15 New Orleans Words and Phrases You Should Learn Before Visiting the City

If you have ever visited New Orleans, you know that it has its own vocabulary, and the locals have their own way of communicating. Ever since its 1718 inception, the city’s multicultural settlers have woven their foreign expressions and pronunciations into the shared language and ultimately transformed the dialect into the special jargon it is today. The Big Easy’s linguistic evolution blended decades-old influences from a diverse scenario of cultures and communities. Here’s a crash-course of 15 phrases and words that’ll help you learn how to talk that NOLA talk.“Pass a good time”Originating from the French form ofpass, “pass a good time” is a phrase used by New Orleans natives when they feel it’s time to start having a good time. It is a recklessly pursuing chant for pleasure and fun. For example, if you go toPat O’Brien’sand order a Hurricane to drink, you are bound to “pass a good time.”“Lagniappe”Pronounced as a French word,lagniappe(lan-yap) is a Cajun-French inspired noun that me...