Hatfields and McCoys
Legendary Appalachian rivals
The Hatfields and McCoys were two Appalachian families whose feud along the West Virginia–Kentucky border (1863–1891) became America's most famous family vendetta, involving murders, raids, and vigilante justice.
The phrase now refers to any bitter, prolonged rivalry between groups: Those two departments fight like the Hatfields and McCoys.
- feudBitter ongoing rivalry
- blood feudInherited cycle of retribution
- vendettaProlonged retaliatory conflict
- bitter rivalryIntense ongoing competition
- rivalryOngoing contest between opponents
bad blood · bloodshed · Appalachia · hillbilly · moonshine · Kentucky · West Virginia · revenge · old grudge · grudge · family honor · clan · kinfolk · shootout · ambush · holler · mountain · backwoods
- historical dramasBridgerton, Downton Abbey, Poldark, The Crown, Victoria
- KentuckyLouisville, Lexington, Frankfort, Kentucky Derby, bourbon
- AppalachiaAppalachian culture, Blue Ridge, Appalachian Trail, Cumberland, Great Smoky Mountains
- West VirginiaCharleston, Wheeling, Harpers Ferry, Morgantown, pepperoni rolls
- Kentucky historyDaniel Boone, Henry Clay, statehood, Cumberland Gap, border state
Hatfields and McCoyspeace
Freedom from disturbance
reconciliation · harmony · alliance · friendship · cooperation
Hatfields and McCoysRomeo and Juliet
Tragedy of rival households
Lewis and Clark · Wright Brothers · Laurel and Hardy · Gilbert and Sullivan · Lennon and McCartney
Hatfields and McCoysallies
Cooperative partners united together
partners · friends · Romeo and Juliet · blood brothers · bosom friends