hiss
To whistle or urge a dog onto game.
Updated September 24, 2026
hiss pronunciation
/HISS/
Meaning
In Appalachian hunting talk, to hiss a dog is to put him on a trail or onto a fight with a sharp sound and a motion of the hand. You are not just making noise. You are telling the dog to get after it. Mountain stories use it when a man hisses his bulldog onto a bear or sends a hound back up a tree.
How folks use it
- “He hissed that dog and it lit out after the coon.”
- “Don't hiss him on till you're sure what is in them woods.”
Origin and etymology
Documented in Southern Appalachian English as a hunting verb: whistle and motion a dog onto an animal's track. Written examples show up in Smoky Mountain and related hunting accounts from the early and mid 1900s. Separate from hisself (himself) and from schoolbook "hiss" as a snake sound, though the sound you make is related.
Frequently asked questions
Does hiss mean his?
Not in this hunting sense. For dialect "his," folks more often say his'n. Hisself means himself.