QotM

[elaby]

A Question of the Moment, because dakegra is away, and inspired by my current transcription project, which features a guy who grew up in the same area I did.

Is the phrase "down cellar" to mean "in/to the basement" strange to your ear, or perfectly normal? Usages would be:

"Where's Dad/the cat/the vaccuum cleaner?"
"Down cellar."

Or

"Where are you going?"
"Down cellar."

It's used sort of as a companion to "upstairs" in that it can mean a place and a direction.

I'm wondering if this is a regional thing or not.

Comments

[elaby.livejournal.com]

Ohhh... interesting! We never had a vegetable cellar :) We just had the one that was the foundation level of the house. Only that was half underground too.

[elaby.livejournal.com]

It was the omission of that "in the" that made me wonder whether it was unusual! It's cool you grew up with "cellars" though, and not basements :)

[elaby.livejournal.com]

I don't know! I wonder if it was difference in how the ground was. I don't know if you could have built a root cellar type thing in the rocky ground out here.