On Fri, 22 Oct 2004 09:46:19 GMT, yodeled:

I'd like to pause for just a moment, to have a tangential linguistic
discussion.

Singh wrote:

Just to be on the safe side, Louie rigged up the dresser so she can't
get beneath it now. So at least if she does go down cellar, we have
some idea of how and where to find her.

Oh, *WOW*!! I haven't heard the phrase "go down cellar" for years! (It
means "go down to the basement", for the uninitiated.) But that's how my
mother always said it. I just had a childhood flashback!

I'm from Boston. My parents are from Boston. All of their parents were
born in Boston, too. So I'm thinking maybe "down cellar" is a Boston-ism.
Or maybe a New England-ism?

Where're you from again? (Sorry, I can't remember at the moment.)

We now return you to our cliff-hanging story of Odessa, the magically
disappearing and reappearing kitty-brat. :)

Joyce\


Here in Brooklyn, we would say "Go down the cellar," which while not
as abbreviated as "go down cellar," still leaves out the logical
preposition, as in "go down TO the cellar."

Actually, now that I think of it, what we would really say is "go
downacelluh." ;)


Theresa
Stinky Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/125591586JWEFwh
My Blog: http://www.humanitas.blogspot.com

On Fri, 22 Oct 2004 09:46:19 GMT, yodeled:

I'd like to pause for just a moment, to have a tangential linguistic
discussion.

Singh wrote:

Just to be on the safe side, Louie rigged up the dresser so she can't
get beneath it now. So at least if she does go down cellar, we have
some idea of how and where to find her.

Oh, *WOW*!! I haven't heard the phrase "go down cellar" for years! (It
means "go down to the basement", for the uninitiated.) But that's how my
mother always said it. I just had a childhood flashback!

I'm from Boston. My parents are from Boston. All of their parents were
born in Boston, too. So I'm thinking maybe "down cellar" is a Boston-ism.
Or maybe a New England-ism?

Where're you from again? (Sorry, I can't remember at the moment.)

We now return you to our cliff-hanging story of Odessa, the magically
disappearing and reappearing kitty-brat. :)

Joyce\


Here in Brooklyn, we would say "Go down the cellar," which while not
as abbreviated as "go down cellar," still leaves out the logical
preposition, as in "go down TO the cellar."

Actually, now that I think of it, what we would really say is "go
downacelluh." ;)


Theresa
Stinky Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/125591586JWEFwh
My Blog: http://www.humanitas.blogspot.com

On Fri, 22 Oct 2004 09:46:19 GMT, yodeled:

I'd like to pause for just a moment, to have a tangential linguistic
discussion.

Singh wrote:

Just to be on the safe side, Louie rigged up the dresser so she can't
get beneath it now. So at least if she does go down cellar, we have
some idea of how and where to find her.

Oh, *WOW*!! I haven't heard the phrase "go down cellar" for years! (It
means "go down to the basement", for the uninitiated.) But that's how my
mother always said it. I just had a childhood flashback!

I'm from Boston. My parents are from Boston. All of their parents were
born in Boston, too. So I'm thinking maybe "down cellar" is a Boston-ism.
Or maybe a New England-ism?

Where're you from again? (Sorry, I can't remember at the moment.)

We now return you to our cliff-hanging story of Odessa, the magically
disappearing and reappearing kitty-brat. :)

Joyce\


Here in Brooklyn, we would say "Go down the cellar," which while not
as abbreviated as "go down cellar," still leaves out the logical
preposition, as in "go down TO the cellar."

Actually, now that I think of it, what we would really say is "go
downacelluh." ;)


Theresa
Stinky Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/125591586JWEFwh
My Blog: http://www.humanitas.blogspot.com

Singh wrote in message ...
Odessa has been throwing a holy tantrum since we found her last night.

Does Odessa have "safe" places where she can go to curl up if she
wants some peace or some sense of security?

Nocturne's main "office" is under the bed and she also lays claim to
"beneath the end table beside the desk" and "under the bookshelf"
where she goes if reality is irritating/upsetting her. We always know
where to find her when the fire alarm goes off--in one of her
"offices." Does Odessa have an "office" she can retraet to?

--Fil

Singh wrote in message ...
Odessa has been throwing a holy tantrum since we found her last night.

Does Odessa have "safe" places where she can go to curl up if she
wants some peace or some sense of security?

