Hillbilly Slang

[kybearfuzz]

Pop quiz! Do you know what the following things from my neck of the woods are?

1. A Thunder Bucket?
   
2. White Lightning?
   
3. A holler?
   
4. A winder?
   
5. Poke?
   
6. Corn Squeezin's?
   
7. A lick?

The Answers!

1. A Thunder Bucket is essentially a chamber pot. The "Thunder" part, according to my dad, was because when you went #2 in it, it sounded like roaring thunder.
   
2. White Lightning is another word for moonshine hooch.
   
3. A Holler is a hollow, the valley between two hills where folks live.
   
4. A winder is a window. Heavy Scots-Irish influences made words like window and hollow pronounced like "winder" and "holler"...
   
5. Poke is a leafy herb/vegetable that grows wild and folks will cook to eat. It was often heard from my mom, "Your Aunt Beverly is bringing over a mess of poke for me to cook tonight." I was never that big a fan.
   
6. Corn Squeezin's is also a term for moonshine, usually the corn grain alcohol variety.
   
7. A lick is a small stream, smaller than a creek. Here in Northern KY there is a park called Big Bone Lick State Park, which is due to Mammoth bones being found near a stream, and not what you're probably thinking of, but it is good for a laugh...

Comments

[snowboardjoe.livejournal.com]

1. A Thunder Bucket? No clue.
2. White Lightning? I'll go with the moonshine suggested earlier.
3. A holler? You mentioned over Christmas. Valley in woods?
4. A winder? Window!
5. Poke? Clueless.
6. Corn Squeezin's? Related to making moonshine?
7. A lick? A salt lick for livestock?

[kybearfuzz.livejournal.com]

1. This one is the tough one.
   
2. Yep, it's moonshine.
   
3. Yep!
   
4. Correct!
   
5. This one is hard too.
   
6. Correct! Corn Squeezin's is another word for moonshine.
   
7. Nope, but it's a good guess.