Date:  Fri, 3 Oct 1997 15:16:00 -0500
From:  Cynthia Bernstein <bernscy[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]MAIL.AUBURN.EDU>
Subject: Re: pop one's fingers

I polled my undergraduate intro to linguistics class at Auburn (Alabama),
but none had "pop" to mean "snap." About a third of them used "pop" with
"knuckles" or "fingers" to mean 'to crack one's knuckles (fingers)'.

Cynthia Bernstein
Dept. of English
Auburn University, AL 36849-5203



On Fri, 3 Oct 1997, Joan Houston Hall wrote:

> We didn't ask this question in the DARE questionnaire, but anecdotal
> evidence suggests that "to pop one's fingers," meaning 'to snap one's
> fingers' (i.e., sliding the middle finger quickly off the thumb onto the
> palm, making a snapping sound) is found chiefly in the South. Are some of
> you familiar with the term? When? Where?
>
> Thanks--
>
> Joan
>