Date:  Wed, 13 Mar 1996 21:50:12 +0000

From:  Charlotte Thomas <EGP95CMT[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]SHEFFIELD.AC.UK>

Subject: Re: Clabber milk



Looking in joseph Wright's English Dialect Dictionary, this lists

both "clabbered" and "loppered" as meaning sour or curdled milk.

"Clabbered" is listed as being in use in Munster (republic of

Ireland) from 1854 to the date of publication (1905), survey 1895.

Could this be of gaelic origin? Can anyone elucidate on this matter?



"Loppered" is cited as being in use in several areas of Scotland,

northern england, and right down to the South of East Anglia. So it

appears that this is not a purely american dialect term. does anyone

have an etymology?



Charlotte Thomas



> Help! My milk has soured and I don't know what to call it.

>

> More seriously, I have been trying to map some regional terms across

> Kentucky, and I have come upon a problem that may affect my analysis. I

> have been concentrating on the terms Davis & Houck use in their critical

> 92 AS article examining the question of a Midland dialect. I am also

> including terms that Kurath 49 considers to be distinctly Midland.

>

> Anyway, based on Davis & Houck 92, I have been treating the variants for

> sour milk "clabber" and "clabber(ed) milk" as northern and southern

> terms, respectively. But in recently preparing a presentation I was

> reading through Kurath's Word Geography, and on page 70, he clearly

> writes, "Clabber is the Southern expression, clabber milk that of the

> South Midland."  His map (Fig 124) shows "lobbered milk" and "loppered

> milk" to be the Northern terms.

>

> Being uncertain, I decided to check volume one of DARE, and behold, I

> found contradictory information. In DARE, "clabber" is cited as chiefly

> Northern, and Kurath is quoted as a source.

>

> Currently I am in a quandry. Can anyone help me out here? The

> resolution could have consequences for some interpretive issues.

>

> Terry Irons

>

> P.S. Even though somebody said I hit the nail on the head about the

> internet survey, I agree with what Lance said.

>

> --

> (*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)

> Terry Lynn Irons    t.irons[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]morehead-st.edu

> Voice Mail:       (606) 783-5164

> Snail Mail:       UPO 604 Morehead, KY 40351

> (*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)

>



##########################################################

Charlotte Thomas EGP95CMT[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]Sheffield.ac.uk

CECTAL

Dept. of English Language and Linguistics

University of Sheffield

Sheffield

S10 2TN

UK



"Why does anyone believe he ought to speak better than he

can, and so in the end speak far worse than he might?"

(P.Wright, 1974)