 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| HomeDiscussion GroupsEnglish UsageBritish EnglishESL Teaching Learnglish.com Contact UsLink To UsSearch & Site Map |
Discussion Groups / English Usage / January 2010Morrison: broke as a haint
Hello: "Haint" is this AAVE for "ghost, spirit" or something else here --- [Pilate works a lot at this time:] I was broke as a haint because the place didn't carry no wages. Just room and board. Toni Morrison, Song of Solomon, p. 142 --- -- Thanks. Marius Hancu >Hello: > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >"ghost, spirit" >or something else here The OED defines: hain't, haint vulgar contr. of have not. A "have not" is a person who has nothing. The phrase is often used in "haves and have nots", the rich and the poor. "Haint" meaning a poor person seems to fit the sentence. >--- >[Pilate works a lot at this time:] [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >Toni Morrison, Song of Solomon, p. 142 >---  SignaturePeter Duncanson, UK (in alt.usage.english) On Jan 16, 6:50 am, "Peter Duncanson (BrE)" <m...@peterduncanson.net> wrote: > >"Haint" > >is this AAVE [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > >Toni Morrison, Song of Solomon, p. 142 > >--- That's a good possibility -- Thanks. Marius Hancu >> Hello: >> [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] >> Toni Morrison, Song of Solomon, p. 142 >> --- I always thought 'haint' was a dialect word meaning 'ghost' or 'spirit'. SignatureCheryl >>> Hello: >>> [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > >I always thought 'haint' was a dialect word meaning 'ghost' or 'spirit'. That was my first thought, too -- a variant of "haunt". But as far as I can see without knowing the book at all, Peter's suggestions seems to fit the context better. SignatureKaty Jennison spamtrap: remove the first two letters after the @ >>> Hello: >>> [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > >I always thought 'haint' was a dialect word meaning 'ghost' or 'spirit'. This from the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language via Onelook.com and Yahoo!: http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/haint haint NOUN: Chiefly Southern U.S. Variant of haunt. SignaturePeter Duncanson, UK (in alt.usage.english) >> I always thought 'haint' was a dialect word meaning 'ghost' or 'spirit'. > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > Variant of haunt. I have never heard this phrase, nor "haint". Is it familiar to other Brits? SignatureDavid > >> I always thought 'haint' was a dialect word meaning 'ghost' or 'spirit'. > > [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > I have never heard this phrase, nor "haint". Is it familiar to other Brits? Google Books has a fair number of dictionaries of the regional dialects of England, and they only are aware of "haint" as "ain't". This sense also shows up in varous parts of the US, such as New England in 1848, and in Mark Twain's work. For "haint" as ghost, the most detailed entry I find says that it came from Gullah dialect, and that paint of the color "haint blue" was used to discourage evil spirits. http://books.google.com/books?id=V9hntB4BJzIC&pg=PA45&dq=haint+dialect&c d=11#v=onepage&q=haint%20dialect&f=false So I wouldn't expect Britons to be familiar with it. There's also an incomplete snippet by a linguist (The English Language in America, George Philip Krapp) explaining why the vowel in "haunt" changed to "haint." "Haint" as ghost shows up in several places in "To Kill a Mockingbird," such as "Ain't you scared of haints?" SignatureBest -- Donna Richoux > For "haint" as ghost, the most detailed entry I find says that it came >from Gullah dialect, and that paint of the color "haint blue" was used [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] >"Haint" as ghost shows up in several places in "To Kill a Mockingbird," >such as "Ain't you scared of haints?" There's an "old time stringband" called "The Haints" (http://www.thehaints.com/band.html) - they say "The word "haint" is a southern expression for a spirit or ghost." SignaturePeter Bennett, VE7CEI peterbb4 (at) interchange.ubc.ca GPS and NMEA info: http://vancouver-webpages.com/peter Vancouver Power Squadron: http://vancouver.powersquadron.ca >"Haint" as ghost shows up in several places in "To Kill a Mockingbird," >such as "Ain't you scared of haints?" Ah, that's another reason for us Brits to know it. Haven't read it for years, though, which is why it didn't come to mind. SignatureKaty Jennison spamtrap: remove the first two letters after the @ >> "Haint" as ghost shows up in several places in "To Kill a Mockingbird," >> such as "Ain't you scared of haints?" > > Ah, that's another reason for us Brits to know it. Haven't read it > for years, though, which is why it didn't come to mind. One of those books I've never actually read, I fear. Wife did it for O-level, so it often gets quoted in our house, but I don't recall her