What the Devil is Sam Hill?

Becky McEachern

Excerpt from L is for Lollygag, Quirky Words for a Clever Tongue (Chronicle Books, San Francisco)

I came across this superb table of superior ancestors to the newfangled, vile acronym "WTF" in a delightfully cheering wee gem of a book titled L is for Lollygag, Quirky Words for a Clever Tongue.

Some of them I've heard. My grandmother definitely used "for Pete's sake", "sake's alive", "land sakes", "heavens to Betsy", and "for crying out loud", but then one of them jumped out at me not because of its familiarity, but rather for its complete oddity, and that was "what in Sam Hill?!?".

Being a savvy sort of woman, I went and asked Wikipedia, who told me that it's a euphemism for hell or devil. But then I needed to find out who or what the devil Sam Hill was.

It turns out the most probable origin of the expression is an exceptionally diversely stocked store founded by a Mr. Sam Hill and still standing on Montezuma Street in Prescott, Arizona. For the locals, things that were the most odd and unusual were like something that could be found at Sam Hill Mercantile. From there the expression spread throughout the U.S.

However, the definitive origin of "what in sam hill" isn't all that important, because the meaning is made obvious by your tone, which leads one to experiment with other possibilities. I think a potential and fitting candidate to replace some of the tired contemporary curses and euphemisms may be "What in Walmart?!?" and I plan on using it myself. You may borrow it if you wish.

Comments (4)

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What in Sam Hill?

What about What in Bruces Country Market as a new phrase to use.
Great article, brought back so many memories of my mom...and of your childhood. Of course, we never thought you were listening and learning those phrases or we would have tried to stop using them...so funny!

Kathleen McEachern more than 1 years ago

Sam Hill

I don't know anything about significance of same, but will send you a pic of the nearby 'Sam Hill Creek'. I always think of it as 'Where the Sam Hill Creek are we?!?"

Heidi Greco more than 1 years ago

I would assume that it's derived from "what in hell?" with "Sam Hill" considered as a humorous (and possibly apt) substitute. This is not an uncommon ancestry for mild oaths; on the mother's side a harmless word or phrase that nevertheless expresses something of the intended surprise, disdain, etc; and on the father's side a soundalike euphemism for something stronger. (Compare the more recent "freaking" as in "It was so freakin' cold, we went right back indoors!")
I do wonder also whether the original euphemism was "Sam Hall". A certain Jack Hall was executed in 1707, and the ballad written about his execution survived long enough after he was forgotten that somebody took the liberty of changing his name to "Sam", around 1850 (see the Wikipedia entry "Sam Hall (song)".)
The song is still alive, and has been recorded by Johnny Cash, the Irish Descendants, and others. Worldwide, it is probably much better known than Mr Hill's store.

Robert Dawson more than 1 years ago

What the Devil is Sam Hill?

Hey, great article Becky! I must confess that I've used many expressions that your grandmother used...heard 'em from my parents I guess! Sam Hill isn't one I've used much but heard it growing up. How fascinating to read your research on just who Sam was and his mercantile's claim to fame. "What in Walmart" sounds like a great one to try out!

Margaret Jones more than 1 years ago