What in the Sam Hill?
What in the Sam Hill is an old-fashioned exclamation meaning "What on earth?" or "What the heck?" It’s a mild stand-in for stronger language - a polite way to sound shocked or angry without cussing.
synonyms: what the heck, what on earth, what the devil, gol-dang-it
Hillbilly Dude Says...
I'm pretty sure I've only heard 'what in the Sam Hill' on 'The Beverly Hillbillies'. Hillbilly Dude Says...
I'm pretty sure I've only heard 'what in the Sam Hill' on 'The Beverly Hillbillies'. Pronunciation
[WUT in thuh SAM HILL]
/ˈwʌt ɪn ðə ˈsæm hɪl/
/ˈwʌt ɪn ðə ˈsæm hɪl/
Meaning & Usage
- Exclamation of surprise, anger, or confusion
Earl:
Where’s the tractor?
Where’s the tractor?
Hazel:
What in the Sam Hill do you mean where’s the tractor? You was just drivin’ it!
What in the Sam Hill do you mean where’s the tractor? You was just drivin’ it!variations: what the Sam Hill, who in Sam Hill, where in Sam Hill
Origin
The phrase appears in American writing from the **1830s**, used as a euphemism for "heck."
No one knows for sure who "Sam Hill" was - likely a fictional name used to avoid taking the Lord’s name in vain. Some folklore links it to a Connecticut merchant or a Michigan surveyor, but the name was already a humorous substitute for swear words in American dialect before those men were famous.
It spread widely through the Midwest and South as a milder form of cussing - exactly the kind of colorful expression that fit Southern speech and Appalachian storytelling.
Verdict: Southernish. Sounds right at home in Southern and hillbilly talk, but born of early American euphemism rather than regional roots.
Related Pages
How to Cite This Page
- APA (7th edition)The Hillbilly Dude. (2025, November 4). What in the Sam Hill?. HillbillySlang.com. https://www.hillbillyslang.com/southernish/what-in-the-sam-hill
- MLA (9th edition)"The Hillbilly Dude." "What in the Sam Hill?." HillbillySlang.com, 4 Nov. 2025, https://www.hillbillyslang.com/southernish/what-in-the-sam-hill.
- Chicago (17th edition)The Hillbilly Dude. "What in the Sam Hill?." HillbillySlang.com. November 4, 2025. https://www.hillbillyslang.com/southernish/what-in-the-sam-hill.
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