Colorful Sayings in Texas Trivia Quiz

Answer: Marfa

Marfa, Texas is a city in the high desert, where temperatures can reach record highs of 106 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer, so one would not want to be caught wearing a fur coat there.

"It's hotter than blue blazes" is another saying you might hear in Texas and throughout the South. It originally referred to the flames of Hell.

"It's hotter than a stolen tamale" is another phrase to describe hot weather. It makes a play on two different uses of the word hot (spicy and stolen). Tamales are a popular food item in Texas.

Answer: the Brazos

The Río de los Brazos de Dios (Spanish for "The River of the Arms of God"), or the Brazos for short, flows 1,280 miles from New Mexico, through Texas, to the Gulf of Mexico. The river marks the boundary between East and West Texas. It's been said that Brazos River is so crooked that in Palo Pinto County in Texas, it crosses itself twice.

Answer: cattle

"All hat and no cattle," like "all bark and no bite" is a way of referring to someone who makes a lot of vain boasts but doesn't follow through. No substance lies behind his or her words. An alternative version of this saying is "big hat, no cattle." Someone who wears a big cowboy hat but has no actual cattle of his own is putting on an empty show.

It's not surprising this saying might be popular in Texas, given that it is the U.S. state with the most cattle. The 45th Governor of Texas, Ann Richards, famously used the phrase "all hat and no cattle" to describe President George W. Bush.

Answer: cold

Hog-killing weather is used to described sharp and persistently cold weather. It arises from the practice of killing and hanging hogs, which is best done in cold weather to preserve the meat. Another similar phrase is "It's cold enough to hang meat." The prevalence of wild hogs may be why this saying worked its way into the Texas lexicon. As of 2021, there was an estimated population of over 1.5 million feral hogs in Texas.

Answer: a slop jar

To say someone is "slicker than a slop jar" is to say he is dishonest. A slop jar is a pail used as a chamber pot when it is difficult to find a toilet.

Two of these other choices also indicate dishonesty, but with a comparison to crookedness, not slickness: "Crooked as a dog's hind leg" and "Crooked as a barrel of fish hooks."

Answer: brave

A Texan might also say that "he'd shoot craps with the devil himself" to indicate bravery. Or, a man might be described as "double backboned." He could also be "brave as the first man to eat an oyster."

Answer: in an empty house

Another way to say someone is argumentative is to say that "she's dancing in a hog trough" (not starting a fight there). If she's hanging out "in the shadow of her mama's apron," that means she's shy. It might be said of an argumentative or angry man that "he's got his tail up" or "he's the only hell his mama ever raised."

Answer: timid

Texas legend says Louis "Moses" Rose was the only man to leave the Alamo when it was besieged in 1836 instead of staying to fight. Thus, to be cousin to (or like) such a man is to be timid yourself.

A timid or cowardly man might also be described as "yellow as mustard but without the bite." And if "he was melted down, he couldn't be poured into a fight." A timid man also "wouldn't bite a biscuit."

Answer: capable

In order to lasso an animal, once the rope is around the target, it's necessary to quickly reach out and tighten up any slack in the rope. To say "there's no slack in her rope" is to suggest she's a capable woman who succeeds in accomplishing her goals - like a cowgirl who has managed to snare her target.

Another idiom that express competency is "She's a right smart windmill fixer." One might also say, "This ain't her first rodeo."

Answer: fried water

Texans are known for their love of fried food. The State Fair of Texas has boasted a wide variety of deep fried delicacies, from peaches, chicken, Twinkies, and Oreos to okra, ice cream, and butter on a stick. Chef Mark Zable actually introduced deep fried beer to the Texas State Fair in 2010 and won that year's Most Creative award.

In 2006, it was fried Coke. Still, you'd have to be pretty poor to have only water to fry! At least, that's the joke. But in 2016, YouTuber Jonathan Marcus demonstrated a way to deep fry water using a chemical compound called calcium alginate.