19 Words That Have A Totally Different Meaning In New Mexico

"Christmas" is the way we order our food.

1. Christmas

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What other people think it means: The most wonderful time of the year.

What people from New Mexico know it means: The answer to the most common question asked by restaurant servers in the state: “Red or green?” “Christmas” means you want it both ways.

2. Balloons

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What other people think it means: Air-filled birthday decorations, or what you buy at the florist when you can't afford flowers.

What people from New Mexico know it means: The breathtaking sight as hundreds of vibrantly colored, whimsical hot-air balloons take flight over Albuquerque at the annual International Balloon Fiesta.

3. Tumbleweeds

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What other people think it means: Cute decorations representing the Wild West.

What people from New Mexico know it means: Menacing, nasty, thorny assemblages of evil that chase innocent pedestrians, shut down traffic, and trap people inside their own homes.

4. The Pit

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What other people think it means: That thing you spit out of cherries. (Also: That place you sniff under your arms.)
What people from New Mexico know it means: The subterranean home of the outstanding UNM Lobos basketball teams. Its fans are some of the nation’s loudest and proudest, and when you’re watching a game there, everyone’s a Lobo. Woof woof woof!

5. Adobe

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What other people think it means: The software giant whose products include Photoshop, Flash, and Acrobat.

What people from New Mexico know it means: Our native architecture, revered for its beautiful simplicity and environmental sustainability.

6. Green

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What other people think it means: A color that Kermit the frog doesn’t find it easy to be.
What people from New Mexico know it means: Green chile — vastly superior to red tbh — and a staple in most New Mexican foods. And that includes pizza, apple pie, and guacamole.

7. Hatch

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What other people think it means: What Desmond Hume called home on Lost.

What people from New Mexico know it means: The Chile Capital of the World and the only type of chile worth eating.

8. Isotopes

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What other people think it means: Something to do with atoms and the Periodic Table.

What people from New Mexico know it means: Albuquerque’s Minor League baseball team, named after The Simpsons’ hometown team. (Homer started a hunger strike when they threatened to relocate from Springfield to Albuquerque.) The Isotopes are cheered on by one of the most ridiculous mascots in sports: a “large, goofy alien” named Orbit.

9. Holiday wreaths

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What other people think it means: A circular decoration fashioned from rejected Christmas trees.

What people from New Mexico know it means: Leave those evergreen branches on the ground where you found them. Ristras — made of drying (and edible!) red chiles — are the way we celebrate the season.

10. Breaking Bad

AMC

What other people think it means: The greatest TV series of all time.

What people from New Mexico know it means: Ours, bitch!

11. "Q"

Albuquerque Studios / Via Facebook: ABQStudios

What other people think it means: The 17th letter of the alphabet, a musical starring puppets, and/or a mischievous Star Trek character.

What people from New Mexico know it means: Short for Albuquerque. Breaking Bad shot at Q Studios, which is where you’ll end up if you follow the GPS coordinates hidden in Walter White's infamous lottery ticket.

12. Honey

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What other people think it means: A term of endearment, or a sweetener for tea or toast.
What people from New Mexico know it means: What you squirt into your sopaipillas when you're eating them for dessert (as opposed to the sopaipillas you ate as an appetizer and main course).

13. Blake's

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What other people think it means: The singers on The Voice who are competing on Blake Shelton’s team.

What people from New Mexico know it means: Blake’s Lotaburger, founded in the Q in ’52 and the tastiest burger and fries this side of the moon. (Only a fool orders a Lotaburger without green chiles.)

14. Luminarias

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What other people think it means: Decorative lights.

What people from New Mexico know it means: The holiday season. (Albuquerque's annual Luminaria Tour shows how much magic you can make with a paper bag, some sand, and a candle.)

15. Frontier

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What other people think it means: Uncharted territory.

What people from New Mexico know it means: Where you'll find the best cinnamon buns in the Southwest. This must be where sweet rolls go when they die.

16. Taos

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What other people think it means: Where Julia Roberts lives.

What people from New Mexico know it means: Nirvana for artists (its artist colony included Georgia O'Keeffe and Ansel Adams), skiers (the Taos Ski Valley boasts some of the most challenging slopes in the country), and spiritual pilgrims.

17. Truth or Consequences

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What other people think it means: An old game show.

What people from New Mexico know it means: An actual town (known to us as “T or C”) named after a game show. People who aren't scared off by the name soak in its famous hot springs or stock up on sun ’n' fun supplies on the way to Elephant Butte Lake.

18. Turquoise

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What other people think it means: A blue-green stone; the color of same.

What people from New Mexico know it means: The color/mineral adorning most structures, decor, jewelry, and closets in the state. Love it or hate it, turquoise is inescapable in N.M.

19. Sky

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What other people think it means: That vaguely blue thing you see when you look up.

What people from New Mexico know it means: An awe-inspiring glimpse into heaven.