Accents and dialects not only delineate but in many ways bolster regional identities in the U.S., but words play an equally important role as well. For Baltimore natives, the moniker “hon” carries one such storied tradition, which David J. Puglia, assistant professor of English, investigates in his new book Tradition, Urban Identity, and the Baltimore ‘Hon’ (Rowman & Littlefield, 2018). “Hon” brought into focus Baltimore’s past and future by symbolizing lingering divisions of race, class, gender, and belonging in the midst of campaigns to unify and modernize the city. While some decried “hon” and “the Hon” as embarrassing, others hailed the word and the related image of a down-to-earth, blue-collar woman as emblematic of the authentic Baltimorean. This book tells the story of the battles that flared over the