![Tyson Foods Plant [Photo: Food Manufacturing]](https://southarkansassun.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/iStock_1185520857__1_.5e441daa51cca-600x337.jpg)
![Silverado Senior Living Management Inc. [Photo: Los Angeles Times]](https://southarkansassun.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/download-6-4-600x337.jpg)
![China's Wuhan Institute of Virology [Photo: Nature]](https://southarkansassun.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/d41586-021-01529-3_19239608-600x337.jpg)
Florida isn’t just the land of sunshine—it’s the land of swamp logic, hurricane humor, and the occasional alligator in your pool. Between the retirees doing 45 in the left lane and iguanas falling from trees like frozen lizards of doom, Florida has its own dictionary. If you’ve ever turned on the news and thought, “Please don’t let it be a Florida Man from my county,” this list will feel painfully accurate.
1. “Is it tourist season or just snowbird season?”
Either way, someone’s driving under the speed limit with a blinker on… for 20 miles.
2. “It’s not hot, it’s humid.”
Like breathing through a wet sock. Don’t even try to style your hair.
3. “We don’t do basements—because we’d drown.”
Florida homes: built on sand, hope, and a suspiciously high water table.
4. “Publix subs hit different.”
No one says “sandwich.” It’s a Pub Sub, and it’s sacred.
5. “The A/C is broken—send help.”
This is a full-blown emergency. Forget hurricanes, THIS is a crisis.
6. “We just ride it out.”
Said during hurricane warnings while grilling ribs, sipping beer, and ignoring evacuation orders.
7. “Don’t touch the wildlife.”
This applies to gators, snakes, and that guy in a Speedo feeding seagulls.
8. “I got bit by a fire ant, a mosquito, and the sun.”
Just a normal walk to the mailbox.
9. “It dropped below 65—I’m freezing!”
Break out the Uggs, scarves, and mild panic.
10. “That lizard’s name is Carl. He lives on the porch.”
He’s your uninvited roommate now. Deal with it.
11. “You live in Florida and don’t go to the beach?”
Yeah. Because it’s 109 degrees, the sand burns your feet, and everyone else is there.
12. “You’re not a real Floridian unless you’ve wrestled your trash bin during hurricane prep.”
Bonus points if it involved zip ties, a pool noodle, and a neighbor named Ron.
If all of these made perfect sense, congratulations—you’ve achieved certified Floridian status and probably have a weird sunburn to prove it. If not, stick around long enough and you’ll start calling 80 degrees “breezy,” develop a Publix chicken tender addiction, and own three pairs of flip-flops for different occasions. Just don’t feed the gators, and you’ll do fine.
The post 12 Phrases You’ll Only Understand If You Live in Florida appeared first on When In Your State.