The Dictionary of American Regional English needs your help. It's serious.

Here's a line you should never, ever read in the paper:

Editor Joan Houston Hall said she’s issued layoff notices, effective July 1, to the staff of the respected dictionary, which includes more than 60,000 words compiled by UW-Madison researchers during the past 48 years.

A funding crunch — Hall figures it will take $250,000 to keep the same staff through the end of the year — has hit just as the dictionary embarks on its digital future, sending Hall into a frenzied push for new grant money and staffers into a panicked state that could cause them to reach for a whoopensocker.

The only-in-Wisconsin word means “something extraordinary of its kind, especially a large or strong drink.”

It's now or never. You can go here to donate: http://dare.wisc.edu/.