Some months ago, I asked on behalf of longtime reader Dianne if anyone could give her some info on a Pennsylvania Dutch nursery rhyme that her grandfather used while bouncing granchildren on his knee. I cannot believe the great responses I got! I am so appreciative. One thing I mentioned
This idea comes to me from loyal reader Jo, who mentioned some time ago that we have a variety of ways in York County to describe the time. There is the numerical version, of course. Looking at the clock pictured here, you might say it’s about “Eleven – thirty.” But
One of the great things about writing about “Yorkisms” – which I define to mean things said frequently in this area, not things ONLY said in this area – is how many comments I get with every mention of one! The recent mailbag has proved no exception. Commenter Bern Bevenour
I really liked hearing so many comments about “spritzing” on my post last month! Hubby pointed out a funny use of “spritz” that I’d forgotten. We have a bottle at home just for spritzing the cats when they go places they’re not supposed to go. Mark contributes from Austria, “You’ve
Mark, my German-language expert, is always glad to help. So when we started talking about some of the German origins behind the word “strubbly,” I knew I could count on him to share more info! He says, “Well you know I gotta add more to this. Just read the post
I happened on a good Yorkism the other day. On Facebook, I mentioned that I had just done a “load of wash” and had another ready to go, which I found depressing. Well, friend and coworker Jess mentioned that she loved that I said “load of wash” because she thought
Last month, I asked you if the room at the bottom of your house was a basement or a cellar. Basement is definitely leading in the unofficial poll, but most commenters seemed to agree with the differentiation proposed by reader Jo, who posits that a more “finished” space is a
One of my favorite sources for all things Pennsylvania Dutch is Dianne. In a recent letter, she described a Pa. Dutch saying that her grandfather used when bouncing his grandchildren on his knee. She writes, “It goes something like this… Rida, rida gali, Acka-docka-miley, My-a-missa, Hava-dessa, For des’ gal a
From commenter Dianne comes a good Yorkism: Spritzing. She mentioned it as in “raining very lightly.” (Then there’s also “make wet” for rain, as in, “It’s going to make wet today.”) With spritz, I also use it to describe what I do to my hair in the morning with a
Had an interesting e-mail the other week from Jo. She writes, “Is it basement or cellar? My definition of cellar derives from childhood when people’s lower levels were unfinished, often had dirt floors, were dank, cold and often smelly. There might have been one of those monstrous furnaces with ducts