#715 Accidental Byways

There’s a certain amount of regionalism in how we speak. Before I moved to the northwest, I never heard the phrase “on accident.” Back where I came from—or back where I come from—the term was always “by accident.”
The preposition “by” gives the meaning that whatever it was that happened was brought about by some other power or entity, in this case the mysterious entity of chance. Accidental things could not be said to have been intentional, therefore they were acted upon by something outside oneself.
It happened “by” another force, it was not acting “on” another force.
Something could happen “on purpose” but not “on accident.” “On” implies that it was on your say so. On your honor. On your volition.
But one day, when my son was young, he very strongly maintained that something had happened “on accident.” As his mother or I had never uttered the phrase, I was pretty sure it had come from his peers.
Since that time, I have noted numerous native northwesterners saying the same thing. So, if you’re an FBI guy looking to pick out the possible terrorist from the natives, there’s another clue to add to your bag of tricks.
Another might be the term hiccup. H-i-c-c-u-p-.
Or possibly hiccough with an o-u-g-h-.
I grew up with hiccups. I thought the word to be largely imitative in origin. The word hiccup sounds awfully like the sound you make when you hiccup.
And then I read the word hicc-o-u-g-h- in a learned publication and I began to wonder. At first I assumed it was just one of those spelling alternatives that never got pronounced like Worcestershire and victuals being woostershur and vittles.
Then I heard someone actually say hiccough. Cuff not cup. Was me using the term hiccup a sign of my lower class upbringing? Was I giving myself away in upper social circles by saying hiccup and not hiccough?
And worse, was I hiccupping wrong in the first place? Should I be hic-cuffing?
No. Turns out the guy was wrong. When I confronted him he said he used the term hic-cuff on accident.
America, ya gotta love it.