"I about to f* died"

[Lynne Murphy]

As long as I'm writing queries to the ADS list, let me query you this,
too:

A friend who's lived most his life in Texas was telling me a story about
something scary and exclaimed:

"I about to f***ing died!"

I immediately wrote that down.  Later, discussing it, he insisted that
this  construction is  commonly used in central Texas, as in "I about to
f-ing puked" or "I about to f-ing exploded"  (all his examples were
first-person and disgusting).  Now, I could say "I about f-ing died" or
"I was about to f-ing die", but the infintive past participle looks like
an error to me.

So, my question is:  is there any other evidence of this construction?
(The apparent necessity of the "f-word" prevents me from asking my
students at this Baptist college!)

Lynne

--

M. Lynne Murphy, Assistant Professor in Linguistics
Department of English, Baylor University
PO Box 97404, Waco, TX 76798 USA
Phone:  254-710-6983     Fax:  254-710-3894
http://www.baylor.edu/~M_Lynne_Murphy