Date:  Thu, 22 Sep 1994 13:00:32 EDT

From:  Michael Montgomery <N270053[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]UNIVSCVM.CSD.SCAROLINA.EDU>

Subject: nebby



The term _nebby_ most likely represents another contribution of the

Ulster Scots (Scotch-Irish) to the Upper Ohio River Valley, where they

were the largest European group in the late 18th/early 19th century.

Many Ulster glossaries list the term. Michael Traynor in his _English

Dialect of Donegal_ does so perhaps most in detail; he offers three

senses, one adjectival, two nominal:



   1. impertinent, ill-natured;

   2. a tell-tale gossip;

   3. a cheeky forward person.



Along with _redd up_, _you'uns_, _need_ + past part., and others, the

term _nebby_ can be traced back directly to Ulster and ultimately to

Scotland.



Michael Montgomery, Dept of English, U of South Carolina, Columbia SC 29208