Pam from Denton, Texas, says her mother-in-law always used the expression independent as a hog on ice. A hog that stubbornly gets itself stranded on a sheet of ice is in an extremely awkward position. A passage in the book Jack Shelby: A Story of the Indiana Backwoods describes such an animal as “the helplesstest thing you ever did see in all your born days.” This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Independent as a Hog on Ice”
Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hey, this is Pam Fuller calling from Denton, Texas.
Hello, Pam. Welcome to the show. Thanks. I am super excited to talk to you guys.
We’re excited to talk with you. What do you want to talk about?
My mother-in-law is from Southern Illinois, Kentucky area. And so she has a long list of these interesting sayings that I have heard for many years. And I’m just curious as to where these sayings have originated.
And the one that has always piqued my interest the most is that when my oldest daughter was born, my mother-in-law would always say, that girl is as independent as a hog on ice. And I’ve been very curious about what that means and where in the world it came from.
Independent as a hog on ice.
Yeah, that’s been around mostly in this country since the mid-19th century or so. And a lot of times when you see the expression independent as a hog on ice, there’s a little bit of implication that they’re so independent, so stubborn, that it’s kind of to their detriment.
Is that the way your mother-in-law used it?
Like maybe they’re a little too independent for their own good.
Maybe so.
Maybe so.
Could have been, yeah.
-huh.
But, yeah, have you ever seen a hog on ice?
No, but I’m sure it would be quite a sight.
Yeah, it’s not a pretty sight because they get stuck out there, and they’re just sort of spread-eagled or splayed out on the ice, and they can’t move. It is to their detriment to be that stubborn to go out on the ice.
There’s a book called Jack Shelby, a story of the Indiana backwoods that has a longer version of this expression, which is as independent as a hog on ice. If he can’t stand up, he can lay down.
But anyway, this person in the book is describing what a hog on ice looks like. And he says, a hog on ice is the helplessest thing you ever see in all your born days. He can’t walk and he can’t stand. His feet ain’t made for it.
So as soon as he finds he’s on ice where he can’t walk and can’t stand up, why, he just does the other thing. He lays down and there he’ll lay till a crack of doom, perfectly happy and contented, like, and just as if laying down on ice was the very one thing he was brung up to do.
That’s hilarious.
Yeah, yeah, it’s great. It goes on to talk about how this happens a lot outside Cincinnati because the river freezes over and they’re driving hogs to the distilleries across the river. And they make a cinder path and the hogs walk across that, but sometimes they just get stuck.
So that suggests that whole idea of maybe they’re a little too independent for their own good. So the word independent here isn’t really independent.
It’s independent in quotes, right?
Yeah, and kind of inadvertently independent once they get stuck out there.
So it’s stubbornly independent or inadvertently independent.
Oh, I love that. I appreciate the explanation for sure. This one in particular had always kind of had the family stumped as to where it came from.
Well, it’s a beauty. And I appreciate you having me on and giving me that explanation.
Well, thanks so much, Pam.
Take care now.
Y’all too.
Bye-bye.
Bye-bye.
Take care.
Well, we loved Pam’s story of what her mother-in-law said. What did yours say? Call us, 877-929-9673.
