be contrary, unmanageable. W.
tail wagging the dog, phr., said of an apparently minor individual
"rul-
ing the roost." D.
take it or leave it, v. phr., accept or abide the consequences; in
ulti-
matums "--------------, I don't care which." Slang.
take legs and walk off, v. phr., be stolen.
take off, v. phr., leave; "He took off down the road." (Va., N. C,
S. C,
Tenn.). PADS, 2.
talk a streak, v. phr., be voluble.
teched in the head, adj. phr., somewhat "off" mentally. Dial.
that*8 the stuff, phr., commendation of appropriate action or speech.
thick as they can stick, adv. phr., crowded, as of fruit on a limb,
flies on
carrion, etc.
think hard of, v. phr., hold a grudge, resent.
tie a knot in his neck, v. phr., threat of dire punishment.
toad in the puddle," "the biggest, n. phr., the most important
partici-
pant; one saying relating to an ex-congressman was, "He'd
rather be a big toad in a little puddle (i.e. at home) than
a little toad in a big puddle" (i.e. at Washington). W.
too, adv., positively; "I do too," see "so" with the same meaning;
even
the redundant expression "I do so too" was possible.
towards, prep., this and similar words always carried the final
"s";
e.g. backwards, forwards.
tub of guts, n. phr., a person with a great abdomen.
turn to sugar, v. phr., crystallize, as of honey or syrup.
turned up for feet, phr., "He would a been tall if there wasn't so
much
»
unbeknownst, adv., unknown. Dial. .
use, v., frequent. "A covey of 'em's been using here all winter."
PADS, 2.
Wellerism. "Every one to their taste said the old woman as she kissed
the cow."
wad, n., a considerable quantity, usually "a whole wad." Dial.
walking on eggs," "he went like he was, i.e. gingerly.
D.
want, v., be willing; "I won't ask you to do it unless you want to."
warm over, v. phr., recondition a previously cooked meal or portion
thereof.
warp and woof, n., phr., the whole thing. D.
ways, adv., for wise, the former always, the latter, never used, e.g.
crossways, lengthways, sideways.
10
week (or montfc) of Sundays, phr., i.e., several or many
weeks; a long
time.
whack, n., turn; "Let me have first whack at it." Slang.
what for (pronounced "watfer"), phr., "---------------book is that?"
"What on airthwre ye doin'f" phr., in astonishment or reproval;
what
will be next?
wicked," "no reU for the, phr., jocular comfort for oneself or
another
over necessary continuance in an unenviable activity.
wild hair, n, pnr., lash that turns in, thus irritating the eye.
wolf in sheep's clothing, n. phr., deceiver. D.
wool, "all-----—--------and a yard wide,"
phr., used
figuratively to in-
dicate soundness of character. D., W.
young sprout, n. phr., a young person, without reference to his ancestry.
11
FOLK VERSE
BALLADS AND OTHER ADULT SONGS AND DITTIES
Probably ballad singing was never very prevalent in Grant County.
Preserving that traditional activity requires a degree of stability in
population and residence, which I fear did not there exist. The pio-
neers were fully occupied in hewing farms out of the forest, their sons
were in the Civil War, and in less than a generation after that, com-
mercial development, associated with the discovery and exploitation of
natural gas, revolutionized living, putting an end to most of the old
ways.
The source of a large proportion of the people, as noted in my 1942
paper, was the Southeastern Highlands, so they came from a ballad-
singing stock. Seeds were transplanted but had little chance to grow.
Though the art did not become well established, individuals remem-
bered and sang ballads. An uncle—David McAtee—fortunately still
(1946) surviving at 84 years of age was brought to the County in 1869
when seven years old. His whole life has been in Grant County and
he was especially interested in singing, attending singing school, and
learning to accompany himself on the guitar in songs mostly learned
from books. Upon examining Brewster's Ballads and Songs of Indiana
(see bibliography), he recalled having heard versions of the following
14 pieces treated in that work (titles and page references given).
