Date: Sat, 12 Oct 1996 17:41:53 -0400

From: "Dennis R. Preston" preston[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]PILOT.MSU.EDU

Subject: Re: a whole nother



Lex,

"That's a whole nother problem." was a common saying in our family in

Pittsburgh, PA. It was always used to emphasize that there was a problem,

but in a humorous way. I would not be surprised if a 50's comedian coined

that phrase. Saying "bejeebers" would have gotten me in trouble, but I

don't know why. Edie ecarlson[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]lon.hookup.net



This "slown down" discussion reminds me of something I caught myself

saying, which surprised the bejeebers [sp?] out of me:



"That's a whole nother problem."



In writing it looks totally proposterous, but it sounds quite

natural to me. Since noticing it in my own speech, I now hear it

quite frequently (in the San Francisco Bay Area).



Is this common elsewhere? Does anyone know of similar constructions?



=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Lex Olorenshaw

E-mail: lexo[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]lsi.sel.sony.com

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=







Dennis R. Preston

Department of Linguistics and Languages

Michigan State University

East Lansing MI 48824-1027 USA

preston[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]pilot.msu.edu

Office: (517)432-1235

Fax: (517)432-2736