New Orleans is famous for Mardi Gras, but you should also check out southwest Louisiana and the city of Lake Charles, about 75 miles west of Lafayette, near the Texas border. ![]() “Throw me somethin’, Mister!”ĭuring Mardi Gras, which typically falls in February, you’ll hear this phrase around the state as a plea from parade spectators hoping to catch a few beads or trinkets - called throws - from the masked men and women aboard the floats. Crowley produces one of the country’s largest rice crops, and in Louisiana that’s reason enough to celebrate with parades, food, music, and dancing late into the night. One of Cajun country’s biggest parties is the International Rice Festival, held in Crowley each October. Even today you may hear a baby being put to sleep with the phrase “do-do.” The phrase literally means “to go to sleep,” and it originates from dance parties lasting so late into the night that the children in attendance would fall asleep on their own without being told. “Fais-do-do”Ī fais-do-do ( fay DOUGH DOUGH) is a Cajun dance party. Four thousand pounds of fresh Louisiana catfish is fried up so tasty it’ll make ya slap ya mama - another example of Louisiana slang used when something is so delicious. One of the best fish fries is the Franklin Parish Catfish Festival, which takes place in Winnsboro every April. Typically used around Mardi Gras, it is also heard anytime someone is celebrating a good time, such as at a family get-together or a good, old-fashioned fish fry. Laissez les bon temps rouler ( lay-ZEH leh BAWN taw ROO-leh) means “let the good times roll,” and it’s one of the most widely known phrases associated with Louisiana. For three days at the beginning of May, its crawfish festival has everything from crawfish races to zydeco music, and there are plenty of opportunities to pinch the tail and suck the head. Once the head of the crawfish is separated from the tail you pinch the bottom - loosening up the meat to eat it - and then you suck deliciously seasoned juices from the crawfish head.Ĭrawfish can be enjoyed across the state each spring, but there’s no place better than the Crawfish Capital of the World, Breaux Bridge (that first word is pronounced bro), about 10 miles northeast of Lafayette. “Pinch the tail and suck the head.”Ī tawdry-sounding phrase, but it’s actually how you eat crawfish. ![]() Here’s all the Louisiana slang you need to know before traveling to the Bayou State. Next time you’re in Louisiana, you’re going to want to “pass a good time” - and you can’t do that sitting there with a furrowed brow and a dictionary. ![]() Do you want your po’boy “dressed?” Have you ever attended a “fais-do-do?” Has anyone ever put any “gris gris” on ya? Hope not!
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