Title Page
1. Barbara Allen —------------------------------------- 99
2. The Boston Burglar ---------------------------,------223
3. The Frog Went A-Courting___—___________ 226
4. The Arkansaw Traveller--------------------------- 265
5. The Gypsy's Warning --------------------r_______ 271
6. Pearl Bryan _____________________________ 283
7. Babes in the Wood „_____________._____„____ 313
8. Hark to the Roaring Sheep________________ 321
9. The Fatal Wedding______________.________ 329
10. You've Got to Put on Airs ______________,„. 332
11. Raccoon's Got a Bushy Tail__________.______ 334
12. Simon Slick ___________________,__________ 335
13. Old Dan Tucker__________________________ 340
14. The Soldier's Song_______________________353
As noted, Uncle David was a. singer; one brother taught singing
school; and another, my father (as well as my mother and myself be-
fore my voice changed), sang in a church choir. Thus if ballads were
being sung, we would have been exposed to them. Yet of the 14 here
listed as known to an uncle (probably in his youth), only one in its
entirety came to my attention (and that as a nursery rhyme, No. 7),
together with scraps of three others, Nos. 4, 13, and 14.
A stanza from "The Arkansaw Traveller" differing somewhat from
the versions of Brewster (pp. 265-267) is:
12
They fed me on corn dodgers
As hard as any rock;
My teeth began to rattle
And my knees began to knock.
Sharp (1932, p. 170) has somewhat similar lines in a piece entitled
"Old Arkansas", reported as heard in Kentucky.
Of "Old Dan Tucker," all I recall is the couplet:
"Get out of the way for old Dan Tucker
He's too late to get his supper."
Our variant of a single stanza of "The Soldier's Song" was:
There was an old soldier
Who had a wooden leg;
He had no tobacco
So tobacco he would beg.
About the same wording is given by Sandburg (1927, p. 433) as part
of a Grand Army Song.
. Uncle David has kindly furnished me with drafts of 14 of the songs
he once sang. From study of these, in which I was aided by Dr,/B. A*
Botkin, then at the Library of Congress, it is apparent that only one
—Pretty Maid—is a folk song.
PRETTY MAID
Where are you going, my pretty maid?
Where are you going, my pretty maid?
I'm going a milking, sir, she said,
Sir, she said, sir, she said,
I'm going a milking, sir, she said.
May I go with you, my pretty maid?
May I go with you, my pretty maid?
Just as you choose, kind sir, she said,
Sir, she said, sir, she said,
Just as you choose, kind sir, she said.
Will you marry me, my pretty maid?
Will you marry me, my pretty maid?
You may ask my father, sir, she said.
Sir, she said, sir, she said,
You may ask my father, sir, she said,
What is your fortune, my pretty maid?
What is your fortune, my pretty maid?
My face is my fortune, sir, she said,
Sir, she said* sir, she said,
My face is my fortune, sir, she said.
Then I can't marry you, my pretty maid,
Then I can't marry you, my pretty maid;
Nobody wants you, sir, she laid,
Sir, she said, sir, she skid,
Nobody wants you, sir, she said.
The others were doubtless learned from song nooks, ami l£otni of
13
them have been found in Delaney's Song Book and later works of that
kind. The titles as given by my uncle are:
Branigan's Bull-pup
Elegant Bold McEntires
Elizabeth Calomazack
Happy Little Fly
He Keeps His Axle Greased
I Had But Fifty Cents
Mary Ann
Over the Garden Wall
Singin' School
Stick to Your Mother, Tom
The Widow Dunn
When Katy Comes Down to the Gate
Yellow Gal in the High Heel Shoes
If the songs remembered by Uncle Dave were mosily not of folk
origin, it would seem that the same would be even more true of those
which I recall. Yet there may be exceptions. One that my father
sang and which in later years I came to regard as a "spiritual" was;
Some say that John the Babtist
Was nothin' but a Jew,
But the Holy Bible tells us
He [or John3 was a preacher too.
Oh! didn't Old Pharaoh
Get a los't, a los't, a los't,
Oh! didn't Old Pharaoh
Get a los't
Down in the Re'd Sea?
Reason for assigning folk origin to this piece lies in the following
analogue heard in East Tennessee in 1878 by David Starr Jordan (1922,
I, p. 172).
Some say that John the Baptist
Was nothin* but a Jew
But the Holy Bible tells us
He was a preachah, too.
Fse listenin' all the night long
Fse listenin' all the day,
Fse listenin' all the night long
To heah some sinner pray.
Scarborough, publishing upon American folk songs of British ances-
try (1937), includes three, parts of which I recall from Grant County.
