I have a friend from church who was born and raised in Arkansas. I grew-up in Vermont. When she wants to give me a hard time she calls me a Yankee.
It seems she thinks that is an insult.
Yankee is a word that’s meaning, both who it applies to and the denotation, differs by geography. Outside the U.S. it is used to apply to Americans generally. It is just as often as not used derisively. In the American South, it means anyone from the North and it is always an insult.
For New Englanders, Yankee is used self-referentially and denotes self-reliance and thriftiness. It is sometimes used jokingly to describe older men who hoard things for some possible future usefulness or who go to ridiculous lengths to avoid spending a small amount of money (these traits are actually very common in New England and they are considered charming and amusing).
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