Date:  Wed, 19 Apr 1995 11:02:56 EDT

From:  Larry Horn <LHORN[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]YALEVM.CIS.YALE.EDU>

Subject: Re: [p*tut]



I've never heard 'patoot', but I'm quite familiar with its diminutive, which is

usually found in the context of "You bet your sweet patootie." (I somehow

associate this with the late 60's TV show Laugh-In.) I always assumed the

patootie is, in fact, the human hindquarters, but I'm unsure on the derivation.

It does not seem likely to be an ablaut variant of '[sweet] potato'.



Larry