At one time we had a "hired girl" who sang over and over again this
not very cheerful verse:
Sometimes I live in the country,
Sometimes I live in town,
Sometimes the thought comes o'er me,
I'll go to the river and drown.
[A similar stanza is in Scarborough, p. 350.]
14
She records (p. 348) from Council, Virginia, a quatrain,
Oh, if I had wings like an angel,
Had wings and I could fly,
I would fly to the arms of my darling
And there I'd be willing to die.—
which I remember with only slight divergences as a Grant County
ditty. And finally she notes (p.. 321) exactly as we said it:
, When I was single,
My pockets did jingle
And I wish I was single again.
While Sandburg (192*7, p. 47), giving more of this piece, notes it as
a minstrel song, that-does not necessarily mean it is not of folk origin.
It is apparent that the minstrels borrowed many a theme and tune
from the people and elaborated them for the stage.
Sharp, in his "English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians"
(1932, p. 345) has one from North Carolina almost word for word like
the Hoosier version, entitled "The Old Grey Goose." The Indiana piece
was:
Go tell Aunt Rhody
Go tell Aunt Rhody
Go tell Aunt Rhody
The old gray goose is dead.
The one that she was saving
, The one that she was saving
The one that she was saving
To make a feather-bed..
Perhaps this is more in the sphere of nursery rhymes, but it is not
easy, in all cases, to separate juvenile, from adult, verse. Without fur-
ther discussion, I submit a number of songs, or parts thereof, which
I classify as for adults. Those for youngsters will be presented fol-
lowing a section on play-party ditties.
She combs her hair but once in a year
High Billy Wallacker
Jing, bang, doodlety,
Russelty, robbelty,
Bow, wow, wow!
She catches a louse as big as a mouse
[chorus]
The ship went sailing round the bend
Good-bye my lover, good-bye!
Loaded with fish from end to end
Good-bye my lover, good-bye!
By-o my darling
By-o my darling
- By-o my darling
Good-bye my lover, good-bye!
15
We strolled along so lovingly,
It seemed to be a dream,
When from out the kitchen door
Came that familiar scream:
Maggie! Maggie!
The cows are in the clover
They've trampled it since morn
Go and drive them* Maggie
To the old red barn.
[repeat last 4 lines]
[This may not be a folk song, but I have not found it in any song
book yet examined and would be glad to learn more about it.]
Sly old fox is hard to catch;
Neither far nor near will you find his match;
Over hill and over dale
Runs the sly old fox with the bushy tail.
Fly flew in the grocery store,
Flew right in the very front door,
Lit on the cheese and lit on the ham,
Lit all over the grocery man.
[I heard this and the preceding from the stage years after I had
learned them as popular ditties.]
One for the blackbird,
Two for the crow,
Three for the cutworm,
And four to grow.
[Corn-planting chant and in a way a riddle; however, it meant one
for each of these consumers, that is 4 in all (and hot the apparent 10)
to a hill.]
Oh Kansas Land! Oh Kansas Land!
As oh the burning sod I stand>
I look away across the plains
And wonder why it never rains,
But when I hear Old Gabriel sound,
I know the rain has gone around.
Oh pertaters they grow small in Kansas,
Oh pertaters they grow small in Kansas,
Oh pertaters they grow small;
And they eat 'em rine and all
When they dig 'em in the fall,
In Kansas.
16
Oh the roosters they lay eggs, in Kansas,
Oh the roosters they lay eggs in Kansas,
Oh the roosters they lay eggs,
As big as beer kegs*
And have whiskers on their legs,
In Kansas*
I found a horse-shoe, found a horse-shoe,
Pidced it up and nailed it o'er the door;
It was rusty, full of nail holes;
Good luck to the folder evermore.
Pad Bill from Bunker Hill,
Never worked [washed] and never will.
[Sandburg has analogues of the last two in his Songbag (1&27, pp.
3*^383, 384-3P)-}
Sold agin and got the tin
And a little box to put it in.
A peach-tree in the orchard grew,
Tis true!
Oh, listen to my tale of woe.
Good night! Sleep tight;
Don't let the bedbugs bite.
[Hardly a song]
Ice cold lemonade! ice cold lemonade!
Made in the shade
And stirred with a spade.
lee cold lemonade!
Stirred in an old rusty pail
With a bushy cow's tail.
