1. Razorbacks
What it means everywhere else: A type of wild pig.
What it means in Arkansas: The best football team in Arkansas with a super devoted following. Woooooooo pig sooie!
2. Red Wolves
What it means everywhere else: A small tawny wolf that’s mostly extinct in the wild.
What it means in Arkansas: The other best football team in Arkansas whose fans insist the Razorbacks have nothing on them.
3. Hot Dog
What it means everywhere else: Classic American fare consisting of a grilled sausage on a bun with a few toppings like mustard, ketchup, or peppers.
What it means in Arkansas: Infinitely better when it’s stuffed and topped with a whole lot of cheese.
4. Outhouse
What it means everywhere else: An archaic outdoor bathroom that’s rarely used unless you’re in a rural area where the pipes are prone to freezing.
What it means in Arkansas: An archaic outdoor bathroom that can move a whole lot faster than you thought at the annual Outhouse Races in Mountain View.
5. Gunshots
What it means everywhere else: A sound that makes you think, “Wow…I really need to move out of this neighborhood.”
What it means in Arkansas: A sound that makes you think, “Aw yeah, is it hunting season already?”
6. Weather
What it means everywhere else: Outdoor conditions, including temperature, precipitation, and cloud coverage.
What it means in Arkansas: Basically just a constant barrage of tornadoes and ice storms with some pleasant days that lure you into a false sense of security in between.
7. Fish Fry
What it means everywhere else: Generally a Friday night event, especially held during Lent, at restaurants and churches.
What it means in Arkansas: The best way to come together with your community over some delicious fried catfish on a warm spring or summer night.
8. Bottoms
What it means everywhere else: What you teach your kids to call someone’s backside.
What it means in Arkansas: Bottomland–flat, fertile land along a river that’s perfect for deer hunting.
9. Sweet Tea
What it means everywhere else: Tea that’s been sweetened with sugar, honey, or sweet syrup.
What it means in Arkansas: One of the major food groups, and an essential life-giving beverage.
10. Fixin’
What it means everywhere else: When you repair something that’s broken.
What it means in Arkansas: When you’re about to do something you’re always “fixin’ to.”
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11. Waving
What it means everywhere else: A way to greet someone you know.
What it means in Arkansas: A way to greet both people you know and complete strangers who are just passing you on the street or highway.
12. Floating
What it means everywhere else: Being suspended in water, or metaphorically being unsettled and moving from one thing to another.
What it means in Arkansas: Grabbing an inner tube and hanging out on one of Arkansans’ pretty creeks or rivers all day on a float trip.
13. Crappie
What it means everywhere else: Phonetically, something that kind of sucks or isn’t in great condition.
What it means in Arkansas: Phonetically it’s “Crop-ie” and it means a kind of fish you always hope you catch because they’re absolutely delicious.
14. Saw
What it means everywhere else: A sharp tool that’s used to cut through wood or other materials.
What it means in Arkansas: The only correct way to pronounce the end of your state.
15. Pig Trail
What it means everywhere else: A trail where pigs are transported or herded.
What it means in Arkansas: A whole lot of careful driving and a whole lot of near heart attacks when you get distracted from all that careful driving by the views of the Ozarks.
16. Bill Clinton
What it means everywhere else: The 42nd president of the United States, known as much for his personal scandals as his policies.
What it means in Arkansas: The former governor of Arkansas who you can’t help but forgive for anything because he’s from your state.
17. Hope
What it means everywhere else: Anticipation of good things to come.
What it means in Arkansas: The birthplace of the aforementioned Arkansas-born and Arkansas-favorite president.
18. Livestock Show
What it means everywhere else: An event where livestock like cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs, are exhibited and judged.
What it means in Arkansas: A perfectly legitimate excuse to skip school.
19. Apple Blossom
What it means everywhere else: The flower of any apple tree.
What it means in Arkansas: The beautiful state flower, but perhaps most importantly, a fantastic brewing company in Fayetteville.
20. Pick-Up
What it means everywhere else: A kind of vehicle.
What it means in Arkansas: The kind of vehicle you begged your parents to get you at sixteen, and that’s still your dream car as an adult. Always American made, of course.
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21. Diamonds
What it means everywhere else: A precious stone.
What it means in Arkansas: A precious stone that can be mined all over your state.
22. Vegetarian
What it means everywhere else: Someone who doesn’t eat meat or meat byproducts.
What it means in Arkansas: But you can still eat fish, right?
23. Wal-Mart
What it means everywhere else: A massive American super-store that can be found throughout the country, and that carries basically every item in existence.
What it means in Arkansas: A massive American super-store that started in Bentonville.
24. Devil’s Den
What it means everywhere else: Somewhere you really don’t want to go when you die.
What it means in Arkansas: A 2,500-acre state park in The Ozarks with diverse, beautiful geography that you absolutely have to visit as many times as possible before you die.
25. Humidity
What it means everywhere else: The amount of water vapor is in the air.
What it means in Arkansas: The bane of your existence, and the thing that ensures you’re having a weird hair day every single day of the summer.
26. Watermelon
What it means everywhere else: A delicious fruit that’s best in the summer.
What it means in Arkansas: A delicious fruit that you literally cannot get enough of, even if you chow down on an entire watermelon or three at the Hope Watermelon Festival.
27. Beaver
What it means everywhere else: A semi-aquatic rodent that builds dams.
What it means in Arkansas: A massive, beautiful lake that’s perfect for fishing, scuba diving, boating, and camping.
28. Eureka
What it means everywhere else: What you shout when you solve a problem or make a new discovery.
What it means in Arkansas: Eureka Springs, a beautiful little historic town in the Ozarks, AKA where you want to take ALL of your vacations.
29. Alligators
What it means everywhere else: A scary reptile with a powerful bite that you try to avoid.
What it means in Arkansas: A scary reptile that you can see in a safe environment at the Arkansas Alligator Farm & Petting Zoo.
30. Natural State
What it means everywhere else: Something in it’s natural condition, completely untouched by civilization.
What it means in Arkansas: The nickname for the gorgeous, geographically diverse, friendly, family-oriented state you call home.
What other words mean something different in the Arkansas? Tell us in the comments below!
