I grew up in Dayton, Ohio in the 50’s and all my grandparents were migrant rural farmers from Kentucky. One was from Falmouth, KY. I don’t remember where the other three hailed from. I do remember they used the word briarhopper often to refer to others they knew. I’ve always been kind of fascinated by the history of the term. I’ve looked into it a bit, and believe it is a regional term for Kentuckians who migrated to Southern Ohio.
I’m writing a science fiction novel and am using the term to describe folks living in the far future of Southeast Ohio. I’d sure like to hear from others who know something about the history of he word.
Born and raised north of Birmingham, AL. My boss calls me a Jewish Redneck.
If I self identify as a redneck, I mean that I am a working class person, unpretentious and tied to the land.
If I call someone else a redneck, I typically mean, damn, that old boy ain’t right. The kind of person who has a confederate flag decal on a shitty truck.
A good old boy is someone who is often a redneck, but is just good in spirit; the kind of person you hope pulls up behind you when broke down on a country road.
Hillbillies are folks from back in the woods. Be it Tennessee, Arkansas or West Virginia, these are mountain folks and there is no negative connotation to being a hillbilly.
White trash is reserved for the asshole who bought land next to you, moved a trailer in, lights bonfires and shoots guns at 3am when drunk (every night). White trash steal, lie, cheat and basically are anything that makes you embarassed to be from the south.
You will find white trash everywhere. Watch Judge Judy sometime when you have some white trash from Boston arguing.
These terms are typically applied only to whites. Blacks however can be good old boys too, but some take offense to that.
I went to the University of Dayton back in the lat 60s. I am from Northern Ill. and had never heard the term briar hopper until I lived in Dayton. At the time it was the only word used to describe a person from the south/esp. Kentucky who would otherwise have probably been called a hillbilly. Dayton at the time was a huge manufacturing city, with auto parts companies and NCR employing thousands of skilled and unskilled workers. Generally those were the people that were often referred to as briarhoppers and they were most often from Kentucky and spoke with quite a noticeable southern accent. I’ve never heard the term used elsewhere…of course I’ve lived in Southern California for 44 years, and wouldn’t be an every day expression here anyway.
I fund it humorous when a guy from South Brooklyn who obviously was shortchanged when it came to brains berated me for my mild hillbilly accent (he was trying to get out of paying library fines he and his enormous family had accumulated). He referred to me as “that guy from Mississippi” even though my hometown in Tennessee is 400 miles or so from Mississippi. He thought about trying to indimidate me into giving him his way until I stood up and revealed to him that I was a good six inches taller than he was. Apparently he hadn’t figured that out yet, even though I appear taller than I am while sitting due to my short legs. Seriously, I heard as much of the racist stuff in parts of Brooklyn as in the south.
Hillbilly would be mountain folk from the appalachians and ozarks
Brier or Brier hopper is pretty much another name for a Hillbilly
Mostly an Ohio Kentucky Tennessee thing, probably most people outside those areas never heard of it, or think of Br’er Rabbit which isn’t the same thing.
Go visit Ohio or Kentucky and especially Tennessee if you want to meet Hillbillies
I am not so sure about Arkansas Missouri or Oklahoma anymore, the places i did know in those states dont exist any more, maybe someone that lives in them would have a better idea, i’m not from that area.
No Hillbilly i ever knew was stupid, uneducated in a formal sense maybe, but very far from stupid.
Redneck would pertain more to southern folk
usually considered white trash, trailer trash etc.
Not that the definition is correct, but thats how its generally used or meant.
Probably more people are accustomed to Rednecks, they see them every day and actual Hillbillies tend to keep to their own and such, and there are probably a whole lot more rednecks, that or they just hang out at walmart more?
One other thing: Rednecks are usually men. It would seem odd to call a woman a redneck. Hillbillies can be either gender. And Hillbillies live “in the hills”, not in the flatlands. They generally don’t cotton to new fangled stuff.
It would be odd to call a black person either, but you might get away with it with “Hillbilly”. Rednecks have to be white.
OP, do you mean “Br’er”? It’s short for “brother.” I remember the word from Song of the South, which had stories of Br’er Fox and Br’er Rabbit. Blacks told those stories back in the day, but they’re considered too racist for today’s standards.
I disagree with the idea that a redneck is from the South, or that redneck and white trash/trailer trash are the same thing. There are lots of rednecks in the north and west, in addition to the south. It’s been covered before, but rednecks seem to be people who live in rural areas, are proud to live in the country, and like to do outdoorsy things. They like to drive pickup trucks or Jeeps, ride cruiser motorcycles, fish, hunt, ride ATVs, etc.
Rednecks can be thoughtful, honest and kind, however, which differentiates them from white trash. White trash commonly lie, steal, do drugs, and are unkind, bigoted and lack proper hygiene. White trash like to game the welfare and disability systems, don’t pay their debts, and are often in trouble with the law.
I don’t think I’ve ever heard the term hillbilly used anywhere outside of southern Appalachia (Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, etc.).
“usually considered white trash, trailer trash etc.
Not that the definition is correct, but thats how its generally used or meant.”
Your description describes countless people i know from montana, wyoming, the dakotas.
And not only would they take offense to being called red necks, they would probably knock the crap out of the person.
You say redneck, their image is what you’d see on youtube by searching mudfest.
Hell, i live in Florida these days, even here being called a redneck is not exactly a compliment.
Hmmm. Interesting. I did read what you wrote, but it didn’t ring true where I live. Never visiting there, I am surprised that people from rural Montana, Wyoming and the Dakotas, let alone Alaska, would take offense at being called rednecks. Those are exactly the people I was referring to who I would consider rednecks but not white trash. What do the proud rural dwellers there call themselves?
I live in rural PA, and people generally don’t take offense at being called a redneck. In fact, many proudly brag about being rednecks and their rural lifestyle with pickups, muddy ATVs, 30-packs of canned beer, hunting, fishing, scraggly beards, etc. I don’t recall anyone taking offense at being called a redneck. “White trash” or “hoofty” are another thing altogether, and are absolutely used as insults.
Here in St. Louis, another term for an ignorant, low-class, drunken, tasteless fool is “hoosier”. Yes, you guys from Indiana might take it as a term of pride, but 400 miles west, it’s somewhat synonymous with “trailer trash”. Like redneck or hillbilly, but usually without the rural or country connotations.
Do they still have a problem with “cracker” in Florida?
I think it caused confusion that Green Acres and The Beverly Hillbillies were sometimes portrayed as existing in the same universe (I remember seeing Granny visiting with Sam Drucker). The folks on Green Acres were obviously rural flatlanders. They could have been in Tennessee, but non in the eastern part Jed and family would have inhabited. Of course it was sometimes said that they were from Tennessee, but descriptions of the show often had them coming from the Ozarks. I guess Henning et al thought all hillbillies came from the same place.
A key term that hasn’t been addressed here is hoopie. There is some substantial overlap with the redneck and hillbilly demographics. However, the main point is that all of these are insulting terms aimed at poor whites. That’s why it’s still okay to use them. Equivalent terms aimed at black people, Hispanics, Jews, Asians, etc, are rightly considered to have no place in polite conversation.
My mother’s family was from Texas and then moved to New Mexico and then California. They made a lot of jokes about Okies. I understood it was an insult, but didn’t really understand the context.
I would still argue, however, from my experience, that redneck and hillbilly are more neutral in terms of character and honesty than trailer trash, white trash, hoofty or hoopie.