[Alternate 2nd and 3rd lines. Chant of vendors along rms-tfe to the
County Fair. Some of them were "local talent."]
PLAY-FAETY SONGS
Like ballad-singing, the play-party, if ever well developed in Grant
County, was decadent before my time. I never witnessed such a party
and knew no adults to take part in them. The young men on, a farm
where, as a boy, I worked in summer, sometimes made a night of it
at a shingdig (working the same as ever the next day, however),, but
it is my impression that round dances with instrumental music made up
17
the program rather than the older square dances with voice accom-
paniment. As noted in my 1942 paper, dancing was not in favor. Prob-
ably it never had been and the play party thus was no recognized local
activity.
Still there were prevalent ditties or scraps of them that have been
recorded as play-party songs. Although at the time some of these may
have been purely the chants of children's games, the number is sufficient
to indicate that there was a play-party tradition even if a considerably
disrupted one.
There being a book on "The Play-Party in Indiana" (Wolford, 1916),
it is convenient to treat these Grant County notes with reference to
it. Using the titles and page numbers of that work, the songs recalled
are listed below (left and middle columns). References to BotkhVs
treatise on The American Play-Party Song (1937) are in the right-
hand column. In these books may be found information on the origin
and history of some of these songs.
Title Wolford page Botkin page
(and my comment) (and my comment)
1. Billy Boy 24. The third stanza is 145. See middle column
practically as we
had it
2. Chase the Buffalo 29. See our version 308. See our version
below below
3. Dem Golden 38. See our version 197. See our version
Slippers below below
4. The Girl I Left 46. First stanza, less 188. See middle column
Behind Me dancing directions
recalled
5. Here We Go Round 56. Much the same_________________
the Mulberry Bush
6. London Bridge 64. First stanza only _________________
7. Old Dan Tucker 78. "Get out of the 260. See middle column
way" couplet only
8. Pig in the Parlor 81. See third column 292. Stanzas one and
two are like ours
9. Polly Put the 83. Same 293. See
middle column
Kettle On
10. Pop Goes the 83. See our version _________________
Weasel below
11. Sally Walker 86. lines, 2, 3, and 4 ____„__.___',_____
recalled
12. Skip-to-my-Lou 89. Tag line only 314. See middle column
Of these verses, Nos. 5 and 6, regardless of any roles they may have
had in play-parties, were definitely accompaniments of children's games.
18
They are recognized as folk dances of ancient origin as are also Nos.
10 and 12. No. 11 is recorded as a child's game and No. 1 as a nursery
song; No. 9 is from "Mother Goose"; Nos. 4 and 8 are folk songs; while
No. 2 is traced to an emigrant, and Nos. 3 and 7 to minstrel, songs.
Remembered versions of these, songs 4hat differ notably from those"
given by Wolford and Botkin are for:
No. 2
Oh! we shoot the buffalo,
We shoot the buffalo;
We're marching in procession
As we shoot the buffalo.
The crow chased the buzzard
And the buzzard chased the crow;
We're marching in procession
Down on the Ohio.
No. 3 .
Oh! dem golden slippers, Oh! dem golden slippers,
Dem golden slippers I'se a gwine to wear
A climbin' de golden stair.
No. 10
All around the barber shop
The monkey chased the weasel;
That's the way the money goes
Pop! goes the weasel*
Again employing Botkin's work as a guide to arrangement, the fol-
lowing additional ditties he associates with play-party songs were
duplicated or paralleled in Grant County:
Title Page ' Remarks
1. Baltimore_____________ 143 See our version below
2. John Brown's Body------ 2f21 The same
3. Little Brown Jug____— 230 See our version below
4. Nellie Gray_______.____ 253 See our version below
5. The Ocean Is Wide__~~ 256 The last two stanzas the same;
they were favorites for writing
in autograph books
6. Oh, Ain't I Sweet (C) __ 258 One stanza is reminiscent, but
see our version below
7. Old Gray Mare________ 268 See our version below
8. Shoo Fly '._______-w______304 The first line only is remem-
bered
9. 'Taiiit Goin' to Rain No
More (D)___________~-; 326 The last stanza on this page is
nearly the same as we had it
19
No. t
I got a girl in Baltimore,
Street-cars runnin' by the door,
Brussels carpet on the floor,
I got a girl in Baltimore.
