Why do people say, "West, by God, Virginia"?
825984
Because it is by the Grace of God that such a rugged, beautiful part of our country was created.  \n\nMontani Semper Liberi\n~Mountaineers are always free
332535
Consider the source...the people that mis use this term, are followers...they have heard it wrong and used it wrong without knowing any better.  Those of us that are aware of the proper usage tend to lapse in respect for the speakers.  Regardless, I couldn't care less how they say it because I know the way it is meant, and enjoy correcting most!
947400
I agree with byzantino's answer: "May God be with you" is correct but in Spanish we also use it like "Godspeed" ( good fortune; success (used as a wish to a person starting on a journey, a new venture, etc.).
1135690
They didn't want to swear a long time ago so they used other words here is part of a site that may help....\n\nThe explanation of "Sam Hill" is actually pretty simple -- it's an early 19th century American euphemism for "hell" used as an oath. Perhaps due to our Puritan ancestry, Americans have always been especially creative when it comes to inventing linguistic detours around oaths and blasphemies. "Heck," "drat," "darn," "gosh," "jiminy," "gee-whiz" and "goldarn," for example, all started out as euphemisms for exclamations of surprise or rage no newspaper would print and no proper dinner table conversation would tolerate. To digress a bit, I have always wondered whether Walt Disney knew, when he christened his little cartoon creation "Jiminy Cricket," that the name was a rather transparent euphemism for the blasphemous oath "Jesus Christ." \n\nBecause the euphemism "Sam Hill" is also a perfectly good real name, many people assume that the phrase must have originally referred to a real person. A reader wrote me several years ago, wondering if he might have uncovered the "original" Sam Hill in the person of Samuel Hill (1857--1931), a lawyer, financier and railroad magnate known in the Northwest U.S. as "the Father of Good Roads." After doing a little checking, however, I can say with certainty that while Mr. Hill may have been famous for many things, he was not the source of this phrase. In fact, "What in the Sam Hill" was in widespread use by 1839, quite a few years before this particular Sam Hill was born.\n\n\n\n--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
315542
Almost Everything You Might Want to Know about Virginia\n\nLocation:\nLocated midway between New York and Florida, Virginia is the gateway to the South. It is also sometimes classified in the Mid-Atlantic region. The Commonwealth is bordered by Washington, D.C., the nation's capital, and Maryland to the north; the Atlantic Ocean to the east; North Carolina and Tennessee to the south; and West Virginia and Kentucky to the west.\n\nGeography:\nWestern Virginia is mountainous, covered by the Allegheny and Blue Ridge mountains with the great Shenandoah Valley falling between the ranges. The central piedmont region, with its rolling hills, flattens out into the sandy coastal plain toward the Atlantic Ocean.\n\nClimate:\nMild with four distinct seasons\n\nArea:\n42,767 square miles\n\nPopulation:\n6,872,900 in 1999\n\nMajor Industries:\nManufacturing, exports, tourism, which accounted for $13.1 billion in 2000 - up from $12.4 billion in 1999 - and employed more than 200,000 workers, high technology and agriculture\n\nCapital:\nRichmond (since 1780)\n\nBeverage: Milk\nBird: Cardinal\nBoat: Chesapeake Bay Deadrise\nDog: Foxhound\nFish: Brook Trout\nFlag: The flag of Virginia contains the state seal in a field of blue. It was first used in the 1830s but not officially adopted until 1930.\nFloral Emblem: Dogwood\nFolk Dance: Square Dancing\nInsect: Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly\nSeal: The great seal of Virginia is circular.In the center is a figure of Virtus, the goddess of virtue, dressed as a warrior.She holds a spear in her right hand, with its point held downward touching the earth. In her left hand is a sheathed sword pointing upward.Her left foot rests on the chest of the figure of tyrany, who is lying on the ground. Above the figure is the word "Virginia," and under the figures is the state motto "Sic Semper Tyrannis" or "Thus Always to Tyrants." The seal, designed by George Wythe, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was first adopted in 1776 and modified in 1930.\nShell: Oyster
698813
West Siiiiiiide!\n\nlmao... I've always wanted a good reason to say that
655196
Texas residents claim that's how they all talk down there.  Rubbish.  When you are the leader of the free world, you should probably use proper english, not good-ole-boy english.
