Nan McCann
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nanmccann.bsky.social
Nan McCann
@nanmccann.bsky.social
88 followers 55 following 86 posts
Texan, retired university professor, writer of literary mystery novels. Avid traveler, voracious reader, and lover of linguistics, languages, & a little dog.
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nanmccann.bsky.social
Can you guess the meanings of these #Texanisms?
Write your guesses in the comments before checking the alt-text for answers! 🐂 #Linguistics
Corn-fed: Tall and broad, man or animal Jeetjet? : Have you eaten yet? Might could : Maybe or might (be able to do something) Lick that calf again? : Repeat that?
December 17, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Reposted by Nan McCann
planzing.bsky.social
Far from Home…
December 17, 2025 at 6:06 PM
nanmccann.bsky.social
#TriviaTime! Which of the following cities sees the most rainy days each year? 🌧
TRIVIA time Which is the city sees the most rainy days? A. Jeju, South Korea B. Vidor, Texas C. Quito, Ecuador D. London, England
October 21, 2025 at 4:59 AM
nanmccann.bsky.social
What a gorgeous view 😍
artofthemale.bsky.social artofthemale.bsky.social @artofthemale.bsky.social · Sep 2
Bluebonnet Sunrise

Thanks to my friend in Muenster, Texas for purchasing this lovely original art print presented as a blanket: buff.ly/d9qpvSo

If you are interested in an oil painting on canvas of this art print, please send me an email at [email protected].
September 17, 2025 at 6:15 PM
nanmccann.bsky.social
#TriviaTime: Let's test your Texan English vocabulary. Three of these terms are uttered in Texas and one is said no where near. Do you know the answer?
#Colloquialism #TexanEnglish #Linguistics
TRIVIA TIME Which of the following is NOT vocabulary within the Texan English dialect? A. Expressway B. Varmint C. Spindletop D. Fixin’ to
September 6, 2025 at 9:06 PM
nanmccann.bsky.social
#TriviaTime: Which of these terms is NOT a common weather saying in Texas?

Drop your guess below and let me know if there's any unusual weather sayings in your area!

#SummerShowers #Colloquialisms #Southernisms
TRIVIA TIME Which of the following is NOT a colloquialism for a weather event? A. Comin’ Up a Cloud B. Blue Norther C. Turd Floater D. Tin Roof Tapper Foreground: The text above with the trivia question and A-D in a sage green square, each answer option in its own white bubble overlaying it all. Background: A thunderstorm with dense gray, blue and yellow clouds dropping lightning through a white, blue, gray, and greenish sky to a blackened silouhette of the land.
August 13, 2025 at 2:06 AM
nanmccann.bsky.social
What's up with Southern accents? Well, they reflect history. This video is a great, succinct explanation on how and why Southerners speak differently than those to the North or West of the US. youtu.be/mNqY6ftqGq0
#Linguistics #Language #Accents #Twang
A Quick Lesson on Southern Linguistics
YouTube video by Rob M
youtu.be
August 1, 2025 at 1:05 AM
nanmccann.bsky.social
#TriviaTime! Which blue flower is the state flower of Texas?
Drop your guesses below! The answer can be found below the ALT-text.
TRIVIA TIME Which is the state flower of Texas? A. Bluebonnets B. Texas Bluebells C. Delphiniums Background: blue flowers. Multiple choice options is in three white boxes on a sage green square with taxonomical images of each flower shown below the option. answer below: . . . . . A. Bluebonnets, specifically the Lupinus subcarnosus and any similar species found in Texas.
July 28, 2025 at 11:31 PM
Reposted by Nan McCann
planzing.bsky.social
On a Texas Lake at Dawn…
July 23, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Reposted by Nan McCann
linguisticdiscovery.com
Can animals understand human language? Here are a few animals thought to show evidence of communication:

www.livescience.com/animals/can-...

#animals #evolution #linguistics #language #primates #primatology
Can animals understand human language?
There are many famous examples of animals who seem to understand human language. But is there any real science behind them?
www.livescience.com
July 25, 2025 at 7:35 PM
nanmccann.bsky.social
"So dry the catfish are carrying canteens."

