Outen the lights

Posted by R. Berg on August 28, 2002

In Reply to: Outen the lights posted by ESC on August 28, 2002

: : Where did this phrase originate???

: Sounds like a mountain phrase to me. A couple of related phrases: "outen," a preposition as in "out of" and "outten, ou'n" an adjective as in "out of." From Southern Mountain Speech by Cratis D. Williams (Berea College Press, 1992)

It may also be a humorous imitation of German, with the "-en" ending for verbs.