Dictionary of American Regional English (volume 1)

[mellicious]

I read somewhere, a couple of weeks ago, about how the last volume of the Dictionary of American Regional English is (finally) being published - the first volume came out in 1985 - and my latent reference librarian suddenly came to the fore and I ended up buying the first volume from Amazon (used). I should never shop online at 4 in the morning, because I needed a big reference book like that like I needed a hole in my head, but at the time it seemed like a huge bargain, and it was, relatively speaking - it was only $17 when the other volumes were $70 and up. So anyway, I thought I would pass along some interesting words and phrases, when I think of it, like I did for the medical terms earlier. It makes me feel more like I'm getting my money's worth if I share.

Here's one I'd never heard (and I'm condensing a bit - this is written with copious examples, sort of like the OED):

California blanket    n joc
1926 [Hobo lingo] Newspapers when used for sleeping purposes (as a substitute for bedding)