Talk like a Texan: "Texisms" 4

[wahnula]

Hello all,

I was raised by foreign-born immigrants from Europe (Czech & Italian) via the Northeast (NY & NJ). I grew up in Miami, FL, and my science-teacher-mom made sure I did not have any perceptible accent. She had a bit of a Northeast accent I detected when she said words like "semesteh" but for the most part was accent-free, a tribute to the mood of the immigrants of the era, to learn English properly and only use their native tongue in the household with their parents. She still speaks Slovak with her old friends.

I have lived and visited all over this grand country, and finally settled in Texas 10 years ago. I encountered an entirely new (to me) dialect. At first I chalked it up to my blue-collar co-workers, but the more time I spent I realized this was the way things are done here, even among the college-educated.

The first anomaly I noted was the use of the word "chunk" for "chuck" (to throw something away). I realized this was regional when a local news announcer said a problem at the county jail was "chunking", where inmates would throw, er, feces at the guards.

Another common Texism is "put your John Henry" (signature) as a substitute for "John Hancock". I asked a co-worker, a college graduate and retired teacher, what the common saying for "signing a document" was and he said "John Henry" followed by a moment of thought and then "No, wait, it's John Hancock"...so he did know the correct way, but chose the Texism instead.

I also noted a tendency for locals to accent the first syllable of words like "insurance" and "umbrella". Other words in this category are "reward", "fantastic" & "potential"...to name only a few. The opposite is true of pecan, which I pronounced PEE-can. I was corrected my first day of work (on Pecan Orchard Road) that "we say pih-CAHN." The Monroe exit off of I-45 is, you guessed it, MON-row.

Being so close to Mexico, one would think the default would be like Spanish, which accents the second-to-last syllable. Who knows, maybe this was chosen as a way to prove one was NOT Mexican???

Another Texism is, when the object (or last word) of a sentence is it, the word it is always stressed. For instance, the phrase"you power down the router and connect the CAT5 cable to it" becomes "you power down the router and connect the CAT5 cable to it"

These are not accent-based, like "may-zhure" for "measure" and "whale" for "well". This is a manner of spoken American English unique to this area. Anyone have any clue how these Texisms got started? How about any local "isms" you find interesting? There are so many Briticisms that we'll need a separate post for it .

Tony

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[wahnula]

I have to stop reading...my tummy's growling!!!

Tony

Users helping Users...

 

[SF0751]

1. You can eat the cobbler with a spoon. That's actually better because you don't leave any of the filling/syrup or the ice cream or whipped cream behind!

2. We use hankerin' 'cause we like to. So there.

Actually, I'm not sure why. We just do.

Susan
"When the gods wish to punish us, they answer our prayers." - Oscar Wilde, An Ideal husband, 1893

 

[AnotherHiggins]

tcsbiz:

Hold on to yer britches, there.

It ain't just Texans. I get a hankerin' for Barbecue sometimes (well, often).

But I generally get a hankerin' for [!]REAL[/!] barbeque.

North Carolina Eastern Style, that is. It is the one true BBQ.

Though I will admit that I occasionally enjoy some NC Western-style, Texas or Memphis style. But South Carolina style bar-b-que is just weird - mustard based sauce on pork.

(you might also notice that I used a few of the many spellings of "barbecue".)

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[2ffat]

Taxen: Wail, ah tell ya. Ah can get in my pick 'emup and Ah can drive from sun-up to sun-down and not reach the other side of mah ranch.

Idahoan: I used to have a pickup like that, too.



James P. Cottingham
-----------------------------------------
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I'm number 1,229![/sup]

 

[mmerlinn]

Many years ago I heard a person say "When you're through watching TV, remember to shut the light"

I would say, "When you're through watching TV, remember to shut the light [red]OFF![/RED]"

mmerlinn

http://mmerlinn.com

"Political correctness is the BADGE of a COWARD!"

 

[KenCunningham]

Whilst showering this morning Supertramp's 'Breakfast In America' came on the wireless. This ditty includes the lyrics:

Could we have kippers for breakfast
Mummy dear, Mummy dear
They got to have ´em in Texas
Cos everyone's a millionaire

My question - do Texans regularly have the equivalent of Arbroath Smokies for breakfast? I can't recall having seen any featuring in any of the wind-swept power breakfast scenes at South Fork back in the day.

I want to be good, is that not enough?

 

[SF0751]

Here in south Texas (San Antonio), the answer is no. Fish, in any form, does not make its way to the breakfast table.

Yummy breakfast items include buttermilk biscuits (bread, not a cookie) with cream gravy, breakfast tacos (scrambled eggs, with potates and bacon, in a flour tortilla), migas, or my favorite, chilaquiles.

However, I had toast this morning for my breakfast.

Susan
"When the gods wish to punish us, they answer our prayers." - Oscar Wilde, An Ideal husband, 1893

 

[KenCunningham]

Thanks for that Susan. As a matter of interest, do you toast both sides of the bread (the implication in Sting's Englishman In New York is that New Yorkers, at least, don't)?

I have to say I'm surprised that none of our Antipodean members have joined in with the barbeque discussion - it's a national obsession over there I understand.

I want to be good, is that not enough?

 

[SF0751]

Yup, both side of the bread, in a toaster. Actually, I always thought in the song that Sting is referring to the English habit of toasting the bread on one side, since there is also a reference to drinking tea, not coffee?

I'm surprised, too, that there hasn't been more participation in the bbq debate. Here in the US, discussions can last for hours on the Texas vs. North Carolina styles of bbq (pork vs. beef; sauce vs. no sauce, type of sauce if you do use it, etc., etc., etc.)

