1. Boot
What it means everywhere else: A type of footwear.
What it means in Louisiana: How you describe where you’re from. For example, New Orleans is around the toe, and Lake Charles is on the heel.
2. LA
What it means everywhere else: The best Southern California city and home to Hollywood.
What it means in Louisiana: The greatest state in the whole South.
3. Humidity
What it means everywhere else: When there’s a little more water in the air before it rains, and your hair looks kind of weird that day.
What it means in Louisiana: Just imagine walking through hot soup all summer, and you’ll have an idea.
4. Public Intoxication
What it means everywhere else: The charge for when you’re drinking or intoxicated in public and are causing a disturbance.
What it means in Louisiana: Not driving? Then you’re good to go. No paper bags necessary.
5. Potholes
What it means everywhere else: Small holes in the road where the pavement has been damaged over time.
What it means in Louisiana: Swerve or you’ll total your car.
6. Alligators
What it means everywhere else: Prehistoric looking reptiles that you mostly see in zoos.
What it means in Louisiana: Something you actually have to look out for if you’re just walking around.
7. Crawfish
What it means everywhere else: The creepier, smaller, and cheaper version of lobster.
What it means in Louisiana: Food sent down to Earth by whatever higher power you believe in.
8. Beans
What it means everywhere else: A boring food you have in your cabinet all the time and use as a staple.
What it means in Louisiana: The ultimate super delicious comfort food—red beans and rice.
9. Oxtail Soup
What it means everywhere else: Something you’ve never tried, but that sounds kind of gross.
What it means in Louisiana: The perfect cure to any ailment. Forget chicken noodle.
10. True Blood
What it means everywhere else: A vampire show that is totally not age-appropriate for the Twilight crowd.
What it means in Louisiana: Louisiana accents that are as fictional as the town of Bon Temps.
11. Cajun
What it means everywhere else: Usually just a seasoning or a style of cuisine.
What it means in Louisiana: People descended from Acadian exiles, a French dialect, and yeah… a pretty amazing style of cuisine too.
12. Hot Sauce
What it means everywhere else: A sauce made from spicy peppers which is used as a condiment.
What it means in Louisiana: One drop does it!
13. Parish
What it means everywhere else: An old timey religious community with its own laws.
What it means in Louisiana: The same thing as a county everywhere else.
14. Funeral
What it means everywhere else: A sad time where you mourn the loss of a loved one before they are buried.
What it means in Louisiana: A time to mourn, but also a time to dance to jazz and celebrate the life of your loved one.
15. FEMA
What it means everywhere else: The Federal Emergency Management Agency.
What it means in Louisiana: Basically the new F word… and the F Doesn’t just stand for failure.
16. Fishing
What it means everywhere else: The most tedious “sport” of all or something you do to catch food.
What it means in Louisiana: Something you’re required to do as soon as you’re able to hold a fishing rod in your hand.
17. French Quarter
What it means everywhere else: An exciting, famous, and presumably French influenced, neighborhood in New Orleans.
What it means in Louisiana: Spanish architecture and overpriced food and drinks.
18. Chicken Fingers
What it means everywhere else: The only thing you didn’t adamantly refuse to eat when you were seven years old.
What it means in Louisiana: Raising Cane’s—not just at age seven—for life!
19. Film
What it means everywhere else: Something you watch at a theater or on Netflix.
What it means in Louisiana: An industry you or at least one of your friends is working in right now, since your state is the Hollywood of the South.
20. Swamp
What it means everywhere else: Uninhabitable land that’s covered in low levels of water.
What it means in Louisiana: Your backyard, or where you like to take the boat out for a nice relaxing day.
21. Nutria
What it means everywhere else: Is that some kind of diet pill or something?
What it means in Louisiana: The freakiest and most annoying river rats in the entire world.
22. Sweet Tea
What it means everywhere else: The way everyone in the South drinks their tea.
What it means in Louisiana: You mom brewing a big pitcher of Luzianne tea.
23. Sunbathing
What it means everywhere else: Something you do at the beach or the pool in the summer.
What it means in Louisiana: Something you will literally do anytime and anywhere if it’s above a certain temperature, because embracing the heat is key to surviving Louisiana.
What other words mean something different in Louisiana? Tell us in the comments below!
