Doasted

Speaking once again about the Ocracoke Island dialect, our visiting linguist, Paula, mentioned a word last weekend that may be unique to Ocracoke. Once, while collecting samples of the island brogue, she heard someone comment that he was "doasted right." This is not a phrase you'll likely hear anywhere else, and you won't find it in any dictionary.

On Ocracoke a bad cold or the flu is commonly referred to a a "dose" (one dictionary definition of dose, of course, is "an amount, especially of something unpleasant, to which one is subjected"). From this, the word on Ocracoke morphed into a verb, so now you hear of people being doasted, meaning they've come down with a bad cold. Paula was fascinated with the word.

This month's Ocracoke Newsletter is Lou Ann's story about volunteering for turtle patrol with the National Park Service. You can read her story and see her pictures here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news072809.htm.