SLPAD - 77a

[Michael Bailey]

“I got us a car,” she smiled. He was aware all at once that she had a
slight Rebel
               accent. “Hey,” he said, “what y’all drinking?”


            “Tom Collins,” she said. Levine drank scotch. Her face got
serious. “Is it bad out
               there?” she said. “Pretty bad,” Levine said.


Does she get serious because he orders a Scotch, or does he just think
about Scotch but orders 2 Tom Collins.

It’s a small point, but I think he orders a Scotch for himself and probably
another Tom Collins for her, and she’s perceived Scotch as a more serious
drink, so feels it appropriate for her to refer to the ongoing disaster
which has brought them together.


A “Rebel accent” - there are other ways to refer to a Southern accent. This
way brings in a lot of context, doesn’t it?


Anorak Coda

He displays his colloquial acclimation with “what y’all drinking?”

“Ya’ll”, the alternate, somewhat puzzling* spelling
 I *think* would be a more strictly “southern” rendering. At least, that’s
the way I used to most often see it spelled in Florida newspapers & signage
back in the 1970s.


* as if they’re saying “ya” and then eliding the “a” of “all” - though it
doesn’t sound any different.

“Never mind” (-;
https://youtu.be/OjYoNL4g5Vg