How Y'all Doin?

I love Texasisms, those down-home sayings peculiar to the part of the world where I hang my hat. For example, a true native who’s preparing to take action is said to be “fixin’ to”, as in I’m fixin’ to go to the store.

Have you ever heard of someone who looks like “nine miles of bad road”? There are two meanings, and neither is a compliment. Meaning #1: having bloodshot eyes, with visible capillaries similar to the lines depicting roads on a map. Meaning #2: having a face so wrinkled it resembles that same kind of map.

“All wind and no rain” has essentially the same definition as “big hat, no cattle.” Either term applies to a phony whose conversation goes beyond the bounds of reality.

The essential Texasism is “y’all.” It can mean you, you guys, you all, you people, or this establishment (“y’all got any eggs?") just to mention a few. There’s no “w” in y’all, and it’s not elongated into two or more syllables in Texas the way it is in some southern states. Students of the language can tell what part of the state you’re from by the way you pronounce y’all. They can tell if you're not really from here as well. Don't worry. Nobody will tell you how the cow ate the cabbage. They'll just grin at a companion and mumble "big hat, no cattle."

Carlene Havel,
Author of "A Hero's Homecoming" co-author “Daughter of the King”
http://goo.gl/s6EQS