Norwegians Use the Word “Texas” as Slang to Mean “Crazy”

Texas really has two sides to it:

There is the traditional 'Texas' that most people outside of Texas probably think of. It's the guy on his land that walks around with his gun in one hand and the bible in the other, literally and metaphorically. Many of these people are close minded to new thoughts or ideas. They don't like anything that doesn't fit in with how they were raised. You will find many girls saying, "I want a man who's country." When you ask them what that means, they say, "has good family values, hard working, owns a truck" and many others of course. I've even said, "Well I live in downtown Dallas, so I'm not 'country' in that aspect, but I do believe in strong family values...and well I don't own a truck because I simply don't need one." And I'm immediately rejected. And told that I can't have good morals/values...This has happened to me several times. I do have to say that these people are still nice. For the most part they will not be rude to you, and they will keep a smile. Yes, they are highly ignorant, but at least they are..for the majority of them, polite and non violent about it.

Then there is the other side of Texas. This is usually in the cities...Dallas, Austin, Houston, and various suburbs. These places have probably some of the nicest people I've met in the U.S. Many people in these cities aren't even from Texas. They have had some of the most job growth in the nation in the last few years. Most people here are completely opposite of what most people from outside think of Texas think of.

Some of my friends recently visited me in Dallas, who had also never been to Texas before, said "This is not at all what I was expecting...I love Dallas!". We have some of the top schools in the nation, some very nice people, a ridiculously good economy, lower cost of living and mild winters. (Ok, the traffic is getting really bad here because the highways can't keep up with the population growth...). Many of my friends moved here because their job moved here, and they said initially they were pretty disappointed in having to move to Texas. Now, they won't leave. These friends are from Seattle, Washington D.C., NYC, SF, LA, Chicago, Den, all over.

I encourage anyone who has not visited Texas before to give it a shot, go to Dallas, Austin and around those areas, you're in for a surprise.

However I don't think Norwegians using this slang term are thinking of any of those kinds of Texas. They're instead thinking of the Texas where you ride into town on a horse with a six-shooter hanging from your belt, kicking up a cloud of dust while banjo music plays furiously, jump off your horse, and burst through swinging saloon doors.