11 Things South Carolinians Never Have to Explain to Each Other

Some things just click when you’re talking to someone from your own state.

South Carolinians share foods, sayings and traditions that other Americans often have to ask about.

This is what makes the state feel like home to the people who live there.

1. Boiled Peanuts

The state Department of Agriculture calls boiled peanuts an essential part of South Carolina culture.

You’ll find them ladled from a crock pot at a gas station or in a brown paper bag from a roadside vendor.

The state tourism site calls them a treat many residents love.

Lawmakers even made them the official snack food in 2006.

2. Hey and Kinfolks

According to the South Carolina Encyclopedia’s entry on language, the common greeting is “Hey” rather than “Hi” or “Hello.”

Relatives are “kinfolks” and a young child “favors” someone in the family.

There’s also “passed” for died, “plunder” for junk, and “pinders” and “goobers” for peanuts.

If you’ve ever said a child favors her grandmother, you’ve used one of those words.

3. Barbecue Sauce Regions

The state’s barbecue law, Act No. 231 of 2014, names barbecue the official State Picnic Cuisine and doesn’t pick a favorite sauce.

Each barbecue sauce has a strong regional following.

The state tourism department says some people think of mustard-style barbecue as South Carolina’s unofficial sauce because it’s the only place you’ll find that style.

4. Sweetgrass Baskets

Highway 17 North is also known as the “Sweetgrass Basket Highway,” according to a 2024 Post and Courier story.

If you drive from Mount Pleasant to Georgetown, about 55 stands dot the road.

Weavers first displayed their wares alongside Highway 17 when it was paved in 1931.

The legislature made the sweetgrass basket the official state Lowcountry handcraft in 2006.

5. Hash and Rice

In South Carolina, hash holds the place of honor that Brunswick stew holds in Georgia, Virginia, and North Carolina, according to the South Carolina Encyclopedia.

Hash is usually served over rice.

If a rural fire department or civic club near you is selling plates, hash is what many of them cook for community fundraisers.

Locally owned barbecue restaurants are the most prolific producers.

6. Shag Dancing

Thousands of shaggers converged each year in North Myrtle Beach, the encyclopedia says, and dozens of shag clubs were active across the South.

Pioneering dancers in the Shag Hall of Fame credit the dance’s modern form to a collaboration with Black dancers in the segregated Carolinas of the late 1940s.

You can find the shag in the state code, which says the legislature named it the official state dance in 1984.

7. Gamecocks and Tigers

The encyclopedia’s football entry says the Clemson and South Carolina game continues to draw the largest football crowd in the state each year.

If you check the University of South Carolina’s athletics site, it says the football game was officially named the Palmetto Bowl in 2014.

8. South of the Border

Billboards stretching from Virginia to Florida advertised South of the Border through a sombrero-clad cartoon spokesman named Pedro.

You’ll find the stop just south of the North Carolina line near Hamer, along U.S. 301 and I-95.

It became a welcome first stop for Florida-bound travelers.

North Carolina public radio station WUNC reported in December 2025 that the sombrero tower, souvenir stores, restaurants, main motel, and campground were still open.

About 30 acres, including the Pedroland amusement park, were for sale.

9. Upstate, Midlands, Lowcountry, and Pee Dee

The state’s official website sorts its counties into four regions named Upstate, Midlands, Lowcountry, and Pee Dee.

The encyclopedia’s barbecue entry sorts its sauces by the Pee Dee, the Midlands, and the Upstate.

For hash, the Midlands go with a mustard-based version and the Lowcountry with one built on hogsheads and organ meats.

You’ll find shrimp and grits in the Lowcountry.

10. Grits

If you’re topping grits, sausage with sawmill gravy is a favorite all over the state.

Grits get a festival.

The encyclopedia says the World Grits Festival in St. George brings thousands of visitors to town for grits-eating and recipe contests.

The festival’s site lists its 2027 run for April 9 through 11.

11. Darlington Raceway

You'll find two titles at the top of the encyclopedia's entry on Darlington Raceway, "The Track Too Tough To Tame" and "The Lady in Black."