hurrah’s nest noun
A Variant form hoorah’s nest. (see 1956 in B).
B A place or thing in complete disorder or confusion.
1940 Haun Hawk’s Done 74 [She] said the house always looked like a perfect hurrah’s nest—pet goats and everything. 1956 McAtee Some Dial NC 23 hoo-rah’s nest = an untidy conglomeration.
—Dictionary of Southern Appalachian English
It was about this time last year that I first learned the phrase hurrah’s nest. I love the colorful way to describe a big mess.
Yesterday Matt and I cleaned up two hurrah’s nests, although we called the messes junk piles.
One junk pile was under our front porch and the other was down at the big garden.
We are all to blame for the one under the porch. While working in the garden we are bad to just sit this or that down there instead of putting it where it goes. Other stuff gets put there so that it will be out of the weather but still outside.
The area had gotten so bad that it was plumb snakey in the summer time. Once we got started it didn’t take no time to clean the area up.
A few days before Granny died the old junk car was finally removed from the big garden. Over the years different tarps and pieces of plastic have been used to cover the car and various things have been leaned against it or thrown in the general area. Our old garage door panels were there along with several wire panels about rusted out, old fertilizer bags, old plastic bottles, a baby bottle, a toy ring, and a screwdriver! It was a true hurrah’s nest. There was even a resolution to a mystery that our family has been wondering about for over 10 years.
This is our niece April and her dog Griffin. He was a blue tick beagle. He was a sweetheart and April was crazy about him. He disappeared suddenly. She looked everywhere for him. We had the whole settlement looking out for him. It was like he just left without a trace. I was convinced someone took him because he never wandered far away from home.
Before his disappearance he had been fighting with other dogs in the holler. After April started hunting for him she discovered there’d been a terrible fight just before he went missing. The person who saw it said he seemed to be okay and just took off for home. Turns out he was mortally wounded and as dogs often do he went away from everyone to die. His remains were under the old car. He was right in sight of April’s house the whole time she was searching for him.
Matt buried what was left of Griffin. April was awlful sad to hear the news.
Last night’s video: I Should Have Been Doing This All Along.
Tipper
Subscribe for FREE and get a daily dose of Appalachia in your inbox
Happy birthday all around… sad about the dog but at least she knows what happened to him.
Aw, rip Griffin. Animals are the best, I generally prefer their company to most humans. We’ve had several dogs over the years that went off on their own to pass, cats too. I had a cat a few years ago who had unfortunately contracted a fatal disease and when her time came she could barely walk, poor girl. I tried to get her to stay inside on her comfy cat bed but she wouldn’t have it. She only wanted to be outside under my husband’s dumptruck so I figured the least I could do is honor her final wishes and that’s where she ended up passing away. I wish dogs and cats lived as long us humans.
I have to agree with you Cassy. I’m sorry for the loss of your cat few years ago. My cat of 9 years had to be put down because she was suffering so and in pain. it broke my heart but I know she I s no lo ger in pain. Anyway, I feel as you do. I’d rather spend time with animals than most people also.
And it would be nice for them to live longer. But, the good Lord made them that way for a reason
I believe the term Hoorah’s nest is an old sailor’s term for messy unkempt hair. Many sea birds nest in closely packed chaotic-appearing colonies with ground nests that are nothing if not incredibly messy with bird poop and molting juvenile feathers everywhere. The first literary use of that term appears in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s work. He was from a line of famous Maine sea seamen. Richard Henry Dana (Two Years Before the Mast) also was also among the first to put that term in print. He was not from Mainer but he was an attorney who specialized in sailor’s rights and maritime law, with some of his most important cases tried in Maine.
I have never heard the term hurrah’s nest, but I have cleaned up and cleared out a few of them over the years.
Hi Tipper,
We have had some of our beloved dogs over the years go away to die only to find their remains years later. It is sad but according to our vet some dogs want to be by themselves when they die. I don’t agree with a dog’s logic but I’m not a dog!!
