", Now I may be a bit old fashioned, but there are maxims to live by like "If it ain't broke, don't fix it. From moonshoot to balconing: discover the latest words added to the Collins Dictionary. All Rights Reserved. Naw. [2] As the "mn" combination of two nasal consonants is disfavoured by many English speakers, the "m" of amn't began to be elided, reflected in writing with the new form an't.
And the zither music ai n't bad, either ! Can't say the same about Vera Snodging tho, well oiled she may be but fit she ain't, poor old sot.

in the phrase ain't I.

It's gonna rain. [36], Ain't is found throughout the English-speaking world across regions and classes,[37] and is among the most pervasive nonstandard terms in English. He ain't listening.

[9], An't with a long "a" sound began to be written as ain't, which first appears in writing in 1749.

Horner.

I ain't leaving the house—maybe make a few phone calls from time to time. I ain't heard a peep out of his room since. They ain't done nothing more'n grunt, leastways not when I was around.
= I've never been there. Besides the standard construction ain't got, ain't is rarely attested for the present-tense constructions do not or does not. Why I ain't got nobody here to strike....[13] Charles Dickens likewise used ain't to mean haven't in Chapter 28 of Martin Chuzzlewit (1844): "You ain't got nothing to cry for, bless you! Some of the tabs featured here include It Ain't Like That, Nutshell, Litter Bitter, I Stay Away and many more. [25] It is a prominent example in English of a shibboleth – a word used to determine inclusion in, or exclusion from, a group. that grass ain't what it used to be. [27][31] "[51] It can also be used deliberately for what The Oxford Dictionary of American Usage and Style describes as "tongue-in-cheek" or "reverse snobbery". The usage of ain't for the forms of to be not was established by the mid-18th century, and for the forms of to have not by the early 19th century. You ain't never poked around in my past and I've sort of kept my business close to the vest. [19] Linguists draw a distinction, however, between grammaticality and acceptability: what may be considered grammatical across all dialects may nevertheless be considered not acceptable in certain dialects or contexts. All the latest wordy news, linguistic insights, offers and competitions every month. "[53], Although ain't is seldom found in formal writing, it is frequently used in more informal written settings, such as popular song lyrics. The newsletter includes useful lessons, competitions and book reviews. Often used to mean "don't have any," it literally means the opposite. Copyright © 2020 LoveToKnow. [10] By the time ain't appeared, an't was already being used for am not, are not, and is not.

ain't nothing better then to hear a track get created from scratch. Of course, it's not grammatically correct.

I ain't even gonna point her in the right direction to the library, much less do her work for her. [25] In its geographical ubiquity, ain't is to be contrasted with other folk usages such as y'all, which is confined to the South region of the United States. "[32] Ain't is listed in most dictionaries, including the Oxford Dictionary of English[33] and Merriam-Webster. What is the meaning of ain't? Webster's Third New International Dictionary, an opera about the 2008 US vice presidential debate, Linguistics for Everyone: An Introduction, The Origins and Development of the English Language, "Negation in African American Vernacular English", Language practices in the construction of social roles in Late Modern English. In the English lawyer William Hickey's memoirs (1808–1810), ain't appears as a contraction of aren't; "thank God we're all alive, ain't we..."[11], Han't or ha'n't, an early contraction for has not and have not, developed from the elision of the "s" of has not and the "v" of have not. Learn more. Finally, Hunter said, The only thing peculiar about this whole thing is that there ain't nothing peculiar about it. I'll believe it when they fish his body out of the drink, which they won't, 'cause it ain't there.

2. [50], Ain't can be used in both speech and writing to catch attention and to give emphasis, as in "Ain't that a crying shame", or "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

O'Conner, Patricia T. and Stewart Kellerman. = She hasn't got the money to buy it. For an in-depth discussion, see Skinner David. They're all dead now, in one way or another, if they ain't found Jesus. However, as it has still not been accepted into "proper" English like its counterparts won't and can't, few people see any problem with further "misuse" of the word. You can use is also with HAVE:

[30] Contractions in general were disapproved of, but ain't and its variants were seen as particularly "vulgar".

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