[Ads-l] An old usage

[Wilson Gray]

> Assuming that it means ‘is the devil’ it’s something from my childhood
(or perhaps children’s books).

Yes. "Talk about him like he's a dog" is a more prosaic way of putting it.

On Wed, Aug 19, 2020 at 10:28 PM Geoffrey Nathan <geoffnathan at wayne.edu>
wrote:

> Assuming that it means ‘is the devil’ it’s something from my childhood (or
> perhaps children’s books). Toronto, sixties…
>
> Geoff
>
> Geoffrey S. Nathan
> WSU Information Privacy Officer (Retired)
> Emeritus Professor, Linguistics Program
> http://blogs.wayne.edu/proftech/
> geoffnathan at wayne.edu
>
> From: Wilson Gray<mailto:hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
> Sent: Wednesday, August 19, 2020 10:17 PM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU<mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Subject: An old usage
>
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      An old usage
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> Debate Politics Forumswww.debatepolitics.com =E2=80=BA
> 355849-trumps-bad-ec=
> onomy-6
> May 3, 2019 - You folks _talk about him like he had a tail_. Someone should
> crack a history book ( you). W isn't the same person as HW.
>
> An ancient turn of phrase amongst the colored. May be general Southern.
> Ain't no tellin'. Never seen it in print, before.
>
> --
> -Wilson
> -----
> All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"---a strange complaint to
> come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
> -Mark Twain
>
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-- 
-Wilson
-----
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"---a strange complaint to
come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
-Mark Twain

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