All Appalachian’s have a junk pile or a junk building. We have our stuff there that we can get parts from, pieces of metal to fix stuff, pieces of wires, etc. My dad had what we called the grainery just an old building full of junk. We have the pout house– a shed with junk in it. I am like you, I need to unjunk our house and yard. Now the weather is better It is TIME to UNJUNK!! Kathy Patterson
Never heard of hurrah’s nest before, but I am most familiar with junk piles, as we have several on our property.
I’m sorry about April’s dog. Years ago we had a deaf 13 year old feist mix wander off and we never found her. She was suffering from cognitive behaviour decline and we finally had to assume a coyote got her. I understand April’s sorrow.
We also call them junk piles and have our share. It’s funny how they can grow! That is sad about April’s dog. We’ve had that happen a couple times and never found them. That was nice of Matt to bury the remains. Randy, I hope you have a very happy birthday!
I may have told this before It is about my wife, my birthday and our dog. We never made a big deal out of our birthdays, anniversaries, etc. when our dog(grandson’s) was about ten months old he swallowed string from a toy and it lodged in his intestines and had to have emergency surgery. It was touch and go for awhile as to where he would live. Fast forward to his birthday on Father’s Day. My wife came home from her job at Walmart with a big cupcake for Rebel our dog and didn’t even give me as much as a card on my birthday or Father’s Day. I teased her unmercifully about loving the dog more than me. I got more enjoyment out of teasing her than I would have from eating a cupcake. She made sure to bring me a cupcake on my next birthday. Our dog is half Walker hound and half Labrador and weighs about 100 pounds. I don’t know if dogs cry but for several months after my wife died he would sit in his pen and grieve for her.
Gene, when I was teenager I had a mixed up breed of dog, he was mostly basset and a Duke’s mixture of who knows what else. He didn’t bother anything but when another dog bothered him they had better be ready to fight. I think he could have fought a circular saw and would have had a good chance of winning
God rest Griffin and comfort April.
It’s so easy to wind up with a hurrah’s nest. We call them junk piles too. I am sad about April’s dog but bless his heart, he did get home.
I’m so glad his remains were found and laid to rest in his home there in the holler.
That is just so sad. Animals are God’s creatures and comfort us in times of pain. God bless that sweet little dog.
Sad about Griffin. She looks like a sweetie. Speaking of dogs fighting, I was reminded of a long I could hear from neighboring property when I was a kid. It was after dark, and a bulldog killed a smaller dog. It was scary. Then, many years later, our neighbor’s dog, which spent most of its time at our house, showed up with blood on its neck. Upon closer inspection, I saw another dog’s tooth imbedded in little Pedro’s flesh. I’m not sure how he survived that fight. Maybe he won it.
I’m so sorry for April having to relive the pain of losing Griffin, but I’m happy for her that she has closure now. It was so kind and respectful of Matt to bury his remains!
Happy Birthday, Randy!! I pray you can find the peace that only the Lord can give and you enjoy your special day.
Tipper, I like my daddy, have always loved animals and especially dogs. I felt so sad for April but now she does know what happened. We always kept our dogs inside at night and also when we moved here we put a fence around our back yard.
Never heard the word hurrah’s nest but have heard rat’s nest:) Glad you got it cleaned up as you were right it looked like a snakey place. Yikes that did it for me.
Same thing happened to our beloved dog, Muffin. She never came home
I have never heard Hurrah in this term before, but I like it. The most common term for such messy states that I have heard all my years also applied to one’s hair as well as places or areas and that is a ‘Rat’s Nest. Such a sad story about Griffin. 🙁 May now knowing what happened to him be a comfort to April. On another happier note: HAPPY BIRTHDAY Randy!!! 🙂
I am stumped. I have heard “junk piles” called many things, but never a Hoorah Nest. I like it and may use the term. I am a packrat and have a propensity to bring home, as my wife would call it, “junk”. We have a couple of, as my mother would say, conglomerations. I am not a hoarder, but anything I think I might use or need, that is still serviceable, I attempt to neatly keep. Most anyone knows these items, if not kept in check, will turn to clutter, and the “chaff” has to be sorted from the “wheat” eventually. That is when I haul off with truck or trailer what the garbage truck crew won’t collect. I have got pretty good and cutting/breaking “stuff” into pieces and camouflaging it in yard bags! Let me tell you, these past few days, we’ve been cleaning, cutting, and hauling. I am not complaining. I am proud to be physically able and am enjoying the warmer temps as is my pocketbook.
