Cunnerman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The word cunnerman appears in the Dictionary of American Regional English, and is most often used to describe a person who is either unkempt or slovenly. It is almost exclusive to Monroe County, Pennsylvania, and takes its roots from the Counterman family, who were among the first settlers of the area. The surname Counterman is itself derived from "countryman". There may also be some tie to the nearby Slate Belt region, where Cornish and Welsh quarrymen of the last two centuries were likely referred to as cutters (as in the 1979 film Breaking Away, though that film was set in the quarries of the state of Indiana). Variations of the word are cudderman or cutterman.
Like surnames used to describe the less tidy or poverty-stricken members of any given community, the word cunnerman has largely been historically reserved as an insult ("Tuck in your shirt and fix your hair, you look like a damned cunnerman!"). It would most likely have been originally directed at those of agrarian or labor vocation and socio-economic level, by those who were not. School children and young adults in the area frequently shorten it to cuddy or cutty to describe something or someone less desirable ("We went there after the game, but it was just a cuddy party, so we left").
Many residents use cunnerman fondly, as a means to cling to the past, or to refer to folkways that were once a much larger part of the region. Doing something "the cunnerman way" is to be old-fashioned or practical in a positive manner, to not need the conveniences or distractions of modern life. When remembering the deceased, it can also be used as a humorous form of reverence, especially if the person was regarded as a colorful character ("what a lovable old cunnerman Earl Frantz was").
In recent years, the word has come to have additional meaning and significance. The population of Monroe County has exploded since the 1980s due to its proximity to the New York metropolitan area, and serves as a bedroom community to many who work there. Therefore to be a lifetime Monroe County resident is viewed as a source of identity and pride, while being outnumbered in a community of interlopers and street gangs. To be a cunnerman now can also mean to be a genuine, caring, or a good person, or, to borrow an urban phrase, to be "keeping it real". It is sometimes said in jest that a cunnerman would give you the shirt off his back, though its condition or cleanliness may preclude its acceptance. The new usage(s) could be due to the stark contrast of merging cultures, and the general view held by some lifelong residents of New Yorkers as rude and obnoxious. Not unlike the racial epithet nigger, it is not welcomed when used by someone outside the group. It is a source of ridicule or scorn when spoken with a thick New York accent, and any attempt by an an outsider to use it to socialize is quickly rebuffed. Cunnermen, you see, decide if you are one of them or you aren't.
One final interesting use, however, has come from the urbanization of the area-the expression cuddy-ho, has begun to be heard, most likely starting with newly-arrived and acclimated urban African-American males, to describe a local girl of disrepute. One can only imagine what cunnerman and the other local expressions of the area will evolve into as urban English continues to pervade the area, as well as the fate of the Cunnermen themselves.
