needs washed

[Beverly Flanigan]

Peter Trudgill confirms that much of northern England, Ireland, and
Scotland all have "needs/wants/(and likes?) + p.p."--so, as an earlier
writer noted too, this isn't surprising.   Pittsburgh and the South Midland
are in the mainstream!

At 03:20 PM 1/27/2003 -0600, you wrote:
>My spouse, a Pittsburgh native, has "needs washed," something that
>struck my Southern ear (Atlanta native) as quite strange from the first
>time I heard it (36+ years ago).  Neither he nor any of his family
>members (at least the ones I know) has "warshed."  (The family combines
>Pittsburgh working and middle class backgrounds.)
>But here's the interesting observation: Last night Twin Cities Public
>Television repeated a Nature film on puppies.  The Scotsman (I BELIEVE
>the setting was Scotland) observed of a Border collie pup that he "won't
>want petted" under certain circumstances. My ears perked up, of course.
>Miriam Meyers
>
>
>Miriam Meyers
>Professor Emerita
>Literature and Language
>Metropolitan State University
>St. Paul/Minneapolis, Minnesota
>612-374-5581
>miriammeyers at visi.com or
>miriam.meyers at metrostate.edu
>2000 W. 21st Street
>Minneapolis, MN 55405-2414