blar 'thornbush'

[Mark.Mandel at LHSL.COM]

To my question about Appalachian /blArz/ 'briars',
"Baker, John" <JBaker at STRADLEY.COM> replied:

>>>
Unless the 90-mile distance from Columbia to Corbin, Kentucky, is
greater than I think, the word is "brars," meaning briars.
<<<

And Steve Hicks <Hixmaddog at AOL.COM> said:

>>>
The term I hear is "brar" ("briar"): which
is also a pejorative for West Virginians
and other "hillbillies."  Remember seeing
in Ohio the bumper-sticker "Brar Parr"
("Briar Power").
<<<

I am quite certain the first liquid was /l/, not /r/. Dissimilation is not
unreasonable, especially once the two liquids have become tautosyllabic
by... I'd say devocalization of /ur/ and monophthongization of /ay/, which
are both suggested by the spelling "brars".

I don't remember exactly who used the word, and whether it was anyone
outside the family that I stayed with, so I can't be sure that the
dissimilated form was more than a personal or family idiosyncrasy.

-- Mark A. Mandel