[Ads-l] Cackalacky

[Rich Lowenthal]

In her 2003 SAMLA Presidential Address, Connie Eble mentioned that she 
and her students were looking into the history of the word. I don't know 
whether she came up with anything helpful.


------ Original Message ------
>From "Jonathan Lighter" 
<00001aad181a2549-dmarc-request at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
To ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Date 10/10/2026 11:08:39 AM
Subject Re: Cackalacky

>I'd like to see this evidence.
>
>Neither I nor Google AI can find any popular song from the 1930s (or
>any time before Bonnie's date of 1972)  containing "Cackalacky,"
>"Kakalaki," or "Cacka-lacka."
>
>A 1928 gospel song allegedly included the repeated rhythmical phrase
>"Clank a Lanka," but, if so, it had nothing to do with the Carolinas.
>
>
>JL
>
>
>
>
>
>On Sat, Oct 10, 2026 at 10:27 AM ADSGarson O'Toole
><00001aa1be50b751-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:
>>
>>  There is a discussion of Cackalacky in the following book. The book
>>  has footnotes, but I have not yet determined the specific details for
>>  the assertions in the two excerpts below. Maybe Bonnie is already
>>  familiar with this book.
>>
>>  Date: 2014 Copyright
>>  Book Title: Talkin' Tar Heel: How Our Voices Tell the Story of North Carolina
>>  Author: Walt Wolfram and Jeffrey Reaser
>>  Quote Page 6 and 8
>>  Publisher: University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill. North Carolina
>>
>>  [Begin excerpt page 6]
>>  While the origin of Cackalacky is still uncertain, its history began
>>  long before the sauce was created. At the very least, we can
>>  definitively trace the term to 1937, when it was used in a popular
>>  song. It is likely that Cackalacky's etymology runs much deeper than
>>  this song, however, and there remains much popular speculation and
>>  discussion about its possible origins.
>>  [End excerpt]
>>
>>  [Begin excerpt page 8]
>>  While we cannot be certain of the origin, the development of
>>  Cackalacky demonstrates how terms of reference can change over their
>>  life spans. Evidence from the 1940s suggests the term was used in a
>>  somewhat derogatory way by outsiders; for example, servicemen assigned
>>  to one of the rural bases in the state in the 1940s referred to their
>>  environs as "Cackalacky," perhaps deriding the rural ways of native
>>  North Carolinians. Though it may have been intended as an insult by
>>  outsiders, it has now been embraced affectionately by native and
>>  adoptive residents.
>>  [End excerpt]
>>
>>  On Sat, Oct 10, 2026 at 8:18 AM Bonnie Taylor-Blake
>>  <00001a89b77a7850-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:
>>  >
>>  > I've been collecting forms from 1972 (the earliest I've spotted this) into
>>  > the early 2000s, when the use of "Cackalacky" blossomed in the popular
>>  > press, mostly with references to the hip-hop world and products for
>>  > condiment shelves.
>>  >
>>  > There's anecdotal evidence that it was used in the military post-war as a
>>  > designation for the Carolinas, but not used by Carolinians themselves. I've
>>  > found two pre-war nicknames for the Carolinas that bear some similarity to
>>  > "Cackalacky" in U.S. Marine publications, but they're not great matches.
>>  >
>>  > Lots of guesses about its origin, but for me nothing very satisfying. I
>>  > have a not-ready-for-primetime theory that it may have come from a bit of
>>  > now-lost American slang popular ca. 1900 that once signified "stranger" or
>>  > "foreign," but I'm not particularly satisfied with that one, either.
>>  >
>>  > -- Bonnie
>>  >
>>  > On Sat, Oct 10, 2026 at 7:41 AM Jonathan Lighter <
>>  > 00001aad181a2549-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:
>>  >
>>  > MSNOW: "South Carolina. South Cackalacky! "
>>  > >
>>  > > Many Google hits. Also "North Cackalacky." Both new to me.
>>  > >
>>  > > 1974 _Daily Press_ (Newport News, Va.) (March 6) 4 [N]: Cackalacky
>>  > > (translated Carolina).
>>  > >
>>  > > Fascinatingly, the next N ex. isn't till 2002, with the introduction
>>  > > of Skelton's Cackalacky Hot Sauce,
>>  > >
>>  > > JL
>>  > >
>>  > > --
>>  > > "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>>  > >
>>  > >
>>  >
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>
>
>--
>"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>
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