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Oops, you pipped me

Posted by GPP on August 27, 2003

In Reply to: Coal Cracker posted by ESC on August 27, 2003

: : : My wife is a Coal Cracker, meaning that she comes from the anthracite coal mining region of Central Pennsylvania. I come from New Jersey, which isn't geographically very far away, but I'd never heard the term before I met her.

: : : I was just wondering if the term is used in other coal mining regions of the country, such as Western PA, Kentucky, West Virginia, or even another country? I'd be interested to know if it's a local expression, or which region it may have originated in. I have a feeling the term must go back to the heyday of coal mining, prior to the 1920's. Thanks...

: : I'll look up "coal cracker" in my regional slang dictionaries this evening. I've never heard this phrase -- I'm a coal miner's daughter from West Virginia. I've done some online research and searched new and used bookstores trying to locate a miners' slang book. No luck yet.

: Couldn't find it. I looked in two regional speech dictionaries without any luck. I looked under "coal cracker" and "cracker."

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