Texan Idioms

Wanna learn some idioms or funny phrases originated from Texas with me?

As a newly moved resident here in Texas, I am pretty much interested in local colors especially in language. Let us explore some interesting and appealing expressions of this Lone Star State together!

(source from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/27/texas-slang_n_5526788.html)

Guess the meanings of the given expressions (in the box) and fill in the blanks of the following sentences.

madder than a wet hen,   all hat and no cattle,   more than you can shake a stick at,     ready and rarin’ to go,       bless your heart,    sure n’uff,     y’all, fixin’ to

1. Just can’t wait to go to the concert!!! I am __________________ to go~!

2. The famous Southern cook Paula Deen opens her cooking show by saying “Hey, _____________! Welcome to Paula Deen show!”

3. A: What’s up, man? You look so pissed!

    B: I’m ________________________________ because my room mate took my new car without telling me last night! Gosh!

4. A: What are you doing now?    B: I’m __________________ go shopping for groceries.

5. After I proved the southerner wrong, they looked me straight in the eye and said "_________________________.", which, I later realized, was totally a four letter word in Texas!

6. Jared says he is super rich and normally makes a lot of money. He even says he wishes to buy my business, but after checking his credit references I've found that he's__________________________________.

7. At the protest there will be more homeless people than ______________________________________.

8. A: Dang! That lady is a real looker!    B: Yup, she ________________ is!

Answer Keys and Clues

1. ready and rain’ (meaning ready and excited/ revving and keen to do ~)

2. y’all (meaning you all/ you guys)

3. madder than a wet hen (meaning ‘to be very angry’)

4. fixin’ to (meaning about to do…/ just get ready to do…)

5. Bless your heart (which is an expression of pity used by southerners/ or southern euphemism for F-word)

6. all hat and no cattle (meaning  someone is all talk and no action/substance. Someone who dresses nicely but doesn't really have any money)

7. more than you can shake a stick at (meaning a lot, too many, tons)

8. sure n’uff (meaing sure enough – usually used to express agreement)

Stranger in Texas

Wrapping up the decade of life in one place and moving to some unfamiliar region did not sound very heartsome or attractive to me at all. Besides the fact that I am not the kind of person who welcomes a challenge or any kind of abrupt changes in life, leaving those friends of mine who have known me so well enough to read my mind without asking was like a home truth or some kind of a bad plisky of your destination.

However, I know for sure it all depends on how you look at things in life. Change could mean building new expectation, not just being pushed to venture out of the comfort zone. It is no one else but you that creates another happy chapter in life. Having to say goodbye to the old friends of yours doesn’t and should not mean at all to sever all ties with them in your future life. Leaving them would rather make your hearts grow fonder and realize once again how precious those people are to you. To me, living in a new place means having a new addition of human relationships to the existing group of wonderful friends that I am blessed to have.

Daily affirmation goes like this: “Worries or concerns laid aside. No need to think of worst case scenarios. Take a deep breath and soak up the Texan heat. Ev’thang is gonna ah’ite!”

Expressions

heartsome: (adjective) cheerful/ giving cheer or spirit/ encouraging

hometruth: (noun) an indisputable fact or basic truth, especially one whose accuracy may cause discomfort or embarrassment

plisky: (noun = adjective) a mischievous trick; practical joke; prank.

to venture out of….: (verb) to go out of something cautiously

to sever all ties with ….: (verb) To break up a relationship

Ev’thang is gonna ah’ite.: (Texan diction/ dialect) Everything is going to be alright.

American College Slangs/ Idioms

We see a lot of international students on college campuses in the States today. A lot of them are identified as American with their own ethnic backgrounds, whereas quite a lot of them are called “FOB” that stands for “Fresh Off the Boat”, meaning the ones who have just come to America or immigrants. Sadly, quite often times, FOB is used with a pejorative or not very pleasant connotation towards the immigrants. L

This week, let me share some English slangs or idiomatic expressions that are often used among college students. (*source from https://share.america.gov/learn-some-american-college-slang/)

  1.   GPA Killer: (noun)

GPA stands for “Grade Point Average”, so GPA killer refers to a very challenging/ difficult course that could be detrimental to your grade. Synonymous expressions include grade RIPer/ death trap

  2.   to ace a test/ exam: (verb) to get the best grade possible

  3.   to put an all-nighter: (verb) to burn the midnight oil/ to study all night long

  4.   to pregame: (verb) to go to a small party before a bigger party

  5.   underwater basket weaving: (noun) an insulting name for an elective class that doesn’t count toward a graduation requirement or for a class that is particularly easy. It is also interchangeably used with Netflixer/ bird course/ sleeper/ snoozer

  6.   NARP: (acronym) Non-Athletic Regular Person (or Random Person)

            A term the athletes on campus use to describe the rest of the student body or a person with minimal athletic ability and very low game spitting skills.

  7.   to cupcake: (verb) to flirt or talk sweet to someone you like

   

  

  Time to practice the above expressions!

  1.   A: Man. You looks totally prepared for the midterms!

      B: Yes, I am confident enough to _________________ all the tests this       semester. I’ve been pulling an ______________________ for the last few       weeks.

  2.   Is Mr. Redford’s class one of those _________________________________ courses that most kids would sign up for good grades?

  3.   No way, his class is so-called a ____________________________ that would destroy your college life. You are required to turn in a time-consuming paper every week.

  4.   Mary-Jane has had enough with Tommy. She says Tommy keeps cheating on her and never stops ________________________ with other girls.

  5.   A: Are you coming to Burt’s house tonight before joining the end-of-the-year party?
B: No, I won’t ___________________ tonight, because I need to be sober at the year-end get-together.

  6.   Dan was always viewed as a ___________________ by his friends in his basketball team. He loves basketball but not very good at it.

  

  

  Answer Keys

  1.   ace, all-nighter

  2.   underwater basket-weaving/ bird course/ Netflixer/ sleeper/ snoozer

  3.   GPA killer/ grade RIPer/ death trap

  4.   cupcaking

  5.   pregame

  6.   NARP