Editing Hoosier (section)

===="Who'sh 'ere?"====
Humorous [[folk etymology|folk etymologies]] for the term "hoosier" have a long history, as recounted by Dunn in ''The Word Hoosier''.

One account traces the word to the necessary caution of approaching houses on the frontier. In order to avoid being shot, a traveler would call out from afar to let themselves be known. The inhabitants of the [[log cabin|cabin]] would then reply "Who's here?" which {{ndash}} in the [[Appalachian English]] of the early settlers {{ndash}} slurred into "Who'sh 'ere?" and thence into "Hoosier?" A variant of this account had the Indiana pioneers calling out "Who'sh 'ere?" as a general greeting and warning when hearing someone in the bushes and tall grass, to avoid shooting a relative or friend in error.<ref>''The History of Indiana''. Textbook. {{c.|lk=no|1960}}.</ref>

The poet [[James Whitcomb Riley]] facetiously suggested that the fierce brawling that took place in Indiana involved enough biting that the expression "Whose ear?" became notable. This arose from or inspired the story of two 19th-century French immigrants brawling in a tavern in the foothills of southern Indiana. One was cut and a third Frenchman walked in to see an ear on the dirt floor of the tavern, prompting him to slur out "Whosh ear?"<ref name=tri/>