My mother grew up in New Boston (Linn County), Missouri. My mother's side of the family has called Missouri home for several generations. That said, I grew up frequently hearing the expression... "We killed a bear."
I argued with AI for several minutes... as it proceeded to tell me that this expression does not exist and that perhaps I had it mixed up with another expression... one recorded in available resources. Wow, AI, a bit of an arrogant a-hole, aren't you?
Anyway, after I explained to AI what it meant when it was said to me, and where I am from... AI came around and agreed that it is an expression that made perfect sense to someone with historic roots to Missouri.
"We killed a bear."
When a person is bragging about something minor they did... inflating an accomplishment into something heroic, "We killed a bear" is a way of saying "that bar is already set, and you're not even close ---stop. You can't out-brag a bear kill."
Killing a bear is the ultimate hunting trophy. Historically, Missouri had a deep bear-hunting culture. Black bears were once abundant here, second only to deer in what pioneers harvested, and a successful bear kill was a genuinely significant accomplishment to someone from Missouri. The Missouri Department of Conversation notes that "second only to deer, bears were the most common animal harvested by pioneers and travelers," and that many early county histories contain reports of remarkable bear numbers.
Bears were hunted to near-extinction by the early 1900s, and Missouri didn't have a regulated bear season again until 2021. So the phrase likely dates from a time when the accomplishment was still a living memory in the culture, and it stuck as a family/regional expression long after bear hunting faded from everyday life. I can still hear my mother's voice... measuring out each word slowly. "Well... we... killed... a ... bear." (Never "I", only "we".)
Anyway, after I explained to AI what it meant when it was said to me, and where I am from... AI came around and agreed that it is an expression that made perfect sense to someone with historic roots to Missouri.
"We killed a bear."
When a person is bragging about something minor they did... inflating an accomplishment into something heroic, "We killed a bear" is a way of saying "that bar is already set, and you're not even close ---stop. You can't out-brag a bear kill."
Killing a bear is the ultimate hunting trophy. Historically, Missouri had a deep bear-hunting culture. Black bears were once abundant here, second only to deer in what pioneers harvested, and a successful bear kill was a genuinely significant accomplishment to someone from Missouri. The Missouri Department of Conversation notes that "second only to deer, bears were the most common animal harvested by pioneers and travelers," and that many early county histories contain reports of remarkable bear numbers.
Bears were hunted to near-extinction by the early 1900s, and Missouri didn't have a regulated bear season again until 2021. So the phrase likely dates from a time when the accomplishment was still a living memory in the culture, and it stuck as a family/regional expression long after bear hunting faded from everyday life. I can still hear my mother's voice... measuring out each word slowly. "Well... we... killed... a ... bear." (Never "I", only "we".)
I'd love to hear about any expressions that seem to be isolated in your regional vocabularies, too.
Oh, and I have never killed a bear.
