So, if you're a Yorker, you probably often do things "once." You know, "Let me see that once." "Leave me read that once." (If you don't get that second one, check out my earlier post on leave vs. let)
If you're a hardcore Yorker, you probably don't just do them "once," you say it "once-t" or "wunst."
This is similar to awhile in that it's always found tacked on to the end of your sentence, but unlike awhile, which serves a purpose in speaking and writing, I can't find a reason why you couldn't just be a frugal Yorker and drop the "once." In that sense, it's like "quick," which I had also written about and which also serves very little purpose.
Any ideas? Why do we do this?
I don't know, but I'm horrified to admit that I have started using many of these 'isms', esp. 'leave' for 'let'. However, I have not yet caught myself using 'once' and still ferociously tease Jason about it when he does...
Hmmm. I'll have to think about that once.