-SS -> -ST?

[Charles Doyle]

"Feist" in what sense, Wilson? 'Little dog'? The OED has an entry, but for the 'little dog' sense, only a citation of Bartlett's _Dictionary of Americanisms_, the 1860 edition (there spelled "fiste). The more normal lexified spelling (a la Faulkner) would be /t/-less "fice" (OED).  The dog so-called, presemably, because it farts a lot; cf. "fizzle," "fiesty" ("full of beans"), archaic "fist," etc.

--Charlie
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---- Original message ----
>Date: Thu, 30 Nov 2006 21:04:49 -0500
>From: Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
>Subject: Re: -SS -> -ST?
>To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>
>
>My mother says "once-t" and "twice-t," among other words of this type. OTOH, she says "fis'' for "fist" and "feis" for "feist." In fact, this sort of thing is not at all unusual in BE.
>
>-Wilson

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