Sprecken Sie Pennsylvaniaish?
By Cindy O. Herman
You can dittzle all you want, even if you came along behind. Just don't go back. That's always a bad thing. Pennsylvania Dutch people are known for their quaint, peculiar phrasings, like "Outen the lights" and "Throw the horse over the fence some hay." And here in Central Pennsylvania, we can hear lots of these colorful expressions from our neighbors every day. "He's really going back," people say, shaking their heads sadly. They're not talking about someone returning to a dangerous place, or someone failing a class, but about someone who is ill and getting sicker. If you're not Pennsylvania Dutch, you might say, "He's really getting sicker," or even, "His condition is worsening." But if you're Pennsylvania Dutch, the poor guy is going back.
Somehow it sounds especially bad to be going back after coming along behind, but the two are unrelated. Have you ever known a family that had a handful of kids within a few years of each other, then a final child was born a few years later? You might say of that child, "She was born much later than the others," or even, "She was a few years younger than all of her siblings." Something like that. But if you were Pennsylvania Dutch you'd simply say, "She came along behind," as if the child took it upon herself to pack up her belongings and tag along after her older brothers and sisters. No matter who you're talking about or how old they are, we all dittzle at times. Dittzling is the fine art of keeping busy when there's really not much to do. You might be dittzling if you go out to the pasture and straighten a few fence posts that weren't really leaning too badly in the first place. Or trim some brush off a few trees that weren't in anyone's way. You could rearrange your sock drawer, organize your sewing basket or go through the house fluffing pillows, straightening curtains and rearranging the china in the china closet.
This is dittzling, and it's an admirable way to pass a slow day because it gives you the satisfying feeling of having accomplished a day's work - something that's valued in the Pennsylvania Dutch culture. Dittzling becomes a problem only when there's serious work to be done, like throwing the horse over the fence some hay. If your horse needs hay and you're dittzling around with the fence posts, it's going to make. In other words, there's going to be an argument, and someone's going to get it. Then you'll be going back in a hurry, not in health but in a trip to the barn to take care of that horse. Chores first, my friend. Chores first. If you want to hammer some fence posts or sort your spools of thread and extra buttons, wait till it gives a day where the chores are all caught up. That's what dittzling is for.
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