Sam Hill

From time to time, you might hear some of the older folk wonder what in Sam Hill is going on with the younger generation. So who is this Sam Hill they mention, and how is it any of his business what’s going on with anyone?

Sam Hill saw widespread use from the mid 1830s onward, and is a 19th century euphemism (in other words, a minced oath) for Hell. It is used to express extreme confusion, surprise, or agitation.

INTERESTING SIDE NOTE 1:  This is what is commonly known as a bowdlerization (meaning it was censored because it was deemed by adults to be inappropriate for children to exposed to the actual word or expression) and coined after English physician Thomas Bowdler (11 July 1754 – 24 February 1825) whose best known published efforts was a version of Shakespeare that would not offend or corrupt 19th century women and children).

But getting back to Sam Hill and what the hubbub is all about, who in the world was Sam Hill in the first place, and why is he associated with swearing?

No, it was not from a surveyor named Samuel W. Hill (1819 – 1889) who swore a blue streak.

No, it was not from a lawyer named Samuel Hill (13 May 1857 – 26 February 1931) who also was said to swear up a storm.

No, it was not from the investigator and adjutant-general of Kentucky, Sam Hill (30 January 1844 – 30 May 1904) who was sent by Governor Simon Buckner (1 April 1823 – 8 January 1914) to figure out what was going on with the Hatfield and McCoy feud.

No, it was not from the Connecticut legislator named Sam Hill (he represented Guilford from 1727 through to 1752) who was a force to be reckoned with if you went up against him.

Many claim that one of those four people is the Sam Hill in the expression, and every single one of them would be mistaken.

Interestingly enough, in “Roughing It In The Busy: Or, Life In Canada” by Susanna Moodie (6 December 1803 – 8 April 1885) published in two volumes in 1852 by Richard Bentley publishers in London, England, she uses the expression in a passage of her book.

INTERESTING SIDE NOTE 2: Susanna Moodie was the sister of English historical writer and poet Agnes Strickland (18 July 1796 – 8 July 1874) who wrote “Lives of the Queens of England” and Susanna dedicated her book to Agnes.

INTERESTING SIDE NOTE 3: Susanna Moodie was primarily known in the 1850s for her volumes of poetry published in 1831 under her maiden name of Susanna Strickland. In the foreword to her book, the publisher states that Susanna Moodie’s lyrical composition, “Sleigh Song” was extremely popular in Canada.

INTERESTING SIDE NOTE 4: Susanna Moodie was the wife of Scottish-born army officer, farmer, civil servant, and author John Wedderburn Dunbar Moodie (7 October 1797 – 22 October 1869), author of “Ten Years In South Africa: Including a Particular Description of the Wild Sports of that Country.” As husband and wife, they settled in Belleville, Ontario, Canada.

INTERESTING SIDE NOTE 5: Susanna Moodie was also the sister of author, teacher, botanist, and naturalist Catharine Parr Traill (9 January 1802 – 29 August 1899), and of Samuel Strickland (1804 – 3 January 1867) author of “Twenty Seven Years In Canada West” among other books.

INTERESTING SIDE NOTE 6: All the Stricklands mentioned in this entry were siblings of English author Jane Margaret Strickland (18 April 1800 – 14 June 1888) who published her first book in 1854, published a biography about her sister Agnes Strickland in 1887, and cared for their mother Elizabeth Homer Strickland (1772 – 10 September 1864).

In Susanna Moodie’s book, she uses the expression Sam Hill in such a way that there’s no doubt Sam Hill was considered swearing back in the mid 1800s.

“Do you swear?”

“Swear? What harm? It eases one’s mind when one’s vexed. Everybody swears in this country. My boys all swear like Sam Hill; and I used to swear mighty bit oaths till about a month ago, when the Methody parson told me that if I did not leave it off I should go to tarnation bad place; so I dropped some of the worst of them.”

“You would do wisely to drop the rest; women never wear in my country.”

“Well, you don’t say! I always heer’d that were very ignorant. Will you lend me the tea?”

