Jim and Sue Mayo teamed up at the historical society meeting to give us a sample of Southeast Missouri dialect, as it appeared to Caleb Brown Crumb in and around the year 1860 (which, as we all know, was the Civil War era). Crumb was an educator from New York, as I understand it, and he came to Bloomfield school in 1859 to teach at the "new academy," as Mayo described it. He has quite a colorful history himself, as he was once threatened by the Bushwhackers (Confederate vigilantes), who wanted to kill him.

Crumb was interested in dialect, and, since he had grown up elsewhere, he could hear the differences in the English spoken around here and his "native" English. Thus, he attempted to set down all the unique words and phrases which he heard around him.

The Mayos read about 70 words that Crumb had gathered for his book, which Sue said was really a "pamphlet." I think it was entitled "The Dialect of Southeast Missouri." In her email to us, Anita Peters said that the book was compiled in 1906. Sue read the New York version, and Jim would respond with the Southeast Mo. version. I was surprised by how many of these old words and phrases are still in use.

I'll give you some examples; then, for the sake of history, you can feel free to add to the list.

New York/ Southeast Missouri

egg.............................."aig"

tobacco juice...................."ambeer"

seat near pulpit in church......."Amen corner"

beyond..........................."apast" (The dog went apast him.)

ask.............................."ax"

Baptist.........................."Baptiss"

to trade........................."banter"

to swap knives..................."Barlow" (brand name of cheap knife)

Highway.........................."Big Road"

blacktop........................."hard road" (added by person at meeting)

born............................."borned"

quick-tempered..................."brash"

plough (plow)...................."break ground"

come and see....................."come by"

climbed.........................."cooned"

a long time......................"a coon's age"

skillet cornbread................"dodger"

cover............................"kiver"

a long time......................"till the cows come home"

Missourians......................"Pukes" (???)

to back out......................"crawfish"

cockleburr......................."cuckleburr"

tease............................"devil"

resemble........................."favor"

appropriate......................"fittin' to wear"

disappear........................"fly the coop"

foreigner........................"furiner"

worn............................."frazzled"

become spiritual................."get religion"

peanut..........................."goober"

neck............................."goozle"

going to (gonna)................."gwin"

held............................."helt"

to hesitate......................"hem and haw"

it..............................."hit" (as in "Hit don't matter")

pork............................."hog meat"

empty-handed....................."hold the bag"

How do you do?..................."Howdy"

hush............................."hesh"

Some interesting conversations were held concerning some of the words. For example, local historian and colorful character Joe Brown explained that "Hit" was perfectly acceptable at the beginning of a sentence, but "it" was used further on in the sentence.

Jim pointed out that the word "pork" was never used in the South. It was always "hog."

When we talked about the "Big Road," someone remembered that the first black top roads were referred to as the "hard roads."

I was confused by the conversation about the word "puke," as in "Missouri Pukes." I had heard the phrase "Georgia Crackers," but several of us at the meeting were unfamiliar with the term "puke." Anita Peters wondered if it had something to do with an Indian tribe which used to live in Missouri. No one ever came up with an answer for this.

I guess I hadn't realized that words and phrases introduced into the language as far back as 1860 could still be a part of our language. How on earth could a foreigner -- oops -- "furiner" -- be expected to master an English language so full of dialects?

I myself never realized how much dialect I used until I had to teach with a foreign exchange student in the class. I found that practically everything coming out of my mouth is dialect. I may write Standard English, but I speak dialect.

Paul Corbin, our 93-year-old Advance historian, calls our Southeast Missouri dialect "English with the bark on it." I guess that's because it's "unpolished."

Any quaint sayings to add to the list? Now's the time to record them.