No. 3
Down in the country on my farm,
Little brown jujr right under my arm;
Ha! Ha! Ha! Sal, you and me
Little brown ju£, how I love thee.
No. 4
Oh, my pretty Nellie Gray
They have taken her away
And I'll never see my Nellie any more;
They have taken her to, Georgia
There to waste her life away
Down in the cotton and the cane*
No. 6
I wish I had a nickel,
I wish I had a dime,
I wish I had a fifteen cents
To treat that gal of mine.
No, 7
The old gray mare
She died in the wilderness,
Died in the wilderness,
Died in the wilderness;
The old pray mare
She died in the wilderness
And the buzzards picked her hones*
The old gray mare
She ain't what she used to be,
Ain't what she used to be,
Ainft what she u£ect to be;
The old gray mate
She ain't what she used to be
Since the buzzards licked her bones.
[In later yeajrs I heard this sung by a college glee club.]
My impression is that the play-party songs, in the mass, are a hodge-
podge, lines, couplets, and stanzas
)$dn% borrowed from a multiplicity
of sources (including interborrowitigS). I niay have atralhejd a point
in associating some of the preceding with th# play-party tradition.
20
More likely they were simply ditties, sung for personal or company
amusement, that were passed along orally and were in no way con-
nected with dancing.
Slightly reminiscent of one of o*r aongsd **e tittfcs front "Old Vir-
ginny Never Tire" Botkin, p. 287) but af we chanted it, there was no
connotation of the dance, except that the tune was "Turkey in the
Straw." My recollection of it is as follows:
I went to the river
And I couldn't get across.;
I paid five tallari
For an old white boss;
The hoss couldn't swin
So I traded for a boat;
The boit wouldn't float
So I traded, etc.
[Had an indefinite number of extemporized verses, the bard ending
empty-handed &nd not across the river.3
My cousin, Edna McAtee, has kindly supplied a version that Illus-
trates one termination:
I went to the river
And I couldn't get across;
I paid five dollars
For an old blind hoss;
The boss wouldn't run
So I traded for a gun;
The gun wouldn't shoot
So I traded for a boot;
The boot wouldn't wear
So I traded for a bear;
The bear wouldn't holler
So I traded for a dollar;
The dollar wouldn't spend
And that's the end.
JUVENILE VERSE AND CHANTS
A dividing line between songs of the play-party type And children's
ditties is not aiway* clear, but being guided by the authorities in mak-
ing assignments to the preceding section, I assume that wh&t is left
may safely be classified as juvenile verse.
Starting formulas—
One for the money,
Two for the show,
Three to make ready,
And four to go,
(Compare com planting chant,
p. 16)
Or more briefly: One, two, three, Go!
II
Counting out rhymes—
Eeny, meeny, miny, mo,
Catch a nigger by the toe
If he hollers let him go " ' "
Eeny, meeny, miny mo.
Onery, twoery, ickory Ann,
Fillison, folllson, Nicholas John,
Queevy, quavy, English navy,
Stinklum, stanklum, buck.
Eena, deena, dina, dus,
Cattla, weela, wila, wus,
Spit, spot, must be done,
Tweedlum, twaddlum, twenty-one.
[The second preceding ditty seems to be of English origin and this
one is recorded from Essex in practically the same form by Bett, 1924,
p. 68.]
Engine, engine, number nine
Running on Chicago time.
Monkey, monkey, bottle of beer,
How many monkeys have we here?
Nigger, nigger, never die
Black face and shiny eye.
Each of these last three ditties had appended:
One, two, three,
Out goes he.
Hide and Seek coicnting—
In this game, the seeker was required to hide his eyes long enough to
count a certain number of hundreds. Unless the method of counting
was agreed upon, it was likely to be a very rapid one, as by tens, or even
fifties by very nervy individuals. A common formula, which almost any
played might use, if not interdicted, was: "Ten, ten, double-ten, forty-
five, and fifteen." Thus so young was practiced what the adult world
politely calls, finesse.
Sadistic sallies—
Johnny Johnson ain't no good;
Chop him up for kjndlin' wood.
Mary's sad but I am glad
And I know what to please her;
A bottle of wine to make her fine [or shine]
And Billy Jones to squeeze her.
22
[Addressed to either sex and any person, with changes to suit. The
third line was varied * sometimes to rather vulgar forms. Suggestions:
ale-pale; beer-queer; ink-stink.]