Good morning, Tipper, Matt and Acorns. I loved watching y’all clear out the flower bed last night. It is such a sad thing about April’s dog, Griffin. My bedroom is piled high with everything we own. Termites have eaten our tiny storage building that I built 30 yrs ago. They are in the ground on that spot of the yard. Anyway, most everything is in here with me and I have a path from the door to the bed. It’ll have to do till we get the strength to tote one piece at a time to the new building at the other end of the yard. It sure makes thing uncomfortable in a 648 sq ft trailer. I’ll survive. I got 3 metal shelves for the new building. I built the old ones with wood and they are part of the termite food now. Trials and tribulations. I had never heard of a “Hurrah”. TY that is a cool wood. I’m looking at a big Hurrah right this minute. Time I went and had a cup of hot water and fixed Ed some breakfast. He can’t stand long enough to fix something and then have the strength to eat it afterwards. I tried the Postum and only like it in hot, vanilla almond milk as an occasional treat. I keep everyone up Wilson Hollow and y’all in my prayers. Love ya.
Always good to do a clean out where needed. We do this from time to time under the deck or in the garage. Too bad about Griffin though. About the ‘Lonesome’ blog from Wednesday—made me recall the song Lonesome Feeling and I found it in one of the BP&A playlists. Very nice rendition.
Randy-Hope you find some gladness today!!
People of a certain generation might remember a story about two rich elderly reclusive gentlemen who lived by themselves named the Collyer brothers. They lived in an old mansion that had seen better days. Anyhow, when no one had heard from them in ages, the police went to check on them after an anonymous tipster said there was a smell of decomposition that you could smell even outside. They found the brothers dead, but they also found the place cluttered from floor to ceiling with all sorts of hoarded stuff. Some of the stuff was valuable and was auctioned off and given to their distant relatives, but most of it was just junk. So, for a while thereafter, the expression “This place looks like Collyers’ Mansion!” was immediately understood.
Oh, I’m so sorry for April and her sweet Griffin. I’m glad Matt was able to find a proper resting place for him.
I’ve never heard of a hurrah’s nest but I sure have several around my house!
Isn’t it amazing that even after ten years and finally discovering what happened to a beloved pet our hearts and I guess our minds too, can slip into a type of grief—one more example of how losing something or someone can affect us even years down the line. But my heart hurts with and for April, I think everyone who has lost a fur baby can relate to her.
breaks my heart to hear about Griffin, God help and God bless in Jesus name
My mom would tell us if we were in trouble that she was going to take us to the hooraw patch. Never knew where that came from. Maybe this explains it!
I have never heard of that expression. I know what you mean though. You set down things out of weathers way never meaning to leave it long; then boom! It’s a rats nest! Poor little dog. So sad.
We, too, have an area like that. It’s the chaos pile. Fencing, tomato cages, posts, etc. They all have purpose, but it’s chaos.
That was really sad about your niece’s dog, but at least now everyone knows. That was nice of Matt to bury him. We love our animals. My papaw loved his animals too. He was an avid hunter, but didn’t want anything to be wasted, or mistreated. We say we are PETA people. People Eating Tasty Animals, but wouldn’t want anything mistreated.
Both of our daughters just took in dogs that were on this man’s list to be killed. He breeds dogs and the ones left, or undesirable is took to the woods. Both are adorable and will make fine dogs for the family. I don’t understand that kind of thinking. The one is probably a year old and she is so grateful to have a loving home. A real gem. She is Blue Heeler and Border Collie mix. So smart and well behaved. The other is six weeks old and Border Collie and Aussie mix.
I’m just rambling today. I pray all y’all have a wonderful day. The winds are really high today. We had tornadoes in the area last night as the storms blew through. Everyone take care until next time. God bless!
I have never heard hurrah’s nest before reading it on your blog. My mama always said rat’s nest…as in, if the house was a mess she would say, “this house looks like a rat’s nest”. It actually never did. My mother is the queen of clean. lol. If someone’s hair was all messy after sleeping or playing, it was said to look like a rat’s nest too. Your flower garden looks great and I think your little rake is just what I need for mine. Happy Friday everyone!
