...in them thar hills
Posted by Philippe on November 05, 2000
In Reply to: ...in them thar hills posted by Philippe on November 04, 2000
Thanks for your answers. I knew this alternative use of "them" for "those" although I wouldn't dare use it myself -- but certainly not "them there"...
As for the Western source of the saying, I was thinking of a more "sophisticated" origin, a kind of metaphor, worthy of Shakespeare or the Bible...
A search on the Web for the sentence shows it's very much used, if sometimes twisted: I loved the "There's *cold* in them thar hills"!
Philippe