The Peasants of Iowa

At dinner the other night with my Bulgarian coworkers, I told them that I was born and raised in Iowa. One of them asked me what we called the peasants of Iowa. I didn't understand.

"The peasants of the South are called rednecks and the peasants of the East are called hillbillies. What do you call the peasants of Iowa?"

I laughed. I wonder, would you call the peasants of Iowa hicks?

Comments

  1. David OckerFebruary 7, 2010 at 12:47 AM

    An excellent question. I don't remember the word "hicks" used often when I was growing up (in Iowa). Our grandmother would have called them "goyim" - but that would have applied to any non-Jew no matter their level of wealth or social status.

    A redneck or a hillbilly might use those terms to proudly describe himself. I wonder if anyone calls themselves a hick or talks about preserving "hick culture". (Search Google for hick culture - it got 2100 hits.)

    David

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousFebruary 7, 2010 at 5:18 PM

    In upstate NY I've heard the term "woodchuck."
    Lisa R.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousFebruary 13, 2010 at 2:22 AM

    Another term used by my southern friends is A peckerwood which is defined a rural white southerner, usually poor, undereducated or otherwise ignorant and bigoted.

    Enjoying your blog, saw it on Kevin Montgomery's Facebook page

    Take care

    Curt Rapp (from Lincoln grade school & Hoover JR)

    ReplyDelete

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