[Ads-l] Heard: "Hey, is this one of ?_ours's_/?_ourses'_ birthdays?"

[W Brewer]

JAL:  << (Note that the composer of this quatrain was under the impression
that "smithy" was a variant form of "smith") >>

WB:  OTOH, what worries me is the relationship of <Mr. Smith> to its
nickname <Smitty>. The theta became a flap.    ?? {<Smith> + diminutive
<-y> + Irish brogue} became <Smitty> ??   Makes ya wonder ...  But we
digress.

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