finna

[Frank Abate]

Doug Wilson said:

>>
This may be a regional expression but the region must be very large. My
Webster's Third doesn't say "slang" or "informal" or anything, although
"informal" seems right to me. AHD4 says "chiefly southern US".
<<

Point of information on Web 3rd (assuming you mean the Merriam 3rd
Unabridged) -- it should not be looked to for rulings on register.  It is
often silent on this, one of the reasons it received so much flak when it
came out.  No labels are given for many forms that ARE labeled in other
dicts.  Web 3rd's silence in many of these cases is not to be taken as
indicating that the form is typical or nationwide.

btw, I just discovered that Web 3rd is now available online, for an annual
or monthly fee.

Frank Abate