Social
Y'all
yawl
The second person plural, and a genuinely useful piece of grammar English otherwise lacks. Used by everyone here regardless of origin, entirely unironically.
Hook 'em
HOOK-em
The University of Texas greeting and hand sign, index and little finger raised. On a football Saturday it functions as hello, goodbye and thank you.
Fixin' to
FIX-in tuh
About to. 'I'm fixin' to head out' means leaving shortly. Standard Texan, not a joke.
Food
Breakfast taco
BREK-fust TAH-koh
Eggs, cheese and a filling in a flour tortilla, eaten daily. Austin and San Antonio have argued about who invented them for decades. It is the default local breakfast.
Queso
KAY-so
Melted cheese dip, served with tortilla chips before the meal. In Texas this is a course, not a condiment, and opinions on the best version are firmly held.
Brisket
BRIS-kit
The measure of a Texas barbecue place. Smoked twelve-plus hours over post oak, sold by weight, and gone by early afternoon at the good ones.
Culture
Keep Austin Weird
keep AW-stin weerd
The slogan that started as a campaign for local independent businesses. Now half civic identity, half rueful joke about how much the city has changed.
South by
sowth by
SXSW, the March film, music and tech festival. Locals shorten it and many of them leave town for the duration.
Daily life
The Drag
thuh drag
Guadalupe Street alongside the University of Texas campus. Not a nightlife strip — just the main student thoroughfare.
Greenbelt
GREEN-belt
The Barton Creek Greenbelt — miles of swimming holes, cliffs and trails running through the middle of the city. 'Going to the greenbelt' is a summer default.
Transport
MoPac
MOH-pak
Loop 1, the main north-south motorway on the west side, named for the old Missouri Pacific railroad beside it. Traffic reports assume you know.
Emergency
911 / 311
nine-one-one / three-one-one
911 for emergencies; 311 for Austin city services — utilities, code complaints, roads.
Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.