'Vas ist das' was a familiar one for me along with 'wee feel?' (SP)  Connie -----Original Message----- From: Richard Emlin Reed <remlinr@tampabay.rr.com> To: padutch-life@rootsweb.com Sent: Tue, 28 Aug 2007 11:02 am Subject: [PD-LIFE] What For My last two contributions elicited such terrific responses that I am inspired to ssay another essay. n the PA-Dutch region in which I was raised, we had an expression that I am nclined to believe was peculiar to that region. We would ask, What for a [thing] is this?". This was a direct translation from PA-Dutch " Wos ah e'n [ding] is des?". In German, "Was für" means "What sort or kind of". It ould also nean "what"; as in, "Was für ein schönes haus". "What a lovely ouse". Anyway, it was a common idiom in my home town. here you say "what kind of" today; we said "what for". "What for a house", What for a hat", "What for a machine". oday we say "car"; when I was a boy, we said "automobile or machine". My wife's randfather never called it anything else. Every Saturday morning, he would don is overalls and say, "Vell, ich moos dee machine vesha" (Well, I must wash the achine). oes any of this make any sense? What for a fool am I to scribble it! }:-) ahgesst net; alles fah shposs un' nix fah ungoot (No offense). ichard Emlin Reed esley Chapel, FL ------------------------------ o unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to PADUTCH-LIFE-request@rootsweb.com ith the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of he message ________________________________________________________________________ Email and AIM finally together. You've gotta check out free AOL Mail! - http://mail.aol.com