backing - From Ulster to America
Source: From Ulster to America: The Scotch-Irish Heritage of American English
Author: Michael Montgomery
Comments: From Ulster to America recounts the lasting impact eighteenth-century settlers from Ulster have made on the development of the English language of the United States. The book documents over 500 vocabulary items contributed to American English by these ‘Scotch-Irish’ settlers. Each ‘shared’ term with its meaning is authenticated by quotations from both sides of the Atlantic. This searchable online version of his book takes its text from the dictionary part of the second edition published by the Ullans Press in 2017.
backing, backings n Refuse (in Ulster from the production of flax, cloth or wool; in the U.S. from the distillation of whiskey, where the terms refer to the weaker alcohol at the end of a run, too low in proof properly to be considered whiskey). [oed backing n 11 ‘refuse of wool or flax, or what is left after dressing it’; snd backings ‘refuse of tow, wool, etc.’; dare backings South Midland]
Ulst.:
c1910 Byers Glossary = refuse of flax, cloth or wool.
U.S.:
1911 Shearin East Kentucky Dialect 537 backings = a grade a whiskey intermediate between ‘first shot’ … and ‘singlings’.
1949 Maurer Argot of Moonshiner 7 backings = low-proof liquor, not containing enough alcohol to be considered whiskey; usually low-proof distillate at the end of a run.
1977 Shields Cades Cove 79f It was sort of a custom to have a party after a ‘run off’ of moonshine whiskey. Sometimes called backins parties, these featured a quantity of the mash ‘backins’ or spent beer, heated with spices and served along with food … The alcoholic content of the drink is not high, but enough of it can elevate the drinkers’ spirits.
Purchase From Ulster to America
The second, revised edition of Michael Montgomery’s From Ulster to America is now available here:
From Ulster to America: The Scotch-Irish Heritage of American English (Europe)
From Ulster to America: The Scotch-Irish Heritage of American English (North America)