Investigating the origins of American words, names, quotations and phrases. Over 41,000 entries.
Pete Gent was a Dallas Cowboys football player (1964-1968) under coach Tom Landry. Landry's playbook was known to be top secret and enormously complicated. Gent would write a 1973 novel about…
"If God isn't a Longhorn, why is the sunset burnt orange?" is a saying used by some fans of the University of Texas Longhorns. The official team color is burnt orange. Similar…
Frost Bank began in San Antonio after the Civil War and is today the largest home-grown bank in the state of Texas. ""We're from here" is its Texas slogan. All Business…
The origin of the "cup cake" (or "cupcake") is unknown, but the food name appears in American cookbooks, beginning in 1828. It is possible that the cupcake originated in the…
"Jalapeño Chicken" is offered at several Chinese restaurants, especially in and around Austin, Texas. The state pepper of Texas is the jalapeño. The recipe (cited from the 1990s)…
The ancient joke "Q: Why did the chicken cross the road? A: To get to the other side!" gets a Texas twist when the armadillo is added. A famous Texas phrase is: "There's nothing…
One of the items on popular "You Know You Are in Texas When..." internet lists is: "You no longer associate bridges over rivers with water." It's hot in Texas, but 2007…
Texas has plenty of jokes about the lack of rain in some parts of the state. The "Noah and the flood" joke is popular on the internet and has been told about other states (California, New…
How do you pronounce the name of Mexia, Texas? There's even an old joke about this! Mexia Area Chamber of Commercea great placeno matter how you say it Wikipedia: Mexia, TexasMexia (pronounced…
"Thermostrocka Mortimer" (or "Thermostrocker Mortimer") is the broadcasting signoff of longtime Austinite Richard "Cactus" Pryor. Pryor's words are believed to be…
"Arklatex" (also spelled "Ark-La-Tex" and ""ArkLaTex") is a regional name composed of the state names of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas. Sometimes Oklahoma is…
Strap Buckner (Aylett C. Buckner, 1794-1832) was one of the original 300 settlers of the city of Austin. He was a big man and was famous for slapping citizens on the back very hard, knocking them…
"Mozzarepa" (or "MozzArepa") is a commercial product that was trademarked in 1996 and combines "mozzarella" (cheese) sandwiched inside an "arepa" (corn-based…
An "arepa" is a corn-based bread popular in South American countries such as Colombia and Venezuela. The "Arepa Lady" is the popular vendor of arepas in New York City,…
Aqueduct racetrack is popularly known as "the Big A." Clark Whelton (a former writer for the Village Voice and member of the mayor's communications office) told me that he believed…
"Big Sandy" is the nickname of the racetrack at Belmont Park, perhaps a reflection of the old 1920s "Big Apple" name for the New York racetracks and the "Big A"…
"Dallass" (or "DallASS") is a spelling for some people who do not like the city of Dallas or the Dallas Cowboys. It's sometimes used with "Texass" to form…
"Texsucks" or "Texsux" (sometimes spelled "TexSux" and frequently lowercase "texsucks" and "texsux") is a spelling for some people who just…
Kemp Morgan is a Paul Bunyan-type of mythological giant, to Texas oil drilling what Pecos Bill is to Texas cowboys. The origin of the Kemp Morgan stories is unknown. The lack of any mention of Kemp…
A "Cuban hamburger" that's served in Florida might look like a hamburger covered with shoestring potatoes, spiced with paprika and onion, and topped with mojito sauce. The…