Date:  Thu, 9 May 1996 16:10:35 -0600

From:  "Gregory J. Pulliam" <gpulliam[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]CHARLIE.ACC.IIT.EDU>

Subject: out-of-pocket



My father from Hannibal, Missouri tells me of a dispute he's involved in

regarding the term out-of-pocket. He and my mother, who's from Omaha, NE,

use the term to mean "not being where one is supposed to be," as in "I'm

sorry we couldn't be there but we were out-of-pocket."

A friend of his uses the term to mean "out-of money." My wife and I use

the term to mean "unexpected and immediate cash" expenses.

Does anybody have any dialect region inoformation about these terms, or

other supporting or diverging uses?

Greg Pulliam

gpulliam[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]charlie.iit.edu

Illinois Institute of Technology

Chicago