[Ads-l] smidget

[Laurence Horn]

> On Dec 5, 2023, at 5:55 PM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> 
> 'Smidgen.'
> 
> MSNBC:
> 
> That was just a smidget of what she had to say.
> 
> JL
> -- 

A purported regionalism cited in DARE according to this OUP blog:

https://blog.oup.com/2012/04/smidget-regional-terms-american-english/ <https://blog.oup.com/2012/04/smidget-regional-terms-american-english/>


smidget
Like smidge, this southern word always means a tiny amount of something, often food. Citations show people discussing smidgets of corn, cake, cream, trouble, and other delicacies.

The full entry in DARE (with no regional annotation) is:

A small amount; a small piece (of food).

So I guess the question is whether the full amount of “what she had to say” would count as a delicacy.

LH
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