My Grandfather didn't use this word for people with "mulligrubs", instead he said they "had the sooners", that is, they'd "sooner have" something other than that which they were already blessed.

Welcome to Wordcraft, Tor! We'd love to have you stay awhile...and post some more.

As for mulligrubs, I hadn't heard of it. Dictionary.com's citation was for mubblefubbles and said, "depression for no apparent reason, melancholy; also called blue devils, mulligrubs. Then in another citation, it says "the griping of the intestines" from mull, meaning "to squeeze, pull about, mulling numb or dull." It's an interesting word. How have you seen it used?

Welcome, Tor.

Where was your Grandfather from? I'm betting that his usage of 'sooners' is a popular regionalism.

Does anyone have a copy of whatever-you-call-that-big-dictionary-of-regionalisms in which to look it up?

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whatever-you-call-that-big-dictionary-of-regionalisms

hehehe

If you can find a title, perhaps I can find it at the library?

CW,

It's got a red cover; does that help?

LOL - just like the customers . . .

The other day I actually had someone who wanted me to help her find "those romances, you know, the ones written by that woman . . ."

You mean, the one that shows a helpless woman being held by a tall, dark, handsome stranger on the cover of the paperback? And her bodice is ripped? There, now, you can surely go right to it!

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LOL - just like the customers . . .

I will never forget a time walking into a large Borders in downtown Chicago, wanting to find a book where I remembered the color, but neither the titled nor the author. I was with my daughter and was struggling to remember the book. I told her that I was going to ask the clerk, and she was so embarrassed. "No one, Mother, is going to know the book with that description!" Yet, the clerk (quite a good-looking guy just her age) put his hands on it immediately. My daughter, who hates to be wrong, was flabbergasted.

I've done that, too - I mean, been able to identify the book from descriptions like that. Another favorite trick of mine is to ID the book from a plot description. Doesn't happen all the time, of course, but it sure is fun to do sometimes!