Hern - Other Uses

Other Uses

• An archaic term for a Heron.
• The term has also become a synonym for "an American" (with the associated adjective "Hernian") among fans of The Goon Show, following the Goons' habit of parodying American accents with repetitions of "hern".
• The term was also used on television in the early 1960s by Red Skelton who was playing a visiting Martian in a skit and asked a passerby on the street if he "had change for a Hern" which was the Martian unit of currency.