mentioning any haints. SignatureDavid > Google Books has a fair number of dictionaries of the regional > dialects of England, and they only are aware of "haint" as "ain't". [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > So I wouldn't expect Britons to be familiar with it. Especially if it haint blue. SignatureRegards John for mail: my initials plus a u e at tpg dot com dot au >>> I always thought 'haint' was a dialect word meaning 'ghost' or 'spirit'. >> [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > >I have never heard this phrase, nor "haint". Is it familiar to other Brits? To me, yes, which was why it was my first thought when Marius asked the question. But goodness knows where I picked it up; the fact that I know it doesn't mean that it's echt BrE. I'm wondering if it's in Huckleberry Finn, for instance: that has the right sort of feel. SignatureKaty Jennison spamtrap: remove the first two letters after the @ >>> I always thought 'haint' was a dialect word meaning 'ghost' or 'spirit'. >> [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > >I have never heard this phrase, nor "haint". Is it familiar to other Brits? I am familiar with it, but mainly, I think, from reading American novels. SignatureI can't control the kittens. Too many whiskers! Too many whiskers! http://sleeptalkinman.blogspot.com/ >>Hello: >> [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > > "Haint" meaning a poor person seems to fit the sentence. Keep in mind that "have (has) not" _as a verb_ is still in use. "He haint got no money". "He haint going to the store." But in this example, I think the "haint" is just as likely to be from "haunt" or spirit. >>--- >>[Pilate works a lot at this time:] [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >> >>Toni Morrison, Song of Solomon, p. 142 >Hello: > [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] >Toni Morrison, Song of Solomon, p. 142 >--- Definition 1 of haint, I would think, a ghost, apparition or lost soul, which I pulled from the Urban Dictionary: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Haint SignatureRegards, Chuck Riggs, An American who lives near Dublin, Ireland and usually spells in BrE > "Haint" > is this AAVE for > "ghost, spirit" [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > Toni Morrison, Song of Solomon, p. 142 > --- Contrary to speculation, I don't find any evidence that "haint" has been used to mean "a have-not" or a person who has nothing (proposed etymology by way of "hain't"). The evidence is all of the side of ghost, haunt, with some extended meanings. Urban Dictionary: Chiefly Southern U.S. var of haunt, originally, but the meaning has since morphed to mean more than a ghost. It can also mean a scary bitch or mean person, usually a woman. The unsolved mystery is, why "broke as a haint"? Ghosts have lots of properties, but are not usually thought of as needing or lacking money. But there are plenty of hits for "broke as a haint," as well as others such as: lost as a haint skinny as a haint poor as a haint wild as a haint White as a haint Mean as a haint SignatureBest -- Donna Richoux >> "Haint" > is this AAVE for >> "ghost, spirit" [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > ghost. It can also mean a scary bitch or mean person, > usually a woman. A Google Books search for "as a haint" turns up a number of hits, all apparently in this sense. As perhaps further evidence, I see one (2000) hit for "broke as a ghost". > The unsolved mystery is, why "broke as a haint"? Ghosts have lots of > properties, but are not usually thought of as needing or lacking > money. But they are thought of as not having any. "You can't take it with you," and all that. SignatureEvan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------ HP Laboratories |It is a popular delusion that the 1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 |government wastes vast amounts of Palo Alto, CA 94304 |money through inefficiency and sloth. |Enormous effort and elaborate kirshenbaum@hpl.hp.com |planning are required to waste this (650)857-7572 |much money | P.J. O'Rourke http://www.kirshenbaum.net/ >> "Haint" > is this AAVE for >> "ghost, spirit" [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > White as a haint > Mean as a haint I would have thought a ghost wouldn't need money, but also certainly wouldn't have any money. SignatureCheryl > > "ghost, spirit" > > or something else here [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > ghost. It can also mean a scary bitch or mean person, > usually a woman. OK, good reference here. > The unsolved mystery is, why "broke as a haint"? Ghosts have lots of > properties, but are not usually thought of as needing or lacking money. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > White as a haint > Mean as a haint Thank you, Donna. Marius Hancu |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2012 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.