In Volume 15 of the 1841 edition of “The Ladies’ Companion and Literary Expositor” there was an article titled, “Memoirs of Mr. Samuel Hill” that was based on a Cape Cod Annual poem of the same name. Tongue in cheek, the take found in this 1841 publication by an unnamed author states that Sam Hill was a New Englander by virtue of the following facts:

Barkhemsted folks believe Mr. Hill to have been born there, merely because wooden-dishes were first fabricated within the precincts … Wethersfield seems to be quite certain that a man of Sam’s sensibilities must necessarily first have learned to weep among the onion patches of Piquaug. Hebron puts in her claim upon the principle of the pump; merely resting it upon the traditionary testimony as to his having frequently been subjected to involuntary ablution under the spout of that losel engine.

The author then goes on to dash the hopes of Barkhemsted, Wethersfield, Hebron, and a great many other locations with the deft sweep of his pen.

Sam Hill‘s history — and the extended history of the women he courted and what happened to the beaus who had previously courted those same women — is examined with the same attention to detail.

Mention is made of his legendary singing voice which is said to be “famous for his vocal (or rather his nasal excellence, for Sam’s melody was always most conspicuous through the nose)” in the neighboring parishes of Upper Schreechington, and East Gruntingburgh.

When all was said and done, the claim was that Sam Hill was a household name from Rye to Passamaquaddy, and yet no one knew Sam Hill, even though he clearly “possessed more attributes than anybody else in creation.” It was said that “no other individual was ever celebrated and sworn by for so great a diversity of opposite qualities” as Sam Hill was.

No true-blooded yankee ever had the toothache without ascribing to his ailment an intensity compared with my hero. His tooth aches “like Sam Hill.” If a fellow is swift of foot, the New-Englanders are unanimous in the opinion that he “runs like Sam Hill,” and if a cripple gets along leisurely in the world it is said of him at once that he limps like the same personage, and poor old Broom’s cattle on the Colchester turnpike always had the name of being “slow as Sam Hill.”

“What the Sam Hill is the matter with you?” is a common expression, whenever any thing extraordinary is discernible in a man’s deportment, and you “lie like Sam Hill,” if a neighbor’s word is distrusted. “True as Sam Hill” is equally in the mouths of those who would swear to the veracity of a favorite statement.

A man is said to be as smart, and he is said to be as dull as “Sam Hill” — and if he is very bold or very timourous, “Sam Hill” is still the standard by which his good and bad qualities are measured. Of course, as I have already remarked, my hero must have been possessed of all sorts of qualities, and have been gifted with more versatility of powers than even the admirable Chrichton himself.

In the end, the author of this piece writes this about himself as an author, and the piece he has published in this magazine:

This biography will be looked upon in various lights by the reader. One class will call it “stupid as Sam Hill,” and another will pronounce it “smart as Sam Hill.” This latter body of citizens are very sensible people, and my heart warms to them like — SAM HILL.

Sam Hill shows up in the August 21, 1839 issue of the Havana Republican newspaper of New York state in an article titled, “Majorjack On A Whaler.”

What in sam hill is that feller ballin’ about?

INTERESTING SIDE NOTE 7: Majorjack refers to Gump-link character Major Jack Downing by American humorist Seba Smith (14 September 1791 – 28 July 1868). Seba Smith was among the first to use American vernacular in his humorous writings, and his style led the way for other American humorists such as Will Rogers (4 November 1879 – 15 August 1935).

Oddly enough, the expression Sam on its own without the addition of Hill as a last name referred to a know-nothing person. Need more be said about how people felt about Sam in general with or without a last name?

Idiomation takes this to mean that the expression Sam Hill was around since at least the turn of the 19th century, and most likely long before then although Idiomation was unable to find an earlier published version than the 1839 newspaper account.  It was, however, understood by the general public to have been included in that 1839 article so it was already in use among the people.

The Real McCoy

Interestingly enough, the expression the real McCoy has a long and colourful history, most of which is pure fabrication but delightful nonetheless.  And through the twists and turns found within those spirited stories, the fact of the matter is that the expression means that someone or something is genuine. 

There have been claims that the expression refers to a brand of whiskey distilled in Scotland by G. Mackay & Co. Ltd. since 1856.  Mackay’s distilled spirit was oftentimes referred to as the clear Mackay and by the time Prohibition hit, it was referred to in American speak-easies as the real Mackay as opposed to a knock-off passing for Mackay’s elixir.

