Nickname 5

The Post and Courier

Civic leaders from a bygone era had a quaint habit of bestowing wishful nicknames and slogans on their cities and towns and hoping everyone would simply adopt their municipal marketing efforts. Modern nicknames tend to reflect their residents' collective sense of humor, rather than their aspirations to status and propriety.

Charleston: 'Chucktown.' Yes, there are those who still call it 'The Holy City,' but when they say that in the Upstate, the irony fairly drips off the words and forms a puddle.

North Charleston: 'Up-Chuck.' It's a less-than-flattering derivative of 'Chucktown,' but when spoken with affection by North Charleston residents, it's rather clever. It's better than the alternative: 'Summeyville.'

Goose Creek: It's not the most illustrative nickname, but the alliterative appellation 'Duck Ditch' is commonly used.

Summerville: In polite circles, it's 'Flower Town in the Pines.' In impolite circles, it's 'Slummerville.'

Mount Pleasant: Sometimes 'The Pleasant Alternative' and formerly called 'Hungryneck,' modern teens call it 'Mount Plastic.'