221
Don't Mess with Texas
The anti-litter campaign escaped its original purpose and became one of the state's most recognized slogans.
The language and mythology
Texas Slang, Symbols & Folklore
Some Texas markers are official; others survive because people keep saying, singing, wearing, repeating and arguing about them.
30 entries in this chapter
222
Y'all and all y'all
A second-person plural that is efficient, flexible and deeply embedded in Texas speech.
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223
Fixin' to
A phrase for being about to do something—often shortened until it almost becomes one word.
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224
Bless your heart
Depending on tone and context, the phrase can convey sympathy, affection, exasperation or a very polished critique.
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225
The Lone Star flag
Texas's flag is a powerful identity marker. When flown with the U.S. flag, normal U.S. flag-code rules still govern position and precedence; Texas has no special exemption.
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226
Six flags over Texas
Spain, France, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the Confederacy and the United States all governed Texas territory at different points in its history.
227
Texas Forever
The phrase became a pop-culture shorthand for Texas loyalty, especially through high-school-football storytelling.
228
King Ranch
The South Texas ranch became a symbol of scale, cattle breeding, land management and the mythology of the Texas ranch.
229
Texas Rangers
The law-enforcement organization occupies an outsized place in both Texas history and popular mythology.
230
Boots, spurs and Western dress
Practical ranch gear became ceremonial clothing, fashion and visual shorthand for Texas identity.
231
Howdy
A greeting that can sound natural in a feed store, college campus, rodeo arena or downtown office.
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232
Calling every soda a Coke
In parts of Texas and the South, 'Coke' can function as a generic category before the specific drink is named.
233
Spring storm watching
Huge skies, severe-weather seasons and fast-moving fronts make cloud-reading an informal Texas skill.
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234
Blue Northers
A fast, sharp cold front can turn a warm Texas day into coat weather with startling speed.
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235
The norther
Long before phone forecasts, Texans had a vocabulary for sudden cold wind pouring down the Plains.
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236
Jackalopes
The antlered-rabbit tall tale fits comfortably into a state that has always enjoyed oversized stories.
237
Pecos Bill
The fictional cowboy rides through exaggerated Western tales involving impossible horses, storms and landscapes.
238
The Yellow Rose of Texas
The song and the legends attached to it have been retold and reinterpreted for generations.
239
All hat, no cattle
A compact Texas way to describe someone whose image is bigger than their substance.
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240
Right here / right there country speech
Regional pronunciations such as 'right cheer' survive as part of the state's varied rural speech patterns.
241
High-water boots
Creeks, mud, ranch work and flash-flood country make serious boots practical rather than decorative.
242
Frontier forts
A chain of nineteenth-century military posts traces settlement, conflict and movement across the Texas frontier.
243
Cattle-drive heritage
Trail names, markers, stockyards and town stories preserve the routes that moved Texas cattle north.
244
Lagniappe along the Louisiana border
The word means a little extra and is more broadly Gulf Coast and Louisiana in origin, but it is heard in parts of Southeast Texas where cultures overlap.
245
Porch sitting at sunset
Shade, conversation and the end of the day's heat make the porch a recurring Texas social space.
246
Backyard smoke and firepit gatherings
A long cook, folding chairs and friends around a fire are a Texas social format as much as a meal.
247
Sunday drives on FM roads
Farm-to-market roads turn an aimless drive into a tour of ranches, creek crossings, courthouse towns and roadside stands.
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248
Truck-bed tailgating
Coolers, folding chairs and pickups extend stadium culture far beyond the stadium gate.
249
Remember the Alamo!
The Texas Revolution battle cry remains one of the state's most enduring historical phrases.
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250
The stars at night
The famous Texas song lyric survives as an audience-participation cue, complete with four instinctive claps.