Posted in West Virginia July 19, 2020 by

7 Phrases You May Have Never Heard Before (Unless You’re From West Virginia)

West Virginia has a mountain culture all her own, including a plethora of creative expressions that are as old as the hills. Yet outside the state, you don’t hear these much! How many do you remember growing up with?

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1. "Cat fur, to make kitten britches."
wapiko/Flickr
Unless you're from Appalachia, you probably never got caught asking "What for?" West Virginia style ("What fur?") and heard this tongue-in-cheek response: "Cat fur, to make kitten britches."
2. "Uh-oh, the milk got blinky."
Mike Mozart/Flickr
The milk "blinked" when it turned sour...which is something that my family usually only realized AFTER they'd poured it over a big bowl of cereal!
3. "They have to pump the sunlight in."
Virginia State Parks/Flickr
Growing up in West Virginia, did you live this far back in the sticks?
4. "Nibby nose!"
Bob/Flickr
Did you ever go nibbing (or nebbing) around the pantry when you weren't supposed to, looking for a snack?
5. "Got a hitch in my come-along."
Jason Pratt/Flickr
Did you ever have the painful experience of a hitch in your giddy-up, otherwise known as a leg cramp?
6. "Worthless as a chicken noodle soup sandwich."
Global Reactions/Flickr
Or maybe it was as worthless as tits on a boar hog or a screen door on a submarine...
7. "That kid could tear up an anvil with a banana."
Yandle/Flickr
Or maybe you were more the type that could destroy a brick with a feather...or knock off the horn of an anvil with a rubber mallet...

Been a while since you’ve heard some of these expressions, hasn’t it? Probably not since Moby Dick was a minnow (or rather, a “minner” if you’re from around these parts). How about this list of 11 things that only West Virginians say – are you guilty of using any of them? What are some other uniquely West Virginian (or uniquely Appalachian) sayings you grew up with?

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