who-laid-the-rail
adv. phr.— «He said he was a Willkie man to who-laid-the-rail, but that unfortunately he was afflicted with asthma, which was responsible for the hissing.» —“The Brighter Side” by Damon Runyon Zanesville Signal (Ohio) Aug. 27, 1940. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Is there such a thing as a “neutral” accent, and if so what does it sound like? And that quirk in the way southern Californians talk about freeways. They’ll say things like take the 405 and get on the 8. Why the definite article...
Rachel in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, wonders: Why do some longtime married couples refer to each other as Mother and Father? This is part of a complete episode.
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