I suppose all who pick up this thread know this, but I'll say it anyway, many of the expressions we now find quaint or unusual are hold overs from earlier times and many have passed through many generations. The language used here in Stone County, Arkansas has changed quite a bit, "a wee toady bit" in the last forty years since I have been here. Due in part to radio and television, and to paved roads. People have always wanted to get out so gravel roads and one lane paths only limited them a bit, but people have not always wanted to get in. The paving helped in that regard.

I enjoy reading Patrick Taylor and Sharyn McCrumb for several reasons but the language of their characters is of interest.