Susan
"When the gods wish to punish us, they answer our prayers." - Oscar Wilde, An Ideal husband, 1893

 

[flapeyre]

This is a classic New Orleans breakfast (or, more commonly, for Sunday brunch). Yum!

Da mihi sis crustum Etruscum cum omnibus in eo.

 

[rjoubert]

While we're on the subject of breakfast...

On a visit to South Carolina (My brother was graduating from Marine Corps Boot Camp) my father and I (we are both originally from upstate New York) went out to breakfast with my Aunt who lives in the Charleston area. My father and I both ordered a small bowl of grits to go with our breakfast. My Aunt was shocked when we both started adding butter and sugar to flavor our grits. She said that people in South Carolina normally add fish to their grits. I don't know about you, but fish and grits don't go together. What do y'all add to yer grits?

 

[KenCunningham]

Susan - you seem to have hit on a 'misheard lyric' on my part! I thought he was singing 'I like my toast done on both sides'.

It's approaching the 48-hour long barbeque 'season' here in Scotland - haggis tends to fall between the bars too easily though!



I want to be good, is that not enough?

 

[flapeyre]

My Aunt was shocked when we both started adding butter and sugar to flavor our grits. She said that people in South Carolina normally add fish to their grits. I don't know about you, but fish and grits don't go together. What do y'all add to yer grits?

Cheese and/or butter.

When I first got married, my wife served me grits with sugar, which just oesn't work for me. Her logic was that you put sugar on cereal, and grits are made from corn, right?

Yes, I said, but sugar does not belong in hot cereal.

Da mihi sis crustum Etruscum cum omnibus in eo.

 

[AnotherHiggins]

From NC - butter and/or cheese in grits. Salt and pepper to taste.

I've never heard of putting sugar in grits before. But then I've never put sugar on ceral, either. (If I want sugar on cereal I'll go all out and get Lucky Charms or something equally over-the-top. Otherwise, I eat cereal the way it comes from the store. Except for milk, that is.)

As for fish, the closest I've ever heard of is Shrimp 'n' Grits. But I'm not a fan of shrimp, so that doesn't work for me, either.

As for the lack of debate over BBQ, I assume that is due to the fact that everyone around the world has finally accepted Eastern-Style North Carolina Barbecue to be the champ. Glad that's settled.

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[Michael52x]

Grits, Oatmeal, I use salt, pepper, and butter.
Dr. Hogly Woggly's Tyler Texas BBQ in Van Nuy's,Ca.
THE BEST!
Fish in the morning? Go away!
Milk is for baby animals.
Sugar on cereal is defeating the purpose.
I try to use different stuff on meats, like dry rubs, and whole herbs layed on top while cooking.
I use a gas BBQ, but can have an insert pan for wood chips like mesquite, Hickory, or oak.
How was your BBQ this weekend? {or someone else's}
Why are Texan's always happy, and smiling? Long thumbs.

"Impatience will reward you with dissatisfaction" RMS Cosmics'97

 

[SF0751]

Notice how this thread has wandered from "talking like a Texan" to "eating like a Texan"?

Susan
"When the gods wish to punish us, they answer our prayers." - Oscar Wilde, An Ideal husband, 1893

 

[kjv1611]

flapeyre, from the link you posted about a New Orleans breakfast:

Instructions

Cut the meat into 3-inch squares. Season with salt and pepper, then dredge in the flour and shake off excess. Heat 2 tablespoons of the cooking oil in a heavy skillet, brown the meat lightly and drain on paper towels.

So, what is the meat, or am I just really missing something?

----------
As to Grits:
I'm in SC, and I've not heart much of fish and grits, though I do like shrimp and grits. However, I don't see shrimp and grits as a good breakfast plate - more like something for lunch or supper.

What would I put in grits, or anyone in SC other than perhaps the Charleston area, most likely?
[UL]
[LI]Butter, Salt and Pepper mostly - perhaps milk (just a little while cooking is how I prefer[/LI]
[LI]Bacon, ham, and/or sausage - it's all good.[/LI]
[LI]Cheese[/LI]
[LI]Scrambled eggs - this is just something I do on occasion once it's all in the same plate.[/LI]
[LI]A little bit of grape jelly, not really mixed in, just sort of plopped in, while on plate. I guess that's along the lines of sugar in grits.[/LI]
[LI]Yeah, you should see my breakfast plate on occasion. If it's on a plate next to grits, it's fair game to be mixed![/LI]
[/UL]


------
BBQ?
Me? Just give me some meat - I don't care what kind: pork, beef, chicken, even turkey - though turkey would likely be my last pick of those 3... possibly deer (I hear it's good as BBQ, but I don't recall having eaten before). And give me some tomatoe-based and/or mustard based sauce. It's all the same to me, well not the same, but it's all good!
My favorite is to get some pork BBQ, and add on both mustard based AND tomato based sauces. Oh yeah!

I think it's time for second lunch!

--

"If to err is human, then I must be some kind of human!" -Me

 

[flapeyre]

The meat can be beef or veal (veal is preferred, because it's more tender).

When prepeared properly, you don't need a knife to cut the meat - it's that good.

Da mihi sis crustum Etruscum cum omnibus in eo.

 

[kjv1611]

Sounds good to me!

--

"If to err is human, then I must be some kind of human!" -Me

 

[traingamer]

Grits? I'm not too fond of grits - can I have just one grit, please? Hold the butter, salt, and gravy.


Greg
People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use. Kierkegaard