F-bomb: the F-word. 

"He dropped da F-bomb in fronna da nuns, da f***."

fagots or hot fagots: A mixture of ground pork liver and ground beef which is combined with cracker or bread crumbs, a lot of sage and pepper, formed into large meatballs, wrapped in netting, or intestine, and baked in a hot oven. The tops are cooked under a broiler to add flavor.  The juice from the fagots is poured over them as they roast.   Fagots originated in Wales and are very popular there, served with mushy peas and gravy.  Very similar to the popular Scottish dish "haggis"

Fairlane Village Mall: circa 1975 opened. This was the place to be for a coal region kid growing up who wanted to go to the mall and not travel to Allentown.  

farhead: forehead.

"Mikey hit da ball into Tommy's farhead"

feddertick: feathertick. Used for any heavy quilt. 

"It's gonna be a cold one tonight. Better use your feddertick."

feltboot: is a term used to describe a a stupid person. Feltboots ("valenki" in Russian) were popular in the Slavic countries. this term can also be used to describe someone who is a "greenhorn" or old-country type. The term is also used to describe a liner in the miners' rubber boots to keep their feet warm. The rubber boots weren't made to be worn with shoes.

"Whaddya some kinda feltboot doin' sumptin' like dat?"

fer cryin' out loud: expression of dismay, disbelief, or admonishment 

"Fer cryin' out loud, ya dumped the whole jug of boilo on the floor!"

Feck: a possibly less rude way of saying “fuck.”

"What da feck!"

fill-um: a light-sensitive emulsion coded on a flexible acetate or plastic base, commonly used in a cam-ra.

filling: stuffing, as in the bread cube stuffing used to stuff a turkey.

fivey: the five-and-dime or five-and-ten-cent store. Usually a Woolworth's or similar store. "Run up da fivey and get me a roll of Scotch tape, will ya?" See also McCrory's 5 & 10 Stores

Fire Damp: highly explosive hydrocarbon gas. It was lighter than air and found near the roof of the breast.

flitch: candy made of peanut butter rolled up in a mixture of mashed potatoes (yes, mashed potatoes) and powdered sugar. Often sold at block parties and church/school functions. You can find recipes for Flitch in our cook books section on this website.

folly: as in an action verb meaning to follow. Many coal region little league coaches would use this word.  

"Folly the ball, butt, folly the ball!"

fooler: a pacifier as in the one a baby uses

"give da bay dat fooler"

da Foot: Mahanoy Plane, between Mahanoy City and Girardville.

462, da f***! : 

645, da f***!

This is sort of anthem or pronouncement of pride. Each town in the region has a different three-digit phone exchange (the first 3 digits of the phone number). Lansford was '645'. Shendo is '462'. These digits are commonly used in conversation, e.g. "I'm from 645 -land". 

DID YOU KNOW: In Schuylkill County there is a personalized license plate that reads "462-TF" or "462-DF".

"Yo, Frackville, 874 da f***"

"Yo Lansford, 645 da f***"

four-ways: Hazard lights on a car. hazard lights are very popular in the coal region due to the weather like snow, fog, pot holes, and cars are always breaking down

"Pull over and put on your four-ways."

frick: a toned-down version of commonly used four-letter word. Either word (or both of them!) can be used for emphasis, exclamation, or just to fill in gaps in conversation. Usually used in sentences like What da Frick!.

 "Hey, what're yiz tryin'a do, da frick??"

frid'e or frid'g: refers to a refrigerator as a fridge

"where da frid'g at?"

fronna: means in front of. 

"I was in a hurry, so I cut in fronna dem in da bleenie line".

f**ked fer coal: Expression of despair, to be lacking in something. May have derived from coal mining days when a miner came up short on his daily quota of coal.

F***ing A!: expression of surprise, alarm, or affirmation, agreement. Exactly what the "A" stands for is debatable. Possibly "all right" or "amen", meaning "yes, I agree, everything you said is correct." This has a positive connotation. You will often hear people say "f**ckin' A right!" Could also be a shortened version of "F***in' A**hole!", although that connotation is a negative one. In the movie "The Deer Hunter" (set in Western PA), one character says this phrase all the time. Maybe he was a coal region transplant.

"Dat's a yooj buck ya shot. F**kin' A!"

f***face: a common coal region term of endearment. It is commonly used in conjunction "Yo". See bott-l.

"Yo fuckface, wat ya doin"

fudgsicle: pronounced fudge ickle, This is a chocolate (fudge) flavored popsicle