Mickey from Austin, Texas, is curious about a phrase his mother uses: Are you smelling what I’m stepping in? meaning “Do you understand what I’m saying?” It likely derives from Black English Do you smell me? and Do you feel...
A Norwegian slang phrase rendered in English as that’s totally Texas describes a wild, chaotic, or mixed-up situation, not usually aimed at a person. The image comes from the lawless Wild West of old movies and TV, where gunslingers, dusty towns...
James from San Antonio, Texas, grew up saying he hadn’t seen someone in a coon’s age, meaning in a very long time. The phrase likely refers to the old folk notion that raccoons live a long time, but because the shortened word has a long history as a...
windshield cowboy n.— «“We don’t ride horses at our ranch,” first lady Laura Bush told CNN. “My husband is what’s called ‘the windshield cowboy.’ That means we ride a pickup.”» —“Bush has brush with an old Texas...