Meaning of "used to would" double modal?

[David Bergdahl]

I've never heard "used to would" but I'm very familiar with "used to
could" for "I once was able..."
-db

On Thu, Nov 12, 2009 at 12:24 PM, Jesse Sheidlower <jester at panix.com> wrote:
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jesse Sheidlower <jester at PANIX.COM>
> Subject:      Meaning of "used to would" double modal?
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> A friend encountered some examples of the "used to would"
> double modal in a song by a southern performer. I explained
> the general idea, but he pointed out that in the examples in
> the song--things like "lies I used to would tell" or "people I
> used to would hate"--the "would" seemed redundant, and he
> asked if the double modal was emphatic, or random, or what.
>
> I don't actually know, and figured I'd ask here rather than
> trying to make something up based on the few resources for
> this that I have handy.
>
> Thanks for any input.
>
> Jesse Sheidlower
> OED
>
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