Dictionary Revels In Regional English

What is another term for twilight besides "dusk"? In parts ofVirginia and Georgia, that's the time between late afternoon andearly evening, when the light is so dim that "you can't tell a hawkfrom a buzzard."

That delightful tidbit comes to you courtesy of the Dictionaryof American Regional English. It is the most remarkable work oflexicography since Dr. Johnson in 1755 produced his monumentalDictionary of the English Language.

Today's Dr. Johnson is Frederic G. Cassidy, 86, emeritusprofessor of English at the University of Wisconsin. In 1963 he hadan idea. He would build on work begun in 1889 by the AmericanDialect Society. He would put together a team of field …