Brenda, that’s what we’ve always called things too. Momma would always say she had to brush out our rat’s nest. I remember being no bigger than a mite asking about them living in my hair and if they’d have babies there. lol
April, I am so sorry for you, yet glad Griffin was found. Settle that in your heart. Love Gail
Poor April! Such a sad story. It’s amazing what we can find when we clean up a mess…a resolution to an old wonder. Bless his heart..he made it home.
oh so sad..poor sweet dog
Hmmm sounds like a hurrah’s nest is similar to a boneyard, the place where things are put until a use is found or enough time passes it becomes clear that is never going to happen. And Nature is always ready to help reclaim places. Those situations can have somebody giving us A Round Tuit. Sad to find Griffin’s remains in one way but good to have the mystery solved. Poor puppy didn’t want to get far away and probably couldn’t either. Randy, if I understand your post correctly, this must be your birthday. Happy birthday to you. I wish you the good Lord’s very best. He knows best and does best because He knows us completely.
I woke up a year older this morning than when I went to bed last night. I have many hurrah’s nest around my place, they seem to be multiplying as I get older and it gets harder for me to get around. I am sorry for April(my daughter’s name) and her dog. I think a beagle makes one of the best pets. I have had several beagles over the years. I have several things going on right now causing me a lot of worry and anxiety, sometimes it seems like it is not meant for me to have a peaceful day anymore. I did enjoy spending some time yesterday with my sister in law and her husband.
Happy Birthday, Randy!! May you find many blessings in your day!! Mine will be Monday. I was born during a blizzard in ’65. My brother named me after one of his teachers he had a crush on.
Happy Birthday, Randy. I celebrated my 77th on the 15th of February.
Happy belated birthday, Tricia. God bless you.
Debbie, my mother never failed to tell me each year about the bad thunderstorms that were in the Belton/ Anderson area the night I was born. All my daddy talked about was not being able to figure out how the doctor outran the ambulance from Belton to the Anderson Hospital. I was born in 1954, but would have had an older sister born in 1952, but she was born dead. I almost died when I was born. My best friend has already called this morning, I told him “I’m
a high mileage Classic, all original, some parts still work!”
Happy early birthday Debbie! God bless you.
Happy birthday!!! I hope you have a wonderful & blessed day.
Happy Birthday Randy and Happy early Birthday Debbie!!
Happy Birthday to you, Randy. Wishing you a calm & peaceful day. Jesus says to be anxious for nothing. Even though we don’t know what it is, He has a perfect plan for us.
Happy b-day, Randy! Hang in there, Old Timer!
Gene, don’t be calling me an “old timer” I told you I was a high mileage classic! One of the employees at my local Food Lion that I tease and have got to know real well called me “vintage” this morning. Although I have never met Gene, he and I have became off the blog email friends. Some of his relatives are my friends. He knows I mean nothing by this and I’m messing with him.
I pray you’ll have a nice day today for your birthday Randy.
Happy birthday, Randy. I pray God comforts you today and that your day has blessings in it, no matter how small. Will you see your son and grandsons? God bless you!
Happy Birthday, Randy! Praying you have a wonderful day and many blessings throughout the year!
Happy Birthday Randy!
Happy Birthday Randy! Mine was yesterday and don’t they come around faster and faster but I’m grateful for every one of them. Mama told me there was snow on the ground when I was born. That was 1958. Praying that you have a wonderful day. God bless you.
Happy late birthday, my younger sister was born in 1958. One of my lifetime friends and drop dead gorgeous classmates was born on the 19th, I always teased her about being older than me but a heck of a lot better looking. My daddy said he could never understand getting upset about having birthdays, he would say as long as I keep having birthdays and making mistakes I am ok, it when I stop doing either one I need to be worried. On the serious side, I know it is just life and the way it is, but when I see how many that are dying around me each day in my age group, many of them friends, former classmates, coworkers, it makes me wonder how much longer before it’s my time. A lifetime next door neighbor (less than 1/2 mile) and friend is only a few days away from dying from pancreatic cancer.