On Tuesday, the US magazine Texas Monthly broke some distressing news to its readers: "Y'all, Norwegians Use the Word 'Texas' as Slang to Mean 'Crazy.'"
The article cited several examples of the peculiar association in the Norwegian media, such as Norwegian soccer manager Henning Berg describing the atmosphere of a match as "totally Texas," and a fisherman telling local news that his rare swordfish catch was also "totally Texas."
Norway's press responded by confirming that Texas became part of Norwegian slang several decades ago. Daniel Gusfre Ims, head language advisor at the Norwegian Language Council, told NRK that its documented use stretches as back as far as the 1950's, citing a book from 1957 which used the word 'Texas' to describe commotion, noise and wild conditions.
"Would he make it even more Texas in the village," wrote author Vegard Vigerust.
Norwegians use the word “Texas” as slang to mean “crazy.” https://t.co/2Nfrz6V6ir
— Catherine Rampell (@crampell) 22 октября 2015
Ims explained that the word probably entered Norwegian popular culture through Western movies and books about cowboys, and that it is most commonly used in the expression 'helt Texas,' meaning 'totally Texas.'
Ims was also asked by NRK whether he knew of any other similar examples of slang based on place names.
"The closest I can find is 'Hawaii,' for example in 'Hawaii football. This is also used for uncontrolled conditions, but not as wild as those in helt Texas," the linguist explained.
Popular expressions regarding the Lone Star State are quite different in the US, where it is associated with big stuff ('Everything's bigger in Texas') and a no-nonsense, straight-shooting approach ('Don't mess with Texas').