Throwing some water, dust, gravel, or even heavier objects in the
air over others, the perpetrator announced:
What goes up must come down
Either on heads or on the ground.
Adam and Eve and Pinch-me
Went down to the river to bathe;
Adam and Eve were drownded;
Who was saved?
[If the victim "bit," saying "Pinch-me," his "request" was heartily
acted upon.]
Pies and cakes
Make stomach aches;
Cakes and pies
I do despise.
[Original years later.]
Mary ate jam
Mary ate jelly
Mary soon had
A pain in the belly.
[A modern Bowdlerized ending is:
Now don't be alarmed
Don't be misled,
What Mary had
Was a pain in the head.]
Innocuous ditties,
Down went McGintee
To the bottom of the sea;
If he's down there yet,
He must be wet.
Eye winker, nose bumper,
Mouth eater, chin chopper.
[With appropriate gestures; longer variants of this from other locali-
ties calling for demonstration on other persons, would have to be re-
ferred to the sadistic group.]
With the fingers interlaced and the two indexers making the steeple,
23
the first two lines of the following stanza were recited; then, to fit the
last two, the hands were reversed and opened to show the ends of all
the fingers:
Here's the church
And there's the steeple; *
Open it tip
And see the people.
I had a little dog
Whose name was Rover;
When he died,
He died all over.
I know something I won't tell
Three little niggers in a peanut shell.
I like coffee, I like tea
I like the girls [boys] and the girls [boys] like me;
[Probably misplaced here; may belong in the play-party type; and was
inscribed in autograph books.]
Johnny get your gun
And sword and pistol,
Johnny get your gun
And fifteen cents.
What's your name:
Pudden Tame;
Ask me again
And I'll tell you the same.
Mother Goose type.
Recognized Mother Goo3e rhymes were universal; those most preva-
lent seemed to be "Patty Cake," "This Little Pig Went to Market," and
"Baby Bunting" for infants, and "Jack and JiH" and "Mary Had a
Little Lamb" among children a few years older.
Fishie, fishie in the brook,
Daddy catch him with a hook,
Mamma fry him in a pan,
Baby eat him like a man.
Mother, may I go out to swim?
Yes, my darling daughter,
Hang your clothes en a hickory limb
But don't go near the water,
M
Oh where, oh where is my little dog gone?
Oh where, oh where can he be?
With his ears cut short
And his tail cut long
Oh where, oh where is he?
The "Animal Pair" was known to teen-agers, but this was a widely
used minstrel so% and from its subject and wording is hardly of folk
origin.
Brian O'Lin
[Sharp. 1932, pp. 202-203, gives, as heard in Kentucky, a quatrain
entitled "Tom Bolyn". His including the piece shows it is traceable to
the British Isles. His version is reminiscent of the second stanza below,
which is as I learned it from the people. The remainder of this presenta-
tion is of my own authorship, written for the amusement of my children.
I mm regret to np^e that the attitude toward wildlife ifli this as in
some
of the ether Juvenile verse is hardly sympathetic. Insofa?> it belies
my
present position as I believe that thorough conservation should be taught
to aji children.]
Br4an O'Lin had no house to his name
So he crept in a eave and used it the same;
Bis feet thru the door stuck put in the wind,
"My soul, this is airy," said Brian O'Lin,
Brian O'Lin had no breeches to wear
So he stole him a sheepskin and made him a pair,
With the skinny side out and the WPoly side in,
"Ah hk; that is warrum," said Brian O'Lin.
Brian O'Lin had no shirt to his back
But lucky, he found an old empty sack;
Cut holes for his arms and tp put his hesid
in,
"That's neat as a pin" said Brian O'Lin.
Brian O'Lin had no shoes for his feet;
Two rabbits, said Brian> will fix them up neat,
Their skins he then used with the outside turned in,
"I can pussyfoot now," said Brian O'Liu.
Brian O'Lin had no hat to his head,
So he snared him a pheasant with feathers so red;
A touch here and there made a cap of its skin;
"My, aint it a daisy," said Brian O'Lin.
Brian O'Lin had no knife nor no blade
So he borrowed a scythe and a keen one he made;
It was long, it was strong, the edge, it was thin,
Ah me, its a darlin", said Brian O'Lin.
