12 Things Kentuckians Take Personally That Out-of-Staters Don’t Mean as Insults

A harmless comment or poorly pronounced word can land very differently depending on who’s listening.

Kentuckians may bristle at a few things out-of-staters say, no matter their good intentions.

Here are the innocent remarks some Kentuckians take personally that out-of-staters don’t mean as insults.

1. Pronouncing Louisville

Louisville is a name you can’t say the way it’s spelled.

Louisville Public Media reports that residents say “Loo-uh-vull,” not “Loo-ee-ville” or “Lewis-ville.”

“Louie-ville” is a popular choice, and the visitor center guidance a Lexington television station cites draws one line, at “Lewis-ville.”

If you want to blend in, say it the local way.

Just skip the S.

2. Commonwealth Status

Kentucky is officially a commonwealth, and so are Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Virginia, according to the Library of Congress.

Its 1891 constitution makes the official name the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Earlier versions of the constitution used the words state and commonwealth interchangeably.

There’s no difference between those four and the other 46 states.

That means you can call Kentucky a state without getting the law wrong.

Say it either way.

Use whichever word you grew up with.

3. Derby-Pie

Derby-Pie is a trademarked name, not a type of pie.

As of a 2016 Smithsonian report, the company’s lawyer said Kern’s Kitchen of Louisville had sued more than 25 times to protect the name.

The company sends about one or two cease-and-desist letters a week.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation put the company in its Takedown Hall of Shame in 2013 over notices sent to recipe websites.

A 1987 case involving Bon Appétit magazine ended with an appeals court upholding the trademark.

So if you post a chocolate walnut pie recipe under that name, you’re taking a risk.

You’ve been warned.

4. Where KFC Started

The story of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) begins at a Corbin service station, where Britannica says Harland Sanders opened a cafe in the back in 1929.

He ran a restaurant-motel complex there from 1940 to 1956.

You can visit that complex today as the Harland Sanders Museum & Café, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

But the first KFC franchise opened in Utah, not Kentucky.

Pete Harman opened it in 1952.

So you can credit Corbin with the cafe, but you can’t credit it with the first franchise.

Utah got there first.

5. What Bourbon Means

Federal rules define bourbon, and the first requirement is a mash of at least 51% corn.

The whiskey also has to age in new charred oak barrels.

The word bourbon also can’t go on a whiskey that wasn’t distilled and aged in the United States.

The location requirement names the United States, not Kentucky.

So a bottle made in another state can still be bourbon.

If you call it whiskey, you’re right because the rule lists bourbon as one type of whiskey.

It’s a recipe.

6. Hot Brown

The Hot Brown came out of Louisville’s Brown Hotel in 1926, when chef Fred Schmidt grew tired of late-night ham and eggs, Louisville Public Media reports.

The hotel hosted rooftop dinner dances then, and guests wanted something to eat when the band took a break.

Mornay sauce covers the Texas toast, turkey breast, bacon and tomato before the plate goes under the broiler.

If you’ve pictured a turkey sandwich with gravy, the Mornay sauce is the part you’ve missed.

Order one in Louisville, and you’re eating a dish with a date and a hotel attached to it.

Ham and eggs lost.

7. Owensboro Mutton Barbecue

Owensboro barbecue runs on mutton, and Visit Owensboro calls the meat a delicacy.

Mutton comes first.

That can surprise you if you think barbecue means pork or brisket.

The festival kicks off a season of smaller barbecue picnics at the area’s Catholic parishes.

Burgoo is a hearty stew of mutton, chicken and vegetables.

In 2015, Governor’s Cup teams at the city’s International Bar-B-Q Festival were expected to prepare at least 600 pounds of mutton and 60 gallons of burgoo.

If you call it chili, you’ve missed what’s in the pot.

8. Appalachian Counties

The Appalachian Regional Commission places 54 of Kentucky’s 120 counties in Appalachia.

That leaves 66 counties outside it.

Those 54 counties have 1.2 million residents.

So if you picture all of Kentucky as mountain country, you’re leaving out more than half the counties.

Check the map.

9. Cincinnati’s Airport

The airport that serves Cincinnati is in Kentucky, and its full name is Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.

The airport describes itself as based in Kentucky and serving Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and beyond.

So if you book a flight to Cincinnati, you land in Kentucky.

It’s in the name.

10. Colonel Title

A Kentucky colonel is a title the governor commissions, according to the Kentucky Historical Society.

That power has belonged to the governor since Isaac Shelby’s administration.

Colonels began as members of the governor’s staff, and by the 20th century the title had started shifting toward an honorary position.

The Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels formed in 1932.

If you’re picturing a uniform and a salute, you’re picturing the wrong kind of colonel.

It’s an honor.

11. Basketball Rivalry

Whichever team you root for, the other one plays basketball in a different city.

Their teams didn't meet in the regular season for 62 years before the series was renewed in 1983, according to Louisville Athletics.

Louisville beat Kentucky 80-68 in overtime in the 1983 Mideast Regional final in Knoxville, Tennessee.

If you're choosing a side in front of locals, tread lightly.

Choose carefully.

12. Two Racetracks

Churchill Downs is in Louisville, and it's the home of the Kentucky Derby.

Keeneland is a different track, in Lexington, and it's where the Breeders' Cup World Championships are scheduled for Oct. 30 and 31, 2026.