Hillbilly

Hillbilly is a pejorative nickname for people who dwell in remote, rural, mountainous areas. In particular the term refers to residents of the Ozarks and Appalachia in the United States.

Modern usage

Today, "hillbilly" has increasingly insulting connotations - especially as knowledge of the word's fairly harmless origins are forgotten.

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To the people of the Appalachian Mountains, the term "hillbilly" carries a negative connotation which has been greatly emphasized by how Hollywood movies and films portray the "hillbilly" as impoverished, ill-educated, toothless, shoeless, unstylish, inbred, etc. While such stereotyping is generally offensive, socio-economic realities have left much of the Appalachian region impoverished, although the economy has been steadily improving since the 1990s.

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Because hillbillies are stereotypically assumed to lack footwear, Appalachia and places like it are sometimes referred to as the "Barefoot Nation".

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In mock formality, hillbillies are sometimes referred to as "Mountain Williams".

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