There have been claims that the expression came about after oil-drip cup was patented in 1872 by Canadian inventor, Elijah McCoy (1843 – 1929).  His invention revolutionized the industry by 1873 as it allowed locomotive engines to run longer, more smoothly and more efficiently.  It succeeded in doing this by allowing metal joints to be oiled automatically while in use. A decade later in 1882, railroad engineers who didn’t want to deal with inferior copies of Elijah McCoy’s oil-drip cup would routinely ask if the locomotive they were to drive was fitted with “the real McCoy system.” 

A very popular version is that the expression refers to the infamous feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys of West Virginia and Kentucky back in the 1880s.  And yet another version claims that it was an incident where American welterweight boxing champion, Norman “Kid McCoy” Selby (1873 – 1940) knocked an unbelieving drunk out cold in an argument in a bar which prompted the drunk to exclaim when he became conscious, “You’re right! He’s the real McCoy!”

Back on December 31, 2008 the AFP European and Global edition newspapers published a story about then 31-year-old former world boxing champion, Scott Harrison.  The news story was entitled, “Ex-World Champ Harrison Released From Jail.”  In the news story, it was reported:

Harrison, nicknamed The Real McCoy, has won 25 of his 29 professional fights, including 14 by knock-out.  However, he has not fought for three years and his licence  has since been revoked by the British Boxing Board of Control.

The expression, the real McCoy, however, was around long before Scott Harrison was even born.  Going back more than a century, on October 17, 1891 the New Zealand Observer and Free Lance newspaper reported this little tidbit in the “Round The Churches” column.

The real McCoy and the musical Plant held a meeting at Otahuhu last week, and meet with a liberal supply of eggs.  The subject he volcanoed upon was “Trap doors to hell” and judging by the smell of the dead chickens, a plentiful supply of sulphur would have been a pleasant change.

Robert Louis Stevenson is said to have written a letter in 1883 that stated, “He’s the real Mackay.”

However,on March 14, 1879,  the Sarnia Observer newspaper published in Sarnia, Ontario (Canada) carried a lengthy news article about the Election of Officers and annual dance of the Sarnia Fire Department.  Once business had been tended to, the meeting was adjourned to Ellison’s Hotel where members and their spouses partook of the annual supper provided by the officers of the Fire Department.

Mr. Wm. Stewart also referred to his former relations with the department and to the pleasing associations with which they were connected.  Mr. Wm. Eveland sang, “The Real McCoy” in capital style.

The celebrations continued with many songs being sung and many toasts being made.  Among other songs sung was a rousing rendition of “Muldoon the Solid Man” by the Chairman and the comic song “The Mer-mi-aid” sung by Mr. Ellis. The pres was also recognized as the Vice-Chairman proposed a toast to “the press” in what was reported as a brief complimentary speech.  It was responded to by the representatives of The Observer and The Canadian newspapers.

That the song “The Real McCoy” was sung at this gathering and was recognized not only by the Fire Department and their spouses but by the press as well indicates that the song was well-known.  Since songs didn’t become well-known overnight as they did in the 20th century and do in the 21st century, it’s reasonable to believe that this song was in existence at least a decade — if not longer — prior to the event in 1879.

Unfortunately, Idiomation was unable to track the song down — which would be in the public domain at this point — and is therefore unable to provide an exact date of publication for the song.

In the Marlborough Express newspaper in New Zealand, the newspaper carried an advertisement in the March 6, 1875 edition that read in part:

Important Notice
Great Clearing Sale of
Winter Stock of Boots and Shoes
To Make Room For Spring And Summer Goods
Daily Expected From England

Halfway down the advertisement, the following is found:

All kinds of books, periodicals and musical instruments procured at a considerable percentage below Blenheim prices to give every one a change to enjoy the same king of luxury that I enjoy myself.  Cut Tobacco — the real McKay — and other brands never introduced into Blenheim before.

It’s quite possible that the expression “the real Mackay” is from Scotland while the expression “the real McCoy” is from Canada, both appearing at about the same time.