8 Expressions You’ll Hear in Texas: Learn some expressions that capture the charm, wit, and larger-than-life personality of the Lone Star State.

Word Smart ^ | 12/26/2024 | Bennett Kleinman

[eastforker]

Two beer ride, jus down the road a piece. Just up the road, anywhere from 20-50 miles. The next beer joint 2-3 miles.

[pghoilman]

From that website:

“while “y’all” may refer to an indeterminate number of people, “all y’all” refers to everyone who is being addressed”.

[Yardstick]

I’ve lived my life in the southeast and I’ve never heard anyone do the cartoonish “Bless your heart” thing. I consider that one mostly folklore.

Y’all is definitely real. In fact most regions have some workaround for the second-person plural since proper English lacks it. In the south it’s yall but in other places it’s you guys or yous or you’uns or yins.

Fixin to is real too. So is reckon. Although they’re mostly limited to pretty folksy kinds of folks.

[Jamestown1630]

My grandmother (Virginia) always got mad when she heard ‘Y’all’ used to refer to just one person. She thought the use mocked people from the South, who properly used it to refer to more than one.

[MPJackal]

The only one that matters is “Hook em horns”.

[fidelis]

When you order a “Coke” in Texas, someone might ask you what kind. This may be confusing to non-Texans, as they probably just wanted a Coca-Cola. But “Coke,” like “soda” and “pop,” is a regionalism; Texans use the word to refer to any type of fizzy soft drink. So, if you want a Sprite, you may start by ordering a “Coke,” and then clarifying that you want a Sprite.

I grew up saying this and I was born and raised in California. When my wife first heard me say, "Get me an orange Coke, please," she thought it was the funniest thing ever.

[Flaming Conservative]

Texans think all these sayings come from Texas?

Well bless their hearts.

---

Real!y.

[Texas resident]

Bless your heart is well used in East Texas.

It is an insult to someone who deserves it.

[Sparticus]

Y’all = singular

All’s Y’all = plural

Not quite. It depends on where you're from. Y'all refers to multiple people, but only up to a certain number. Depending on the locale, one prefixes "All" to "Y'all" if there are more than 3 to 5 people being addressed.

"All y'all kids better git yer bikes out the driveway. They's a-fixen to git runned over."

[laplata]

Ya all have fun, I’m fixin’ to hit the hay.

[Vendome]

“Bless your heart” is very Southern and I lived in Oklahoma

[texas booster]

Texas Ping, the Best State in the USA!

A ping out to the Texas Ping list, founded by Windflier.

Let’s look at some of the distinctive phrases that are particularly common among Texans.

Another special Texas winter edition for your perusal.

As always, please FReepmail me if you want on or off the Texas Ping list.

Blessings, and stay warm!

[No name given]

Along with your party shaved heads and piercings.

[A Formerly Proud Canadian]

Living in Alberta (known to some as, 'Canada's Texas', or 'Texas North'), I have heard most of these phrases used. For example, when Justin Castreau appears at a Stampede event, dressed as an urban 'ka-boy', MANY refer to him as 'ALL HAT NO CATTLE!'. (That is, when they weren't using foul language to describe the 53 year old male, teenage girl!

[Allegra]

Justin sure does like to play dress-up, doesn’t he? 😄

[If You Want It Fixed - Fix It]

Or how about

“God Bless You”

[pax_et_bonum]

“Bless Your Heart” is deep south where apparently it is a deep cutting insult or something. It’s pretty much unknown in Texas in that sense.

I agree.

We always used “Bless your/her/his heart” in a genuinely sympathetic sense.

I don’t recall it being used sarcastically until very recently and not necessarily by Texans.

[Beowulf9]

I wonder about these. I’ve seen things supposedly said by New Yorkers that would make a New Yorker bust out laughing.

[PGR88]

I once had a boss, originally from Texarkana, who would use the phrase: “I’m busier than If I had a cat covered in shit on a marble floor.”

That’s pretty busy!

[A Formerly Proud Canadian]

Don't most little girls like to dress up?

I guess that I shouldn't be so hard on him. It is not a good look for me to make fun of the mentally ill. Sociopaths/psychopaths should seek help.