End of ADS-L Digest - 29 May 1996 to 30 May 1996 ************************************************ There are 2 messages totalling 51 lines in this issue. Topics of the day: 1. swooft/rustin 2. vowels for Bosnia ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 31 May 1996 16:44:38 -0600 From: "Gregory J. Pulliam" Subject: swooft/rustin Growing up in Mississippi, I used (and still use) "swooft" (_oo_ rhymes with the "oo" in "book") in negative sentences to describe a person or action that failed to display a lot of intelligence, as in "he's not too swooft" or "that wasn't very swooft." Of course the usage parallels precisely (as far as I can gather) the more standard use of "swift." Is there regional variation in usage for "swooft"? In the Ms delta, the term "rustin" was used (1975-77) to refer to a person considered to be more or less of a bumpkin. It was college-age folks using the term, and I have never heard it anywhere (or anytime) else. Anybody else heard it? Greg Pulliam Gregory Pulliam Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago, IL gpulliam[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]charlie.acc.iit.edu