How to SPEAK TEXAN – Double Meanings (funny) [NEVER KNEW THIS]

Let’s learn a little about speaking Texan. Interestingly, the word “Texas” comes from the Caddo word “taysha.” The Caddo Nation spread throughout east Texas and several nearby states before European settlers arrived. Taysha means “friend.”

And Texans are very friendly. But remember that Texas is in the South where people are taught from a young age to be polite.

In Texas, they are taught to be EXTRA polite. Sometimes they work around this with words and phrases that have double meanings, often the exact opposite of what they really mean.

You walk into the family reunion and your cousin Dirk, the one who owns a combination oil change shop/ cowboy boot store in Amarillo, slap you on the back, laughs, and says, “Boy don’t you look HEALTHY!” In this case, he’s saying you need to push yourself away from the dinner table 10 minutes early and go walk around the block a few hundred times.

Or your Uncle Dale, the guy who runs a flat earth/conspiracy website in Dripping Springs, ends every story about his wife’s crazy family with,”God love ’em.” What he means is the family is so crazy, they have a special wing at the local insane asylum to hold them all.

Or your aunt Emma Lee greets you warmly, then immediately begins gossiping about her sister, the one who teaches meditation and relaxation at what she calls a “liberal retreat in Austin.” After stabbing her in the back for several minutes while explaining how liberals are the devil, she says, “Well, she does TRY, bless her heart.”

So, be careful when communicating in the Texas language. Nuance and double-meanings are common.

Ok, FRIEND?