About East

Gammerstang commented on the word About East

(adverb/adjective) - (1) In a proper manner. This curious slang expression originated in the West among New Englanders emigrated from the East. With them, naturally, all that is done in their native land is right, and hence, what they admire they simply call about East.

--Sylva Clapin's Dictionary of Americanisms, 1902

(2) Down East, in the American's mind, is instinctively placed near the low coast of the Atlantic, as it were down toward the sea and at the same time toward the East. The emigrant who has gone to the West still remembers with delight how they spoke and how they did Down East.

--M. Schele de Vere's Americanisms, 1872

January 14, 2018