Reply #27: Wow, I had a hunch this might be the case

[chknltl]

Because I had heard Thom Hartmann use it so often, I no longer heard it in my mind as Aussie. It was in this thread that I was reminded that I had heard it often enough prior to Hartmann with an Aussie accent.

When I posted this OP, I figured the expression to be either Old English, Irish or at best early American in origin.

Well that settles it, I'm gonna have to go post this question over in the Thom Hartmann forum because now, due to the responses here, my curiosity has increased. I suspect one of Thom's fans or even Thom himself will be able to satisfy my curiosity.