Texas Monthly asked artists to illustrate their favorite Texas sayings and choosing a favorite is hard to do. www.texasmonthly.com/being-texan/...
More Colorful Texas Sayings Than You Can Shake a Stick At
Come hell or high water, you’ll want to read our compilation of down-home aphorisms.
www.texasmonthly.com
July 16, 2025 at 4:04 PM
nanmccann.bsky.social
Good afternoon from the ranch puppies! Can't wait to see them again. 🐶
July 14, 2025 at 7:30 PM
nanmccann.bsky.social
Did you know rodeo is rooted in the early 19th Century Mexican vaqueros? Let's take a deep dive!
A cowboy walking next to his horse, both silhouetted by the setting sun. Colors of yellow, orange, red, pink, and purple in the background. Atop the two figures the below text: Deep Dive Your First Rodeo Same background as image before. Deep Dive Your First Rodeo Rodeo events developed as a means of entertainment between cattle drives and jobs on various ranches for the freelancing vaqueros. Over time, the informal affair drew increasingly large crowds and eventually grew into competitions. Once the US annexed Texas in 1845, the culture began to integrate with that of cowboys in the American West and the rest is history!
July 13, 2025 at 1:11 AM
nanmccann.bsky.social
Today's trivia centers on dueling, a very popular way of settling disputes in the 19th Century American South as well as elsewhere. The practice had many spoken and unspoken standards.

Which of the following was NOT one of these standards?
Answer is below the ALT text of the image!
#Trivia
TRIVIA TIME Which of the following was NOT a Southern standard for dueling? A. Southern politicians only challenging Northern B. Gentlemen challenging men of the same class C. Ostracizing those who refused when challenged Answer below: . . . . The answer is... A. Southern politicians only challenging Northern Southern politicians in pre-Civil War US would prefer to challenge one another over a Northern politician. They did not trust those "less honorable than themselves" to follow the formal rules of dueling.
July 7, 2025 at 8:55 PM
nanmccann.bsky.social
I hope your July 4th holiday was as lovely as our own!
July 5, 2025 at 7:33 PM
nanmccann.bsky.social
Our Texas ranch was started in 1857 by my great, great grandfather and has been in the family ever since. We're excited to visit once again come Labor Day!
July 1, 2025 at 11:47 PM
nanmccann.bsky.social
#TriviaTime! What was the original definition of the word "Habit?" 🤔 #Trivia #LinguisticTrivia
LINGUISTIC TRIVIA The first definition of “Habit” was... A. A repeated behavior B. A garment of clothing
July 1, 2025 at 11:39 PM
nanmccann.bsky.social
#TriviaTime: Which of these pieces of furniture date back to antiquity?
#Furniture #Trivia
LINGUISTIC TRIVIA Which piece of furniture dates back to antiquity? A. Three-legged stools B. Ottomans C. Sideboards D. Rocking cradles
June 26, 2025 at 2:03 AM
nanmccann.bsky.social
Juneteenth has been celebrated by Black Americans in Galveston, TX, since 1866. A year prior marked the final announcement of the Emancipation Proclamation to the enslaved people of Galveston–two yr after the decree & six mo after the ratification of the 13th Amendment.

Happy Juneteenth!
June 19, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Reposted by Nan McCann
sardonicus.eu
Maxfield Parrish‘s Twilight, 1935
a building with a large tree behind it and a meandering rivelet running down one side. it is approaching dusk
May 26, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Reposted by Nan McCann
jimmusilpainter.bsky.social
My painting WISCONSIN FARM
An acrylic painting by Jim Musil depicting a farm in Wisconsin. A red barn sits at the end of a dirt road in the middle of a verdant green field. A colorful sky dominates the composition.
May 26, 2025 at 5:35 PM
nanmccann.bsky.social
#TriviaTime: Which of these common mosses, is in fact not a moss at all?
Drop your guess in the comments!

#LinguisitcTrivia #Mossy
LINGUISTIC TRIVIA Which of these is NOT a moss? A. Peat Moss B. Sheet Moss C. Spanish Moss D. Sphagnum Moss
May 24, 2025 at 10:46 PM
nanmccann.bsky.social
My short story "Don't Count your Chickens" is officially published in the Trouble in Texas Anthology!!! 🥳🥳🥳

You can learn more and grab a copy of these eleven short stories here: www.amazon.com.au/Trouble-Texa...

If you like what you read, please leave us a review!
#author #mystery
The anthology cover of Trouble in Texas on a rainy window background. Beneath it is a chicken and text reading "Eleven Mystery Short Stories / From SINC Authors of North Dallas"
April 17, 2025 at 11:47 PM
nanmccann.bsky.social
#TriviaTime! The Diné (Navajo) language is a member of which language family?
(Hint: A few of these options are language families for different native languages.)

I'll drop the answer next week if no one guesses it!
#NativeLanguage #Diné #navajo #linguistics #langsky
LINGUISTIC TRIVIA The Diné (Navajo) language is a member of which language family? A. Algonquian B. Athabaskan C. Germanic D. Uto-Aztecan
April 17, 2025 at 11:17 PM
nanmccann.bsky.social
My new short story, “Don’t Count Your Chickens,” will be out on April 15th in the Sisters in Crime Anthology for Dallas! Check it out!😁
April 9, 2025 at 11:56 PM