Texas Thangs Hard To Translate (Abilene, Nacogdoches: living, storage, shop)

[TexasReb]

Originally Posted by bingo08

Hey texasreb,
I have heard both phrases (yonder and tacky) as a kid, also the phrase acting up. I was born and raised in the Boston area and it was said around here.

That area of Boston must have had some Texas/Southern influence in it, Bingo!

Anyway, you might appreciate and get a kick out of this one though, speaking of cultural and regional translations.

Some years back, I had a "blind date" with a girl from Massachussets. Long story as to how and why it was set up, but ended up that we really did hit it off pretty well. And we went out several days running, and spent a lot of time together.

Anyway, one evening we were together alone and she suddenly said "You know what I would really like? A good GRINDER!"

Goodlordamercy, I thought, I FINALLY hit the mother lode....

Hey, how the hell did I know she was talking about wanting a damn po' boy (submarine) sandwich....?"

Moral of the story? Tell me.

[bingo08]

Originally Posted by TexasReb

That area of Boston must have had some Texas/Southern influence in it, Bingo!

Anyway, you might appreciate and get a kick out of this one though, speaking of cultural and regional translations.

Some years back, I had a "blind date" with a girl from Massachussets. Long story as to how and why it was set up, but ended up that we really did hit it off pretty well. And we went out several days running, and spent a lot of time together.

Anyway, one evening we were together alone and she suddenly said "You know what I would really like? A good GRINDER!"

Goodlordamercy, I thought, I FINALLY hit the mother lode....

Hey, how the hell did I know she was talking about wanting a damn po' boy (submarine) sandwich....?"

Moral of the story? Tell me.

That made me laugh, good one!

[TexasReb]

"Tuckered out"? As in, "I'm plumb tuckered out."

I wonder where THAT one originated? It's gotta be good and Southern fried though! LOL

Another one, is "reckon". Especially in the number of ways it can be used/applied. The common one is "I reckon so." Used in indicate some degree of agreement!

Or, "Y'all reckon he's gonna make it here today?" As in, does the party being queried believe an event is actually going to manifest and/or have a definite answer to the question itself.

And also, "Reckon what ol' Bill meant the other day when he said he wasn't going to have anything to do with Sam anymore?" In this instance it translating as "I wonder" and/or "Do you have any idea"?

Hot damn...ain't Texas tawk fun to try and translate to yankees? Or play around with ourselves? Yeeeeehawwwww!

[TexasReb]

And yet one more:

"Welp" As in "Welp, I guess I better git to work now." Translation: A variant on "well", usually said with a certain sense of finality or resignation!

[catman]

I've lived in Texas all my life (so far) and have never understood why Mexia is pronounced the way it is (Muh-HEY-ya). That doesn't make sense is Spanish or English.

[lonestar2007]

Boy! Good lord, we grew up using this word all the time! Well, you listen to me, boy! Boy, it sure is hot today! Well, let me tell you boy. I actually had guys from the north take offense, said I called them a boy,and they wasn't a boy! I didn't know what they were talking about! I said, I didn't call you a boy, so they'd repeat what I said, such as, boy, it's hot. Haha, I just had to laugh, I said, I wasn't calling you a boy, I was just talking!

Or how bout this one...boy howdy, it'd colder than a witches' t*t !! Or boy, howdy, it's hottern h*ll!

[Xa'at]

Hah, this thread is a hoot!
But this is all slang, people don't talk like that all the time, right?

[blueskies49]

Originally Posted by Xa'at

Hah, this thread is a hoot!
But this is all slang, people don't talk like that all the time, right?

Oh, yes, they do, especially the further out into the small towns and country you go. My hubby is from a small town near East Texas and you should hear the colorful phrases he comes up with! He also says "reckon" and "yonder", etc. You just don't hear this stuff near as much in the big city unless the speaker is not originally from the city.

[Xa'at]

Originally Posted by blueskies49

Oh, yes, they do, especially the further out into the small towns and country you go. My hubby is from a small town near East Texas and you should hear the colorful phrases he comes up with! He also says "reckon" and "yonder", etc. You just don't hear this stuff near as much in the big city unless the speaker is not originally from the city.

Hmm...
I'm trying to think of weird things that we say up north... I think there's way more slang and idioms down south. Oh, there's one! "Down South" or "Outside" means anywhere in the lower 48. Apparently down south people say "Snowmobile", but I've always said snow machine. People think I'm talking about those big machines they have a ski resorts that make snow!

[GayleTX]

Ornery? Nah.....round these parts it's "onry" ...no 'r' in the middle, just 2 syllables. Yankees are ornery.....Texans are just plain onry.

And one speech pattern my husband has picked up in East Texas (we grew up in West Texas) is leaving the "th" off the beginning of words..... not "this" but "iss", not "these" but "eze." "Iss weather's gonna freeze eze tomatoes here in iss patch" was a recent gem that just went right though me!! (BTW...a patch is a garden).