Terlet

[Laurence Horn]

At 3:24 PM -0500 3/21/10, Jim Parish wrote:
>Sam Clements wrote:
>>  From what dialect/region would one find the word "terlet" to mean =
>>  "toilet?"
>
>I have a vague memory of hearing it from the mouth of Archie Bunker on "All
>in the Family". (It actually sounds like the stereotype of Brooklynese, but
>didn't Archie live in Queens?)
>
Right, he did, but then "Brooklynese" is as likely to be spoken in
the Bronx or in (working-class) areas of Queens as in Brooklyn.
Presumably, there's hypercorrection going on:  if you're aware that
your "boids" are supposed to be "birds", you'll turn your toilets
into "terlets".  Again, this is all stereotypical, and I have no idea
how much of it is based on reality.

LH

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org