596678
This is a good question and one which is often not understood correctly.\n\nSome people are not so ignorant as others.  Some people are not so self-righteous.  In Hebrew tradition, the name of Divinity is never to be spoken in a mundane manner.\n\nYHWH was mentioned by letters or using another word like Elohim, so as to not speak the Name of Divinity.  The word G-d is often used as an English translation and therefore, for some people, too holy to speak or write in anything except pray or praise.\n\n"In vain" means "in an irreverent or disrespectful manner."\nOther words, like Divinity, get the point across without disrespect or dishonor.  It is not just Hebrews who do this.
1009162
Seems to me like cultural bias. A "pasty white chick" who resides in Isreal ... somewhat illogical. If this is truly a "historical modification," it's not the first. Though Columbus was not the first person to "discover" America, Catholics engrained it into our national culture to retain a Catholic influence in Protestant America. I recall a book that suggested the Founding Fathers' economic interests superceded their other motives for founding this country. And, then, if you read the DaVinci Code, that poses an interesting and thoughtful idea as well.
613033
As for North and South Dakota/Carolina, the answer has been given. The story with VA and WV is related to the issue of slavery and the period leading up to the American Civil War.\n\n(In short: What used to be "eastern Virginia" was mostly inhabited by slave-owning plantation holders. The part that is now West Virginia was inhabited by small farmers etc. The situation threatened to split the state apart, so the people voted to split it up in two states: WV for the Union, VA for the Confederacy.)
540195
Legend has it that the nickname dates back to the American Civil War. Supposedly, during a battle in Virginia, the North Carolinian troops held their ground while supporting troops retreated. After the battle, supporting troops asked the victorious North Carolinians: "Any more tar down in the Old North State, boys?" and they replied: "No, not a bit; old Jeff's bought it all up." The supporting troops continued: "Is that so? What is he going to do with it?" The North Carolinian troops' response: "He is going to put it on you'ns heels to make you stick better in the next fight."
1177426
Yes, I think it's a big deal, and I am NOT offended to find those words on our coins.  It is one of the very few places that God is still honored in our country.  Should we invalidate the Declaration of Independence, or the Bill of Rights, because they make reference to God?  No!  This country was founded in Christianity, and although I do firmly believe in freedom from religious persecution, I think we've gone way too far on the other side... it is now the Christians who are persecuted, our prayers are not allowed, the very basic principals that this country was founded on are litigated, and all by people claiming to be offended by it... well, you know what?  In many other countries, being the "wrong" religion can get you jailed and executed.  We allow you the God-given right to disagree, but what right do you have to change  who we are?!?!  This country was founded on Christian principals, and you have the right to live here and not be a Christian (although I pray for those lost souls), but that does not mean that you have the right to interfere with my rights, either.  Keep God in all that we do, to honor our forefathers, and honor our FATHER.
721585
Ain't is in the dictionary brother, go look it up.  And it's not just hillbillies who use it.  I live in Dallas, Texas and EVERYONE here and in the whole South uses it regularly, and we ain't all hillbillies.  Yankee.
641556
You should spell it "sacrebleu". We also use "sacredieu". It is an interjection to express surprise. \nIt is more or less a swearword which equivalent would be "Jesus" or "For God sake"...
756310
It's pronounced all sorts of ways depending on the dialect of the person speaking. There is no "right" or "wrong" -- it's just the phonological (pronunciation) aspect of dialectal differences. I live about 20 miles south of Baltimore proper. I have heard all of the following:\n\nBall ti more\n\nBal'mer\n\nBall tee more\n\nBawl ti moah
975758
west·er    audio  (wstr)  KEY  \n\nNOUN:\n\n    A strong wind coming from the west.\n\nintr.v.\nwest·ered , west·er·ing , west·ers\n\n    To move westward. Used of the sun, the moon, or a star.
112359
It's short for "May God speed you on your journey."  Good-bye is also a shortening, some even say corruption, of "God be with you."