Do the words Casa Bonita give you indigestion? Does the acronym CSAP make you want to play hooky? What about the name Dealin' Doug (you just pictured him flying through the air with his Superman cape and gaudy rings, didn't you)? If you answered "yes" to any of these, you are most definitely a Coloradoan and will fully appreciate this list of words and terms that you'll only hear in the Centennial State.
1.) Blucifer
He sees you when you’re sleeping, he knows when you’re awake, and he knows which flight you’re getting ready to board because he stands guard over DIA (Denver International Airport). Why is the 32-foot tall, 9,000 pound bronco nicknamed Blucifer? Besides the demonic "I want to eat your first born" red eyes, Blue Mustang earned the nickname after its artist, Luis Jimenez, was crushed to death when a section of sculpture fell on his leg.
2.) LoDo
LoDo=Lower Downtown (and arguably the best downtown area in the country).
3.) Rox
We like sports (and nicknames) and we don’t care who knows! The Rox are our own Rockies baseball team, the Avs are Avalanche hockey, and Nuggs is slang for Nuggets basketball. Also worth noting, the Rockies Tulo is Troy Tulowitzki and CarGo is Carlos "We Want Tacos" Gonzales.
4.) Rocky Mountain Oysters
You think it’s some sort of seafood? That's cute. Go ahead and take a bite and then I’ll tell you what Rocky Mountain Oysters really are.
5.) Granola*
No, no; not that kind of granola (though that looks delicious). In Colorado, granola means a free spirit, left-leaning, au naturel kinda guy or girl.
*I actually don’t think this is a strictly CO term but thought it was worth mentioning since I used it in a sentence to my (Kansas native) husband the other day and he had no idea what I was talking about.
6.) FoCo
Coloradoans know that FoCo is the beautiful city of Fort Collins (Fun Fact: Disneyland’s Main Street USA was actually modeled after Old Town Fort Collins – so if Disneyland is the happiest place on earth, I guess that makes FoCo the second happiest?).
7.) Colfax
Home to an annual marathon (which makes sense because it is the longest street in the US of A), ladies of the night, and a certain themed restaurant which allows us all to "Taste the Magic of Mexico." Of course I’m referring to the famous…
8.) Casa Bonita
"Casa Bonita! Casa Bonita! Food and fun in a festive atmosphere!" That’s right, folks; Casa Bonita isn’t just a made up place from an episode of South Park (which is also a real Colorado town ICYDK) and the natives know that you only go for the ambiance and sopaipillas *cue the cat food enchilada jokes*
9.) The Springs
Home to the Garden of the Gods, stunning Pikes Peak views, and Santa’s Workshop, Colorado Springs (or the Springs… get it?) is the shiz.
10.) CSAP
I don’t know about you, but I had a love/hate relationship with the Colorado Student Assessment Program. On one hand, it was an entire week of tedious testing over subjects I didn’t pay any attention to… but on the other hand, it was a week off from classes and we were fed some sort of lame snack to "fuel our brains."
11.) Sports Authority
To non-Colorado residents, Sports Authority is a sporting goods store. To us, it’s the home of our beloved Denver Broncos & PFM (Peyton Effin’ Manning).
And last (but certainly not least):
12.) Dealin’ Doug – When it comes to buying cars, nobody beats a Dealin’ Doug deal, nobody (but on the off chance that someone does, his grandson will give you a car). Coloradoans also know they have a friend in the diamond business with Tom Shane, that Big Mike Naughton is Ford, and that Frank Azar is the strong arm.
13.) UNC – Anyone who thinks that UNC stands for the University of North Carolina (and not the University of Northern Colorado) can go eat a Rocky Mountain Oyster.
I have a feeling I'm forgetting some important words and terms so tell me, what did I miss? What are your favorite Colorado words and terms?
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