12 West Virginia Words and Sayings Out-of-Staters Get Wrong

Hang your coat in the press? If you grew up in West Virginia, you know that’s the closet.

Out-of-staters hear a word like that and start looking for an iron.

Here are the words and sayings out-of-staters get wrong, and what they really mean.

1. Smooch

West Virginia Tourism says a “smooch” is a kiss that’s more playful and less romantic.

Your grandmother or your preacher might ask you for one.

Many visitors hear the word and assume a date is involved.

So you can say yes to either one.

2. Holler

A “holler” is a remote road or area, according to a 2023 television story from the station WVNS on West Virginia words.

People live in hollers in the Mountain State.

You probably know the same place as a “hollow.”

If you’re invited up one, ask for directions.

3. Poke

In West Virginia, a “poke” is a bag you can ask for to carry your things, according to the tourism office.

Wylene Dial arrived in West Virginia in 1945 to attend Marshall University.

Her 1980 word list defines poke as a paper bag, so a paper grocery bag counts.

Tell a tourist to grab a poke, and some of them will picture a finger in the ribs.

4. Anymore

The word “anymore” can mean nowadays when you hear it in a sentence with no negative, as in “Gas costs a lot anymore.”

Yale University’s Grammatical Diversity Project calls this positive anymore and says older linguistic papers noted it in West Virginia, among other places.

In standard use, anymore needs a negative or negative-like sentence, as in “I don’t go there anymore.”

Swap in nowadays, and you’ll follow along.

5. Board

A “board” is a table in the mountain speech recorded in Dial’s 1980 list.

A host who says the food is on the board is calling you to the table.

If you say the food is on the board, a lot of transplants will look for a plank.

6. Crick

A “crick” is a shallow stream, or “creek,” according to the tourism office.

People splash around in one and catch crawdads.

You’ll want to leave your good shoes at home.

7. A-Hunting

If "a-hunting" looks like a typo to you, it isn't.

The West Virginia Encyclopedia calls a-prefixing common among the Scotch-Irish and Appalachian English speakers.

Its examples are "a-hunting" and "a-going."

You're likelier to hear it from an older speaker, and the box below shows how rare it has become.

8. Britches

The word turns up in sayings such as "pull up your britches" and "too big for your britches."

The tourism office calls it the state's universal word for pants, so you won't draw a second look using it.

Some out-of-staters hear "britches" and think of an old Western.

9. Press

"Press" is the mountain word for a clothes closet or wardrobe, according to Dial's list.

An example is hanging clothes in the press.

If a host tells you your coat can go in the press, look for a closet.

10. Dinner Bucket

A "dinner bucket" was what a coal miner carried to work, and a 2016 West Virginia Public Broadcasting story also calls it a lunch bucket.

Miners packed extra food in the bucket as a precaution in case of an accident.

If someone in your family worked in the mines, you may remember the bucket.

11. Sit a Spell

The phrase "sit a spell" leaves out how long you'll stay.

In West Virginia, a "spell" is an undetermined amount of time.

The tourism office puts the range at 30 minutes to four hours.

When you accept, you're agreeing to the visit but not its length.

12. Clean

Dial's list defines "clean" as completely, so you can forget something clean.

She argued that many mountain words are antique English dating to the Elizabethan era.

More than a few out-of-staters hear "clean" and assume your kitchen is involved.

Where the Accent Shifts

The state doesn't speak with one accent.

The encyclopedia says dialect in the state changes from south to north, fanning out from the southern coalfields to the two panhandles.

Appalachian English is strongest in the southern part of the state and the rural interior counties.

In McDowell and Mingo counties, you hear speech essentially the same as in neighboring southwest Virginia and eastern Kentucky.

Many speakers in the Potomac Highlands and the Eastern Panhandle draw on the Shenandoah Valley and, increasingly, the Washington area.