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Previous Thread Next Thread Print Thread You hain't seen nothing' yet #205414 04/09/12 05:31 PM Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 1,819 Spam Factory A Alex Williams OP Pooh-Bah OP Alex Williams Pooh-Bah A Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 1,819 Spam Factory Hi everybody. Long time no see! Recently I watched To Kill a Mockingbird for the umpteenth time and, as always, watching it led me to pick up the book again and re-read parts of it. It's one of those books that is enjoyable and engaging on first reading but rewards repeated visits as well. Today I came across this passage containing the word hain't: Quote: When Walter caught up with us, Jem made pleasant conversation with him. "A hain't lives there," he said cordially, pointing to the Radley house. "Ever hear about him Walter?" I had to look up hain't. With the apostrophe you will find it defined as a colloquial contraction of "have not" or "has not," sort of the lesser known sibling of "ain't," I suppose. I googled the terms hain't and mockingbird and came across an online glossary for the book. This defined hain't as a spook or a ghost. Going back and searching for haint (without the apostrophe) confirmed this. I am a Southerner myself but I never heard this word used to mean a ghost or anything like that. I'm not sure why Harper Lee used the apostrophe in her book. That may simply be a typo limited to particular editions of the book. I'm just curious to know if any of you are familiar with the word, and of course any comments on TKAM are welcome. Last edited by Alex Williams; 04/09/12 05:37 PM. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: You hain't seen nothing' yet Alex Williams #205415 04/09/12 06:39 PM Joined: Apr 2000 Posts: 10,542 this too shall pass tsuwm Carpal Tunnel tsuwm Carpal Tunnel Joined: Apr 2000 Posts: 10,542 this too shall pass haunt, also hant or ha'nt or haint Chiefly Southern U.S. A ghost or other supernatural being. [AHD4] I suspect an overly zealous editor (since this was before the advent of spellcheckers) Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: You hain't seen nothing' yet tsuwm #205422 04/10/12 04:27 AM Joined: Jun 2010 Posts: 1,554 Lower Aberdeen, Mississippi J jenny jenny veteran jenny jenny veteran J Joined: Jun 2010 Posts: 1,554 Lower Aberdeen, Mississippi Dialectically speaking "haint" is phonetically and correctly pronounced in parts of the south for a haunt. A hant is a haint that semantically ain't. At least in Mississippi. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: You hain't seen nothing' yet jenny jenny #205439 04/12/12 02:33 AM Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 11,613 Louisville, Kentucky Jackie Carpal Tunnel Jackie Carpal Tunnel Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 11,613 Louisville, Kentucky A hant is a haint that semantically ain't. Gosh it's good to see you back here! Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: You hain't seen nothing' yet Alex Williams #205443 04/12/12 02:48 AM Joined: Jun 2000 Posts: 724 Avy old hand Avy old hand Joined: Jun 2000 Posts: 724 Originally Posted By: Alex Williams It's one of those books that is enjoyable and engaging on first reading but rewards repeated visits as well. Yes it does. It was one of the books I read as a child and after that as an adult. As a child, the book was about Scout, Jem and Dill and what they do. As an adult, the book was about the others Mrs. Dubois, Atticus, the townsfolk and what they do. Edited to add: to the child Boo was a ghost and terrifying and fun; to the adult Boo was a wronged human and inspired empathy. Last edited by Avy; 04/12/12 02:53 AM. 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