Nocturne's main "office" is under the bed and she also lays claim to
"beneath the end table beside the desk" and "under the bookshelf"
where she goes if reality is irritating/upsetting her. We always know
where to find her when the fire alarm goes off--in one of her
"offices." Does Odessa have an "office" she can retraet to?

--Fil

Singh wrote in message ...
Odessa has been throwing a holy tantrum since we found her last night.

Does Odessa have "safe" places where she can go to curl up if she
wants some peace or some sense of security?

Nocturne's main "office" is under the bed and she also lays claim to
"beneath the end table beside the desk" and "under the bookshelf"
where she goes if reality is irritating/upsetting her. We always know
where to find her when the fire alarm goes off--in one of her
"offices." Does Odessa have an "office" she can retraet to?

--Fil

Yowie wrote:

So I'm thinking maybe "down cellar" is a Boston-ism.

I always find it weird to hear the American term "I'll write you" rather
than saying "I'll write *to* you". I don't know when the dropped "to" or the
"to the" in your case above first started to be thought of as correct
grammar in American English, but to these Commonweatlth English ears, it
always sounds wrong.

It sounds wrong to me, too. Actually, I always thought it was one of
my mother's linguistic peculiarities. Her one mandate in life (at least
when I was young) was to do everything with the least amount of effort
possible. So if you could get your message across saying "go down cellar",
then why bother with the "to the" in the middle? :) I guess that's why
I was so surprised to hear someone else say it. I was sure she'd invented
it!

(Hope you don't feel too self-concious, Baha! You'll soon find that we
do this sort of thing a fair amount around here. We love to point and
laugh at each other's odd expressions! Just kidding - but we do like to
compare them and sometimes analyze them.)

But being quite ancient in terms of cuber-life, I've learnt that even
"English" has distinct sub-languages, and no one particular dialect is
any more "correct" than any other - just that some are "older".

A case in point: what does "cuber-life" mean? :)

Joyce

Yowie wrote:

So I'm thinking maybe "down cellar" is a Boston-ism.

I always find it weird to hear the American term "I'll write you" rather
than saying "I'll write *to* you". I don't know when the dropped "to" or the
"to the" in your case above first started to be thought of as correct
grammar in American English, but to these Commonweatlth English ears, it
always sounds wrong.

It sounds wrong to me, too. Actually, I always thought it was one of
my mother's linguistic peculiarities. Her one mandate in life (at least
when I was young) was to do everything with the least amount of effort
possible. So if you could get your message across saying "go down cellar",
then why bother with the "to the" in the middle? :) I guess that's why
I was so surprised to hear someone else say it. I was sure she'd invented
it!

(Hope you don't feel too self-concious, Baha! You'll soon find that we
do this sort of thing a fair amount around here. We love to point and
laugh at each other's odd expressions! Just kidding - but we do like to
compare them and sometimes analyze them.)

But being quite ancient in terms of cuber-life, I've learnt that even
"English" has distinct sub-languages, and no one particular dialect is
any more "correct" than any other - just that some are "older".

A case in point: what does "cuber-life" mean? :)

Joyce

Yowie wrote:

So I'm thinking maybe "down cellar" is a Boston-ism.

I always find it weird to hear the American term "I'll write you" rather
than saying "I'll write *to* you". I don't know when the dropped "to" or the
"to the" in your case above first started to be thought of as correct
grammar in American English, but to these Commonweatlth English ears, it
always sounds wrong.

It sounds wrong to me, too. Actually, I always thought it was one of
my mother's linguistic peculiarities. Her one mandate in life (at least
when I was young) was to do everything with the least amount of effort
possible. So if you could get your message across saying "go down cellar",
then why bother with the "to the" in the middle? :) I guess that's why
I was so surprised to hear someone else say it. I was sure she'd invented
it!

(Hope you don't feel too self-concious, Baha! You'll soon find that we
do this sort of thing a fair amount around here. We love to point and
laugh at each other's odd expressions! Just kidding - but we do like to
compare them and sometimes analyze them.)

But being quite ancient in terms of cuber-life, I've learnt that even
"English" has distinct sub-languages, and no one particular dialect is
any more "correct" than any other - just that some are "older".

A case in point: what does "cuber-life" mean? :)

Joyce

We ALWAYS say go down cellar. I'm from a community of German
immigrants who settled in Ontario. I still say that myself.

My partner is from Prince Edward Island where "go down to the
basement" is in use.

Here's another one--what's that big soft thing you sit on in the
living room? To us it's a couch, but my grandmother calls it "a
chesterfield."

--Fil