>>>> kids' parents in my neighborhood saying "He's going to go by Johnny's" meaning "go to"
>>>
>>>Grandma, is that you?
>>
>><g> Sound familiar?
>
>That usage is pretty common around here - I've never regarded it as being in the least odd.
>For instance 'I always go by the pub on the way home' :-}

Well, stopping by the pub on the way home is pretty common here too <g>

There is a usage that implies "stopping by" - i.e. going to and then leaving en route to someplace else. This is more final desitination. "I'll go by your house." Would that be common for "I'll go to your house." It's a subtle difference. I do understand one might say "I'll go by your house on the way home." but I've never heard my own Brit relatives ( admittedly not as close to Wales as you are where presumably all bets are off <bg> ) say "I'll go by the pub." when then mean "I'll go to the pub." ( most of my Brit relations have never gone by a pub in their lives )



>
> I never heard anyone say that after I left the old neighborhood, but in Cleveland in the 50s it was so common that changing that pattern was a really priority in English class, since many of the kids had picked it up from parents.
>>
>>Come to think of it, I wonder if the expression "Come by and see me" or "I'll stop by." is a residual of that pattern. ( Maybe from German as well? Largest ethnic group in Cleveland. I have no German at all so maybe someone can comment? )