I was curious about phrases such as "I like to have almost died" or "I like to have almost broke my neck." I can remember hearing some older family members use similar phrases, and at first I really thought that it was a bit strange. It took me a little while to figure out that they meant "I narrowly avoided an unfortunate occurance" and not "I would have liked for an unfortunate occurence to have happened." Does anyone know how long such phrases have been used? Am I correct in assuming that this is a predominantly Southern thing? (I live in West Texas).
I don't hear many people in the general population use these "I like to have" phrases, but I do encounter them occasionally in books and movies. The first place I can remember seeing such phrases in print is A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs (ERB wasn't Southern, but John Carter of Mars, the protagonist and narrator of the novel, is). I also recently encountered a "like to have" in a Warner Brothers cartoon called "Sleepy Time Possum" in which the characters speak in a Southern dialect. Does anyone here encounter "Like to have" phrases on a regular basis.
Ah, this sounds like music to my ears, EF. My father's folks from the hills of NC said this kind of thing all the time.
There's a long entry on this expression in the Dictionary of Smoky Mountain English, taking it (or variations of it) back to 1838: "I had like to of have said ugly."(How's that again??) And "Them two preachers like to had a ruction." (Would love to know the context for that one!)
As you suggest, "liked to" and "like to" mean "(have) nearly" or "(have) almost." It goes on to note that the auxiliary "have" has often been lost (as in "He was the mayor the year they like to went broke down there.") And yes, it appears to be chiefly Southern. Thanks for bringing back the memories!
Btw, on my way to the "like to" entry in the Smoky Mountain English dictionary, I was happy to come across the term "lick log," which is "a log with holes cut into it to hold salt for cattle" and used figuratively in the phrase "up to the lick log," which means "at a moment of change or indecision." A word-picture to make you swoon, eh?
martha said:
Btw, on my way to the “like to” entry in the Smoky Mountain English dictionary, I was happy to come across the term “lick log,” which is “a log with holes cut into it to hold salt for cattle” and used figuratively in the phrase “up to the lick log,” which means “at a moment of change or indecision.” A word-picture to make you swoon, eh?
Southern English is fantastic. (I count Texas as South in this context.) I was always being told to "simmer down." I remember once when my Aunt Margie followed that metaphor with a word picture that made my 6ish-year-old head spin as I followed along. (think in a slow drawl as you read) "Simmer down, Francie! You're noisier'n a cat tryin' to bury shit on a glass roof."
Frances, that may have made your 6is-year-old head spin, but it made me LOL! Thanks for this one. Never heard it. And you are so, so right about English in the American South. Seems like an endless supply of great lines like this one.
-- Martha, who was also told to simmer down and never thought about that sounding weird until just now