End of ADS-L Digest - 25 Mar 1995 to 26 Mar 1995 ************************************************ There are 11 messages totalling 665 lines in this issue. Topics of the day: 1. Gesundheit! (4) 2. creme soda (2) 3. Rabbit = Rodent? (2) 4. (2) 5. had the biscuit ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 27 Mar 1995 01:12:35 -0500 From: Leo Horishny Subject: Gesundheit! Perhaps someone can explain for me this puzzle about Cincinnatians...when we moved here years ago, I caught on to one of the local idiomatic expressions, "Please?" for whenever a listener wished to have some- thing repeated. I learned this term, which I had not heard where I grew up, comes from the German way of speaking; Germans say, "Bitte?" in the same situations. Now, I've long wondered if this is so, why is it that they do NOT use the term, "Gesundheit"? I can't remember hearing this term since moving to Cincinnati just, "God Bless You" or "Bless You". I do remember hearing it, from time to time growing up in the West. Nothing as frequent as an, either/or occurence, but often enough to be aware that these were two equally appropriate forms of expressing concern for another's soul possibly flying out of their mouth. Has anyone come across any reason or research into this blatant disregard for the Teutonic concern for the souls of others? leo_horishny[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]pol.com Rowrbazzle!