jibe/jive, needs washed

[Peter A. McGraw]

--On Thursday, January 23, 2003 3:35 PM -0800 FRITZ JUENGLING
<juengling_fritz at SALKEIZ.K12.OR.US> wrote:

>> Also, does anyone know if the following is a usage specific to the
>> Midwest, because this is the only place I've heard it used (or noticed,
>> anyway): the dropping of "to be" after needs -- "my hair needs washed,"
>> "the clock needs restored," etc. I wouldn't have a problem if the gerund
>> was used instead -- "needs washing" or "needs restoring" -- but I like
>> it best with the "to be washed" phrasing.
>
> My wife and her family say it all the time.  I hear it from many people
> as well.  Don't know where it originated, but it is alive and well here
> in the Mid-Willamette Valley (and other places in the US, as my in-laws
> relocate). Fritz  in Oregon

Dang!  There's that McMinnville/Salem isogloss again!  The first time I
heard this was when the topic came up on ads-l a number of years ago.
(Admittedly, I can't guarantee I might not have heard it before and just
not noticed, but it sounds so strange that I think I would have noticed.)
Since then, whenever I've heard it, I've asked the person where he/she was
from (if I could do so at all politely).  They've always turned out to be
from one of the areas where it's native.  I would not have described it as
"alive and well" here.

Peter Mc.


****************************************************************************
                               Peter A. McGraw
                   Linfield College   *   McMinnville, OR
                            pmcgraw at linfield.edu