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To: RoadTest
drudge 2 (drŭj) n. & v. Chesapeake Bay Variant of dredge1. "Out here on the Chesapeake, they call it 'drudging for arsters,'" says Charles Kuralt in his book On the Road with Charles Kuralt. The Standard English verb dredge is pronounced with a centralized vowel by Chesapeake Bay oyster fishermen, yielding drudge. Drudge in turn has been picked up by city dwellers on the Delmarva Peninsula; a survey of some young people from Baltimore revealed that they did not even know that there was a Standard English verb dredge. Kuralt gives the regional pronunciation a whimsical folk etymology with the standard meaning of drudge, "to do tedious or unpleasant work," observing, "Whatever you do for a living, it's not as hard as 'drudging for arsters.'"
17 posted on 04/23/2009 6:00:35 AM PDT by 2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten
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To: 2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten

Dinna know that. Thanks!


20 posted on 04/23/2009 6:10:35 AM PDT by RoadTest (" -strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it)
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