And Texans use the word "European" to mean limp wristed and weak.
To be fair any Texan who thinks of Europeans as being limp wristed and weak probably thinks that of anybody not Texan.
Well they can both be wrong.
Norwegians Use the Word “Texas” as Slang to Mean “Crazy”
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Re: Norwegians Use the Word “Texas” as Slang to Mean “Crazy”
#22As a Swede that has visited Norway probably 60+ times (I've worked for norwegian companies since 2004 - cause oil money) I have noticed they have an affinity to reuse English words for different purposes, sort of like the germans.
I also get the impression that their vocabulary changes quicker than that of most other countries, perhaps due to the small size of the population.
Re: Norwegians Use the Word “Texas” as Slang to Mean “Crazy”
#23Somewhat related: As an (northern, not southern) American tourist, I was visiting Scotland when I left my car in a parking deck after hours. I buzzed the gate-keeper to unlock the gate, and upon hearing my accent he said, "What? Do you not read signs? Ah, you're from Texas; the lone-star state. We don't have guns here. We're much more civilized." I had not mentioned anything related to Texas. Speaks a lot of his thou…
I couldn't get your point. Was the gate not actually locked and you had assumed it would be? I assume you came back with some equally witty country stereotype like "well being Scottish I'm just glad you're sober after 6pm"
Re: Norwegians Use the Word “Texas” as Slang to Mean “Crazy”
#24I live on the far west edge of Europe, unfortunately a lot of the population have a screwed stereotype vision of Americans and the US. Some of it might be deserved (the Bush years done incredible damage to the reputation of the US) a lot of it is not, and this is coming from my multiple experiences over the years of visiting almost every one of the lower 48 states. As for Texas its probably one of my more favourite l…
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Re: Norwegians Use the Word “Texas” as Slang to Mean “Crazy”
#25I live on the far west edge of Europe, unfortunately a lot of the population have a screwed stereotype vision of Americans and the US. Some of it might be deserved (the Bush years done incredible damage to the reputation of the US) a lot of it is not, and this is coming from my multiple experiences over the years of visiting almost every one of the lower 48 states. As for Texas its probably one of my more favourite l…
I remember when I first when backpacking across Europe. (I'm American, by the way). This was around 2003 or 2004. I had this preconceived notion that Americans were generally idiotic, and Europeans were much more knowledgable in world affairs. What I came to realize was that they are just as retarded as we are, but have more access to distinct cultures/languages because of how small countries are over there. They don't realize that while we're all "Americans", there is a massive difference between in people from Miami, Houston, New York, and Boise. Just because we speak the same language and use the same currency doesn't make us all the same.
As for the reputation of the States, I found there was a dislike of American politics, but not Americans in general. And jokes made about us are just that: jokes. We do the same about other countries, races, etc.
Re: Norwegians Use the Word “Texas” as Slang to Mean “Crazy”
#26Re: Norwegians Use the Word “Texas” as Slang to Mean “Crazy”
#27It's sad to see some people get defensive and try to pit this as a "europe vs the US" thing, even bringing up the Utøya tragedy and Breivik. The article is just click bait, and sensationalism at its worst.
"Texas" is a slang to mean "wild west", like they say further into the article. I don't know why they try to pin it as "crazy". It doesn't have anything to do with stereotypes. It stems from old westerns and has been in our language for decades. "Texas" in the 60s and 70s was Bonanza, cowboys and spaghetti westerns for most people in Norway. The expression just stuck. That's how language works.
Re: Norwegians Use the Word “Texas” as Slang to Mean “Crazy”
#28I live on the far west edge of Europe, unfortunately a lot of the population have a screwed stereotype vision of Americans and the US. Some of it might be deserved (the Bush years done incredible damage to the reputation of the US) a lot of it is not, and this is coming from my multiple experiences over the years of visiting almost every one of the lower 48 states. As for Texas its probably one of my more favourite l…
It's not based on stereotypes of Texas and Texans, but rather of the Wild West - as in the location of cowboy movies. There exists equivalent phrases refering to the Wild West directly, and at one point it seems "Texas" became (or perhaps already was) synonymous with "the wild west".
Speculation: in addition to cowbody movies, it probably has something to do with the norwegian book series Morgan Kane[1] from the 60s, as the phrase is mostly heard from people from around that time and before. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgan_Kane
Re: Norwegians Use the Word “Texas” as Slang to Mean “Crazy”
#29This comment section is awful, and might be my personal HN sharkjump moment.
Re: Norwegians Use the Word “Texas” as Slang to Mean “Crazy”
#30I live on the far west edge of Europe, unfortunately a lot of the population have a screwed stereotype vision of Americans and the US. Some of it might be deserved (the Bush years done incredible damage to the reputation of the US) a lot of it is not, and this is coming from my multiple experiences over the years of visiting almost every one of the lower 48 states. As for Texas its probably one of my more favourite l…
*skewed