paulb--
Well, your sneakified (speaking of made-up words!) little
comment about not needing to know the context certainly
piqued my curiosity, darn you! :-)

"a-hold", and such-like, are common speech in Kentucky. Can't say for the rest of the country, but I
suspect this is more common in the South, where people seem
bound and determined to hold on to history, for better or
for worse. Another one, esp. in rural areas, is a-feard.