Nicknames by Region Trivia Quiz

Answer: Monkey hangers

Legend has it that during the Napoleonic Wars, a French ship was wrecked near the town of Hartlepool, and the only survivor was a monkey. As the local fishermen were unfamiliar with both monkeys and Frenchmen, they agreed it was a spy and executed the unfortunate primate by hanging.

Answer: Banana Bender

The story goes that back in 1937, Queen Elizabeth (who later became the Queen Mother) asked a Queenslander what he did for a living. He told her that he was a banana bender, and with a perfectly straight face, explained that bananas actually grow straight on trees, and that his job was to put the attractive bend in each fruit as it approached ripeness.

Answer: Moonrakers

Thanks to Moonraker2 for this explanation. During the 17th and 18th centuries British customs charges on imported spirits were exorbitant, leading to smuggling becoming an important industry in Wiltshire. Village ponds were a great place to hide the barrels, but one moonlit night the excisemen happened upon a group of villagers raking kegs from the pond. Sprung!
Thinking on their feet, the villagers pretended to be idiots and pointed to the moon's reflection in the pond, explaining that they were trying to rake in the piece of moon. The excisemen laughed at them and went on their way. That's why Wiltshiremen are still called "Moonrakers".

Answer: Janner

Why? you may ask. Apparently in the Royal Navy it particularly applied to natives of Plymouth, but it has also been applied more generally to a person from Devon. Perhaps it derives from "Cousin Jan", the Devonian form of "John".

Answer: Sooners

At the start of the Land Rush of 1889, hopeful settlers lined up waiting to be allowed into the Unassigned Lands in what is now Oklahoma. They were told that any attempt to stake a claim before the official starting time would disqualify them. However, many settlers did go in early, and had taken a lot of the best land before the 'legal' settlers arrived.

These queue jumpers were called "Sooners". Gradually the term lost its negative connotation, and Oklahoma is now known as the Sooner State.

Answer: Bluenoser

The origin of this moniker could be that unprotected noses turn blue with the intense winter cold. Another suggestion is that blue-dyed mittens were often used by Nova Scotian fishermen, who would wipe the tears and nose drips away, with the result that they would inadvertently dye their noses blue. A replica of the famous Bluenose II schooner is on display at Lunenburg.

Answer: Cheesehead

This started out as a derogatory term coined by Illinois football fans to describe their Wisconsin counterparts. It is now embraced as the emblem of Green Bay Packers fans, and has spread to cover all residents of the state. Wisconsin is the largest cheese maker in the USA (as at 2018).

Answer: Hoosier

I can't find a generally agreed origin for the term, but one possible explanation relates to strangers approaching a frontier house, at a time when caution was required. The householder would call out, "Who's here?", which became slurred into "Hoosier?"

Answer: Crow-eater

As I live close to Mt Barker, I was intrigued to read a newspaper report dated 1925, (yes, I'm behind the times, have some catching up to do!) which stated that a group of settlers in Mt Barker had killed, cooked and eaten several crows, calling them "Mount Barker pheasants"! Ugh! Knowing what crows eat, I'd rather not dwell on this one.

Answer: Tar Heelers

The Tar Heel State possibly earned its name from its long history of making and marketing naval supplies (including tar).

Another possible explanation derives from the reputation North Carolinians had for fighting tenaciously and refusing to withdraw in battle "as if they had tar on their heels".