russel(l)ing

Arnold Zwicky zwicky at STANFORD.EDU
Thu May 28 13:42:55 UTC 2009


looking for something else, i came across <russel(l)ing> for "rustling":

   I have never gotten a usable answer from a call center despite I
can hear the russeling as they turn the pages in the "scripts"
http://workbench.cadenhead.org/news/2939/outsourcing-my-weblog-india

here are two more:

   While it is true that in a noisy room, there may be a contribution
from the leaves russeling in the breeze outside, it may not be the
optimal approach to attend to the leaves.
http://www.cubeowner.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=11820

   Left are hash knife cowboys in 1877. Some of them turned to cattle
russeling.
http://azgenweb.org/navajo/History/Navajo/navajo-county-history.htm

now, three-syllable pronunciations for "rustling" and many similar
words are not hard to find (i believe that Wilson Gray has complained
about such pronunciations over the years -- though that's something
that's very hard to search for).  i take spellings like those above as
suggesting a pronunciation with a syllabic sonorant preceding -ing.

this one isn't in Brians, but <lightening> for "lightning" is (as in
<thunder and lightening>).  the history of "lightning" is complex.
apparently, it was originally "lightening" (in pronunciation and
spelling), then shortened to "light'ning" (variably), then fixed as
two syllables in the standard (while "lightening" as a form of the
verb "lighten" is also available).

back on "rustle": if you search on google for {"cattle russeler"},
google suggests {"cattle russler"} instead -- there are hits for this
spelling -- and if you then search on *that*, google finally gets
around to suggesting {"cattle rustler"}.

yes, there are hits for {"russle cattle"}, e.g.

   "You russle cattle and horses for a living. You're doin alright on
your own. But let tell somethin Chet," Dusty said in sarcastic angry
voice.

http://www.hazzardnet.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-5082.html

arnold

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