Loretta in Shreveport, Louisiana, wants to know what lexical and dialectal clues linguists look for when guessing where someone is from. She also wonders: Do people with long careers in the military or who grew up in a military family have a...
A listener in Shreveport, Louisiana, reports that after a fine meal, her father used to announce, “I have dined sufficiently, and I have been well surossified.” It’s a joking exaggeration of the word satisfied. In a 1980 article in American Speech...
shock and hee-haw n.— «The surge really has accomplished a reduction in the violence, and things are safer. But convoys are still being hit by the IEDs and the vehicle-borne IEDs. They’re even putting explosive devices under satchels on donkeys...
joint n.— Note: The Historical Dictionary of American Slang dates this use of “joint” meaning “a carnival booth or concession” to 1894. «Dodson joined the Louisiana fair Wednesday.…Before working the games, or the “joints” as they’re called, Dodson...
wooly-booger n.— «Rep. Robert Barton, R-Bossier City, introducing his bill to exempt Shreveport-area riverboat casinos from Coast Guard inspections. “I’m not bringing you a wooly-booger.”» —“Baton Rouge Report News And Views From The Louisiana...
rent-a-rock n.— «Officer Christian Hicks says right now there’s no evidence of a carjacking, but there is evidence Shelley’s so-called friend turned the SUV into what’s called a rent-a-rock. That’s where someone loans someone else a vehicle in...