Date:  Wed, 5 Nov 1997 10:18:12 -0500
From:  Carol Andrus <CLAndrus[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]AOL.COM>
Subject: Re: "git-go and southernisms"

I grew up in Manatee County Florida just after the 2nd WW, and all our
neighbors were southern whites, with roots up in Georgia and Alabama. They
frequently used the term "from the git-go." Very rich speech -- they'd go up
to Georgia for a family reunion and see a lot of their "shirttail folk" --
distant relatives, and an old aunt who was "older than dirt." "B.J.--you're
storifying ta me agin (lying)!" We were always invited to come set a "spell
on the porch." My childhood friend Sylvia attended my daughter's wedding in
England last summer, and, while talking to a London woman, Sylvia said, "Oh,
let's go set a spell out on the patio and chew the fat." I hurriedly
explained that it meant just to "sit a while and chat." The British woman's
reply was a quick classic: "Oh," she said, "I thought it had something to do
with witchcraft."