Tar Heel (or Tarheel) is a nickname applied to the state and inhabitants of North Carolina as well as the nickname of the University of North Carolina athletic teams, students, alumni, and fans.
The exact etymology of the nickname is unknown, but most experts believe its roots come from the fact that tar, pitch, and turpentine created from the vast pine forests were one of North Carolina's most important exports early in the state's history.
Because the exact history of the term is unknown, a number of legends have developed to explain it. One such legend claims it to be a nickname given during the U.S. Civil War, because of the state's importance on the Confederate side, and the fact that the troops "stuck to their ranks like they had tar on their heels".
The term "Tar Heel" gained popularity during the Civil War.
Read more about Tar Heel: History of Term, Legendary Explanations, Early Known Uses of The Term
Famous quotes containing the words tar and/or heel:
“The mob is man voluntarily descending to the nature of the beast. Its fit hour of activity is night. Its actions are insane like its whole constitution. It persecutes a principle; it would whip a right; it would tar and feather justice, by inflicting fire and outrage upon the houses and persons of those who have these. It resembles the prank of boys, who run with fire-engines to put out the ruddy aurora streaming to the stars.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“In the dense light of wakened flesh
animal man is a prince. As from alabaster
a lucency animates him from heel to forehead.
Then his shadows are deep and not gray.”
—Denise Levertov (b. 1923)