"Tee-nineshih"

[Wilson Gray]

"Tee-nineshih" [ti-naInSI] is, in Texas (not just in East Texas and
not just by blacks, in this case), used in exclaiming over small
objects, whether animate or inanimate, that are - or were once - just
too cute for words. "Ooh! Look at thet tee-nineshih baby! Ain't it
jes' the potentest [potnIs] thang?!" "I use' to wag you aroun' whin
yew was jest a tee-nineshih baby!"

It can also be used slightingly. "They got 'em a li'l ol' tee-nineshih
quarterback'll break half in two, soon's he take a lick."

There's also an old blues song, "T-99," whose title has always struck
me as punning on "tee-nineshih."

Is this word used anyplace else? Or is it specific to Texas?

-Wilson Gray