B*ian O'Lin no shillaly had he
So he cut him a good one from a thorn apple tree;
25
It was knotty and tough, fit for cavin* heads in,
"What more can I wish," said Brian O'Lin.
MISCELLANY
Worth recording here is a chant which my father said was used in
schools of southern Ohio in learning the alphabet. I have since been
informed that it was employed also in southern Indiana. The following
is a sample; apparently all practicable consonants were run through in
the same way.
B, a—ba B, o—bo, bicabibo
B, e—be B, u—boo, btcablboboo.
B, i—bicabl (See footnote, §)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
American Dialect Society.
• 1944. Word-lists from the South. Publication No. 2, 72 pp. Greens-
boro, N. C.
Includes 8 paperg, some of which are referred to in preceding
pages of this brochure. The percentages of the words re-
corded in these lists that I recall being used in Grant County
are: Dennis, Alabama, etc., 34.5; Combs, Southern High-
lands, 9:7; Laughlin, Ohio and North Carolina, 43.1; Williams,
Kentucky and North Carolina, 15.0; Hayes, North Carolina,
17.5; Wilson, Virginia and North Carolina, 20.1; and Bey
et ul, Missouri, 29.5. Those in the present list suggested by
this collection are labelled PADS, 2.
Bett, Henry
1924. Nursery rhymes and tales, their origin and history. London.
ix+130 pp.
Botkin, Benjamin A.
1937. The American play-party song, with a collection of Oklahoma
texts and tunes. Lincoln, Nebr. 400 pp.
Brewster, Paul G.
1940. Ballads and songs of Indiana. Indiana University, Blooming-
ton. 376 pp.
Davis, William Hawley
1941. Familiar figurative English expressions. Stanford Studies in
Language and Literature, pp. 35-48.
Expressions not previously recorded from Grant County and
not fully accounted for in the Dictionary are entered in pre-
ceding pages with the symbol,
t).
Jordan, David Starr
1922. The days of a man. Yonkers. 2 vols., illus.
McAtee, W. L.
1942. Rural dialect of Grant C6unty> iMia&a, in the 'Nineties.
81 pp. Printed Vienna, Virginia; ijubliished Chicago, Illinois.
§(The a In Da, the o in bo and bicabifob
ant the first 6 in bicabfboboo, all have
the long sound.)
-:*8
1943. Additional dialect of Grant County, Indiana. 16 pp. Printed
Vienna, Virginia; published Chicago, Illinois.
1943. Recorded appearance. American Speech, 18, pp. 306-307.
Reference to word "ehounse", and plea for study of the speech
of the people.
1943. Pronunciation of leer. American Speech, 18, pp. 308-309.
The annealing oven of a glass factory; "layer"; a town term.
McAtee, W. L.
1945. Four notes on American English. American Speech, 20, pp.
230-231.
Includes /'Chicago light" a name ignorantly applied to the
planet Venus, an evening star, during the Chicago World's
Pair of 1893. A town term.
Nixon, Phyllis J.
1946. A glossary of Virginia words. Publ. Amer. Dial. Soc, 5,
pp. 7-43.
36.8 percent of the words recorded were used in Grant County.
(The initial N,
ante, indicates words suggested to me by this
article.) In this list are references to several glossaries and
dictionaries not, however, including N.I.D., comparison with
which would have shown that many of the entries are in gen-
eral use^ Of the 96 recognized as Grant County expressions,
49 have ordinary meanings as defined by the N.I.D. and 5
others are there labelled as colloquial.
Sandburg, Carl
1927. The American songbag. New York, xxiii-f-495 pp.
Scarborough, Dorothy
1937. A song catcher in southern mountains; American folk songs of
British ancestry. New York, xvi+476 pp., illus.
Sharp, Cecil J.
1932. English folk songs from the southern Appalachians. London.
Vol. 2, xi-f 411 pp.
Wolford, Leah J.
1916. The play-party in Indiana. Indiana Historical Collections, 4,
120 pp.
Woofter, Carey
1927. Dialect words and phrases from west-central West Virginia.
American Speech, 2 pp. 347-367.
Out of somewhat more than 800 expressions in this collec-
tion 350 (43.3%) are recalled as being used in Grant County.
Eliminating those adequately explained in the N.I.D., the re-
mainder (30), excluding pronunciations and terms previously
thought of, are annotated in this pamphlet and designated
by the initial, W.
Privately printed 1946