What're Words For, Part 13

With the end of December approaching, we will all be seeing all of our friends and family as we celebrate whatever holiday/festival it is that we may celebrate during this time of year. As we hang out with our chums and tip back a holiday drink, be it cider, eggnog, or alcohol, we celebrate our lives and those who have made it what it is.

This week's word is a term of endearment for any and all of your friends, family, and everyone else that you'll be spending your upcoming days with.

Word: De-ah (N.) (sp. "dear")
Definition: friend, chum
Don't be alarmed if you hear a couple of rough, tough clam diggers address each other as "De-ah". It's an old custom and indicates not a whit of effeminacy. The greeting crosses all lines of sex and age, and even total strangers may talk to each other thus -- provided they know how talk Yankee.


(Definition from: "How To Talk Yankee", by Gerald Lewis & Tim Sample, copyright 1979, 1986 by The Thorndike Press; copyright 1989 by the First North Country Press)


So, de-ahs, I hope your holiday plans are going swimmingly!