# "aten't ded" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 9, 2015, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atent-ded/722038 "2015-06-09T04:15:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atent-ded/722038/1 "2015-06-09T04:15:37Z")
I googled around, couldn’t find why Pratchett (or Weatherwax, if you prefer) did “aten’t” in the “I aten’t ded” sign. It’s not phonetically close to “aren’t” or “isn’t” and “t” doesn’t look like “r” (or “T” like “R”). Anyone have an idea? ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atent-ded/722038/2 "2015-06-09T05:03:37Z")
Ain’t-ent? ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atent-ded/722038/3 "2015-06-09T05:33:47Z")
Spelling was NOT Granny’s strong point. Headology was. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atent-ded/722038/4 "2015-06-09T05:43:34Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > Spelling was NOT Granny’s strong point. Headology was. True - but people who misspell would usually misspell phonetically (as in “ded”). “Aten’t” just comes out of the blue. ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atent-ded/722038/5 "2015-06-09T07:18:23Z")
I assumed an abbv of ain’t. If it isn’t ain’t and it ain’t aren’t or isn’t, then I’m fkdifino. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atent-ded/722038/6 "2015-06-09T08:23:28Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > True - but people who misspell would usually misspell phonetically (as in “ded”). “Aten’t” just comes out of the blue. If you pronounce the t as a glottal stop then it’s a phonetic rendering of ain’t, but with a glottal in the middle. I think a few British accents do pronounce it that way; sounds kinda country yokelish to me, and Pterry grew up in such an area. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atent-ded/722038/7 "2015-06-09T11:35:49Z")
Seems to be an abbreviation of “ain’t not.” She’s saying she “ain’t not dead.” If you ignore the double negative, it makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atent-ded/722038/8 "2015-06-09T11:43:13Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > True - but people who misspell would usually misspell phonetically (as in “ded”). “Aten’t” just comes out of the blue. Maybe it’s more phonically in line with Lancre dialect pronunciation? Remember, also, this is someone whose best friend knows how to spell “banana” but doesn’t know how to stop. I don’t think strict phonics is the way to look at it. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atent-ded/722038/9 "2015-06-09T11:47:56Z")
> [@RobDog](#): > > I assumed an abbv of ain’t. If it isn’t ain’t and it ain’t aren’t or isn’t, then I’m fkdifino. Yep, my guess is she left out the “in”. Added “ent” as a past tense. ---
**Author:** ![lilihob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a9adbd/32.png) [@lilihob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lilihob)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atent-ded/722038/10 "2015-06-09T11:51:17Z")
It’s a phonetic spelling of “ain’t”. Ate-n(i)t ded. If I say it quickly, it’s how I’d pronounce it. (Londoner). I know I should logically sound the n before the t, but I don’t. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atent-ded/722038/11 "2015-06-09T12:10:16Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > True - but people who misspell would usually misspell phonetically (as in “ded”). “Aten’t” just comes out of the blue. It just sounds like a variant of “ain’t” to me, either phoenetic (per **lilihob** ) or a double negative like “ain’t not” \> “Aintn’t” \> “Aten’t”. The latter is what immediately came to me, but I could see it being the former, too. Regardless, it’s based on the word “ain’t.” ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atent-ded/722038/12 "2015-06-09T13:57:48Z")
If anyone else is as confused as I was: the characters and references in this thread are from Terry Pratchett’s _Discworld_ books. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atent-ded/722038/13 "2015-06-09T15:20:50Z")
I’m not familiar with the source work, but as soon as I saw the word in question it struck me as a poorly spelled (and perhaps loosely pronounced) rendition of “ain’t”. Of all the non-grammatical substitutions for “am not” (e.g. “aren’t,” “isn’t,” etc.), “ain’t” comes to mind as by far the most common. If “I aten’t ded” is said out loud the word sounds very much like “ain’t,” which fits the context beautifully. From “ain’t” to “ain’tn’t” (second “n’t” making a second syllable to parallel “isn’t”), then swallowing the first “n” to “aitn’t” = “aten’t” seems a plausible progression to me. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atent-ded/722038/14 "2015-06-09T15:53:29Z")
There is a tradition for this kind of humour - see Winnie the Pooh by AA Milne. The owl who is the wisest animal is not so good at spelling and puts a sign over his new home “The Wolery”. As it happens, Wol is a Sussex & Kentish word for Owl.