PPP "retrofit"

[Paul Johnston]

"Shitten", (the direct descendant of the OE gesciten) is still used
in some dialects.  I once had a colleague come up with "The cat shat
on the mat, but the kitten has shitten in the mitten."

Paul Johnston

On Nov 6, 2008, at 9:14 AM, Arnold Zwicky wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Arnold Zwicky <zwicky at STANFORD.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: PPP "retrofit"
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> On Nov 5, 2008, at 7:34 PM, Wilson Gray wrote:
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>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster:       Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
>> Subject:      Re: PPP "retrofit"
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>>
>> I first heard PPP _shit_
>> back in the 'Sixties...  I've also heard the PPP
>> _shat_, possiby influenced by _sat_. I use _shitted_, myself.
>>
>> When I first heard white GI's using the pasts, "shit" and "shat," I
>> thought that they were just joking or farting around. It wasn't until
>> I was browsing through the AHD about ten years later that I
>> discovered
>> that these forms are as ordinary for some speakers as "shitted" is
>> for others.
>
> for what it's worth, OED2 has "shit", "shat", and "shitted" as
> alternative *past* forms from the 17th c. on, but only "shat" and
> "shit" for the past participle (and those from the 19th c. on, with
> "shitten" as the form listed for the 14th-18th c.).  but NOAD2 lists
> "shit", "shat", and "shitted" as alternatives for both the past and
> the past participle.  i assume that OED2 will eventually get with the
> program.
>
> arnold
>
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