Ya mom and dem
“Everyone (else),” or “the others,” as in: “We’re havin’ a fais do-do. Bring ya mom and dem!”
Where y’at?
“How are you?” or “What’s goin’ on?”
Yeah you right!
An expression of agreement.
pass a good time
Common Cajun vernacular meaning, simply, “have a good time.”
Cajun
The predominant cultural signifier of Southwest Louisiana’s population. The word is a vernacular abbreviation of “Acadian,” as Louisiana’s “Cajuns” are descended from the French settlers who were expelled by the British from the eastern maritime region of Canada known as Acadia.
bourrée
A popular Cajun card game.
gris-gris
Traditionally, black magic, but more commonly used colloquially/in jest to denote trickery, good or bad luck, etc.
frottoir
Washboard; used for both laundry purposes and in traditional Cajun zydeco music.
fais do-do
A Cajun party centered around music and dancing; or, literally, go to sleep.
zydeco
A traditional Cajun music genre, the name of which is a colloquial abbreviation, pronounced in vernacular accent, of “les haricots.” According to tradition, Monday is laundry day, when the household would wash clothes on washboards and prepare a meal of red beans and rice over the course of the day. The washboards became an impromptu instrument, used to play music while laundering clothes and waiting for the beans, or “les haricots,” to cook. Pronounced with Cajun inflections, “les haricots” sounds, phonetically, like “zydeco.”