hafta: as in have to do an activity or something. very popular coal region word

"I hafta get up town Lansford ta play da number before 7 o'clock!"

hain't: another variation on ain't. Another VER popular coal region word.

"Heyna, Hain't it a bad day with dis weathder?"

haitch: the letter "H". 

"I tink Haitch Bee Oh (HBO) is free dis weekend at Tommies!" 🤣😂

half holiday: many businesses used to close for a half-day on Wednesday afternoon, and re-open on Thursday morning. Unbelievably, the entire downtown Lansford would close! This practice may have been a holdover from the depression, when stores were trying to reduce overhead costs. The practice was observed by many merchants at least until the late 1960's. 

"I went to get quarters at da bank, but they were closed fer half holiday."

Hallaweenin(g), Hallaweeners: trick-or-treating, trick-or-treaters. Irish invented halloween or Hallows Eve. Oroginally carving turnips before coming to america and found it easier to get pumpkins to carve

"Da young lad is going out Hallaweenin. Look at all dem Hallaweeners!"

halupkies or galumpkies: stuffed cabbage. Also known as "blind pigeons". Halupkies is the Ukrainian term; galumpkies the Polish term. In Ukranian, the word is "holubtsi", which means (guess what?) pigeons! See a variety of recipes in our cook book section

halushkies: an Eastern European casserole delicacy consisting of cabbage, onions, potatoes, and noodles. See a variety of recipes in our cook book section.

ham and egger: a somewhat derogatory term, used as a put-down for a person. Comes from the old days when miners held boxing matches. The winner got money, the loser got a ham and egg meal.

"Jack & Jimmy are having a ham and egger af'ter work, youz wanna go watch"

ham in yer bucket: an expression meaning you've got a good or full lunchbox. Comes from the mining days when ham for lunch was a treat.

hard coal: the Anthracite Coal that the coal region of Eastern Pennsylvania is famous for. Bituminous, or "soft coal" is mined in Western Pennsylvania. To be "from da hard coal" is to be from the Coal Region of Eastern PA.

Hatchy Milatchy: a popular children's show on WNEP-TV (Wilkes-Barre) in the 1960's and 70's. Hosted by Miss Judy (real name: Lois Burns). The theme song was a popular song sung by Rosemary Clooney. Miss Judy lipsync'd to Rosemary Clooney at the beginning of each show. Another host was the fez-wearing Uncle Ted, a grey-haired man with beard and handlebar mustache. 

Hautobahn: just outside Nesquehoning is a stretch of road. The highway here is sometimes called the "Hautobahn" due to the speeding, fog, and sadly many deaths. See also Lake Hauto Patch.

"didja fly down da hautobahn to get here?"

hawdogs: Hot dogs. Sometimes just plain "dogs".

 "Gimme two dogs, one wit ketchup and one wittout".

hawk a loogie: to spit after clearing the throat and using that phlegm (the loogie) to spit.

"The bigger the loogie, the prouder the spitter."

hawker: another name for a loogie. See hawk a loogie.

"Let's hawk a loogie off da bridge"

hawzey or haasy or hossie: A card game commonly played at card parties. According to the Dictionary of Regional English (DARE), these are variants of "hasenpfeffer," a card game played chiefly in Eastern PA. DARE lists the variants "hoss" and "hossy".  This note from a "Dutchman" friend: At card parties, PA Dutchmen play "Hawsy", which is a shortened form of "Haasenpeffer". It is the dialect name for a German rabbit stew. The card game is a bridge-style bidding game, similar to what is called "euchre" or "uker" in the Midwest and other parts of the country. Sometimes called "horsey".

hayna or heyna or henna or haynit: sometimes used as "ain't it so?"  or "isn't that right?".  See hain't. This is primarily a Luzerne County word, very common in Hazleton, Wilkes-Barre, and surrounding areas. Many Pennsylvania Dutch sentences end with the phrase "say not". That sure smells like sulfur.

