herikan [sp?]

Benjamin Zimmer bgzimmer at BABEL.LING.UPENN.EDU
Mon Jun 7 01:13:28 UTC 2010


And see our discussion back in '05...

http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0506C&L=ADS-L&P=9323

On Sun, Jun 6, 2010 at 8:54 PM, Victor Steinbok <aardvark66 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > I took my loved one over cross the tracks
> > So she can hear my man await a sax,
> > I must admit the have a rockin' band,
> > Man they were going like a hurricane
> > That's why I go for that
> > Rock and Roll music .....
>
> On 6/6/2010 8:38 PM, Wilson Gray wrote:
> >
> > The phrase, "like a hurricane" [hErI.k&n], occurs in a song by Chuck
> > Berry. Unfortunately, Neil Young has written - or should that be,
> > "wrote"? - a song with the title, Like A Hurricane, which comes up
> > whether I try "hurricane," "herrican," "herikan," etc. No doubt the
> > title of the Berry song will eventually return to me. IAC, "h[E]rikan"
> > is a common BE pronunciation of _hurricane_, just as [hErI] for
> > "hurry" is so common that it was once likewise common in the speech of
> > your humble correspondent.
> >
> > (Jon, you go, boy!)
> >
> > On Fri, Jun 4, 2010 at 5:30 PM, Jonathan Lighter<wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>  wrote:
> >>
> >> In my experience, a "hurricane" is a wooded area that's been flattened by a
> >> hurricane or a tornado.
> >>
> >> On Fri, Jun 4, 2010 at 5:22 PM, Michael Sheehan<wordmall at aol.com>  wrote:
> >>
> >>> Inquiry from a local teacher:  "In conversation on several occasions
> >>> the term "herikan" (not sure how to spell it) came up. It's evidently
> >>> a hillbilly type term meaning way out in the country. Perhaps it's
> >>> similar to boondocks?  Do you have any resources that might lead to
> >>> its origin?

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