Rick, "hain't" sort of rings a bell with me, too. I am sure my grandmother must have said it. I don't remember if she said "we-uns" or not. Her father was born in Mercer, but his father was born in Virginia, so you may be right about those expressions being from the south. Very interesting. Thanks. Donna -----Original Message----- From: KD6DKC@aol.com [mailto:KD6DKC@aol.com] Sent: Wednesday, December 14, 2005 12:40 PM To: didrwood1@netcommander.com; IADECATU-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [IADECATU] SNOWY DAY, MISSOURI DATABASE In a message dated 12/14/05 9:37:54 AM, didrwood1@netcommander.com writes: My mother, who was born in Mercer Co., MO, "warshes" also. She also has a daughter, my sis, who lived in "Warshington." My Grandma, Mom's mom, also used to say "pertneer". "Warsh" sure rings a bell with me as whenever my cousins and I get together we kid each other about that way of saying wash. My grandmother (from Lineville, Wayne Co., IA) used to say "we-uns" and "you-uns," which I had not heard growing up in California, and some folks across the line in Mercer Co., MO used to say "hain't" rather than ain't. A linguist/geographer could probably trace these Midwest expressions to an earlier locality in the Old South. I know my grandmother's ancestors came to Iowa from Virginia, with a brief layover in Ohio, but she never said "you-all," just "you-uns." I've mentioned the above on the List before but it seemed to fit the current "thread" combining snow tales and regional language. Rick