 "It sure is cold tonight, heyna or no?"

hayna er no?: isn't that correct, yes or no? See also hayna

henna da troot: ain't it the truth? See also hayna

header: a fall or a slip like, you might land on your head.

"Yo, get offa dat ladder before ya take a header"

heatrola: a home heating device that burned coal, Sometimes floors in the house had grates to allow the heat to circulate. You had to take out the ashes (coal cinders) periodically. These stoves were cast iron and usually covered with porcelain finish and had mica windows. They were used in the parlor or living rooms (if you had one) because they were used for heat only and not cooking. Heatrolas were placed on the floor on a stove board and then a metal stove pipe was affixed to the stove and then placed into the chimney. 

Heisler's Dairy: a popular summertime spot outside Tamaqua. Ice cream and miniature golf and great times.

highball: a popular mixed drink in the Coal Region. Made from whiskey and 7-up or ginger ale. A miner's highball is a shot of whiskey and a beer.

highrise: multi-story building where elderly people live. The most popular high rise in the coal region was located in Tamaqua.

"Yo, how's your grandmother?" 

"Oh, she's not bad, she's upda Tamaqua highrise."

High Road/Low Road: The High Road is Route 54 between Lost Creek and Girardville. The Low Road is the road through Mahanoy Plane and Gilberton to Girardville (state route 40-30). So called because the High Road runs at a higher elevation than does the Low Road.

Hills: as in lets go shopping at Hills Department Store. This was a very popular American discount chain, famous for toys, low prices, and snack bars (popcorn!), operating from 1957 until its acquisition and merger into Ames Department Stores in 1999, leaving behind strong nostalgia for its family-friendly shopping experience, particularly its helpful layaway programs. It was a significant retailer in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic, comparable to an early Target, offering clothing, home goods, electronics, and seasonal items. 

Hilltopper: often referred to as the old Summit Hill High School yearbook or as in folks from Summit Hill are hilltoppers

"Heyna, youz guys playing ball with dem hilltoppers?"

his/her people: his/her relatives. 

"Her people are from The Foot."

hiya: "Hi!" or "Hi to you!"  Also used as a severely contracted form.

"Hiya, howza be you?"

hoagie: a sub sandwich. Not strictly a coal region term, but regional nonetheless.

hokie-pokie: the ice-cream truck that traveled around town during the summer and sold ice cream, etc. right from the truck. Was this the brand name because we also called it "Mr. Frosty" as the same thing.

hollor: to yell or scream at, or nag. 

"dee 'ol lady keeps hollorin' at me. I had to get outta da house, yo!"

honestagod: Honest to God. Used as an affirmation, like you are swearing something is true. Also used as an expression of amazement. 

"Honestagod, I always play dat number and the one day I din't, it come in!"

honey dipper: person who cleans out the contents of an outhouse. Next time you have a bad day at work, sit back and think 

"Thank God I don't have that job!!"

hooky or hookie: To skip school without a valid excuse. Not sure if this is specific to the Coal Region. 

"If I get caught playing hooky one more time, I'm gonna get expelled!"

Hookies, the: often used to describe coal region volunteer fire departments. 

"you joining the Lansford hookies?

hosie (or hozie or hosehouse): a place to drink beer and keep fire trucks; a fire department or "hose company".

 "Let's go upda Hozie and drink some beers"

housecoat: woman's robe.

how comes: why as in asking a question.

 "How comes you ain't goin out wit us?" 

 "Cuz I don't wanna, dat's how comes"

huckleberry: a very small berry that grows wild in the Coal Region. Picking huckleberries is a common thing to do in the summer. Usually purple in color. Taste great in pies. These are not the same as blueberries.  they are "wild blueberries". See also swampers and scobbed

hunky: derogatory slang term used to refer to immigrants from Eastern Europe -- Polish, Slovak, Ukrainian, Russian, etc. Not used so much anymore. Possibly derived from "Hungarian" or the more common "bohunk", which probably comes from "Bohemian". 

"She's a hunky from Nesq"

hunnert: hundred. 

"He musta spent a hunnert dollars at the italian club last night".