# Do Texans (and other gulf-coasters) really say Pure-Dee? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 7, 2005, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-texans-and-other-gulf-coasters-really-say-pure-dee/311427 "2005-07-07T06:26:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-texans-and-other-gulf-coasters-really-say-pure-dee/311427/1 "2005-07-07T06:26:22Z")
In a book by Larry McMurtry and maybe a book called something like _Topsy Dingo Wild Dog,_ people used “pure-dee” as an adverb. For example, “If you think that, you’re a pure-dee fool,” or “…make your life a pure-dee Hell.” Is that a real-life usage? I may have used it once or twice, and I’ll be embarrassed if it’s only fiction. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Audrey\_Levins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Audrey\_Levins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Audrey_Levins)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-texans-and-other-gulf-coasters-really-say-pure-dee/311427/2 "2005-07-07T07:57:16Z")
As a fifth-generation Texan (and a girl raised on the Gulf Coast, in Corpus Christi) I can honestly say I have never heard of the word “Pure-Dee.” I don’t honestly even know what it means. Is it a version of “pretty?” Is it…what is it? I have also never read any Larry McMurtry. Perhaps that is my problem. But if he’s been to Texas, particularly the southern Gulf region, he was high on something if that’s what he heard. Even my West and East Texas relatives (where the accents actually do live up to the stereotypes) have never, to my knowledge, said such a thing. I suggest he do his research. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-texans-and-other-gulf-coasters-really-say-pure-dee/311427/3 "2005-07-07T08:12:05Z")
I believe the OP means pure D, as in wholesale or complete, not purdy as in pretty. ---
**Author:** ![Audrey\_Levins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Audrey\_Levins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Audrey_Levins)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-texans-and-other-gulf-coasters-really-say-pure-dee/311427/4 "2005-07-07T08:13:43Z")
Still never heard of it, or anything similar to it. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-texans-and-other-gulf-coasters-really-say-pure-dee/311427/5 "2005-07-07T08:13:54Z")
Adding, I think it’s more of a “Hollywood” depiction, though I’ve got some older relatives who have used the term for whimsical effect, though they are old Midwest farmer types. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-texans-and-other-gulf-coasters-really-say-pure-dee/311427/6 "2005-07-07T08:56:55Z")
I’ve gotta say that I heard it quite often, in Texas, back in the 40s and 50s. It was usually said in a kind of self-mocking tone, as if the user knew it was a cornpone expression but was using it anyway. ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-texans-and-other-gulf-coasters-really-say-pure-dee/311427/7 "2005-07-07T10:59:30Z")
Ditto to LouisB’s reply. I’ve only heard it used ironically (in a “Minnie Pearl” sorta voice). ---
**Author:** ![MagicEyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@MagicEyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MagicEyes)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-texans-and-other-gulf-coasters-really-say-pure-dee/311427/8 "2005-07-07T12:23:29Z")
[Freda Black](http://www.vanceholmes.com/court/trial_m_peterson.html) used “pure-t” in court in North Carolina. I thought it was very unprofessional, but she won the case. I’ve never heard anyone else use it. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-texans-and-other-gulf-coasters-really-say-pure-dee/311427/9 "2005-07-07T12:31:52Z")
I grew up in Arkansas, and I’ve heard it. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-texans-and-other-gulf-coasters-really-say-pure-dee/311427/10 "2005-07-07T13:14:49Z")
It’s used in these here parts. Usually combined with “bullshit”, as in, “My boss told me I had to be at work on Saturday. Man, that’s pure D bullshit.” ---
**Author:** ![Mint\_Julep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bc79bd/32.png) [@Mint\_Julep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mint_Julep)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-texans-and-other-gulf-coasters-really-say-pure-dee/311427/11 "2005-07-07T16:49:38Z")
I have never heard of it. I have heard people say purr-dee instead of pretty though. (Makes my skin crawl.) ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-texans-and-other-gulf-coasters-really-say-pure-dee/311427/12 "2005-07-07T18:23:41Z")
In Georgia it’s “pure-t”, but actual usage is rare. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-texans-and-other-gulf-coasters-really-say-pure-dee/311427/13 "2005-07-07T18:50:15Z")
Heh. It seems the Pure Dee is the Net’s hottest 18 year old camgirl. :dubious: Anyway, I can’t find a definition, but taken in context, the D might mean “damn”. ---
**Author:** ![Unregistered\_Bull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3da27b/32.png) [@Unregistered\_Bull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unregistered_Bull)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-texans-and-other-gulf-coasters-really-say-pure-dee/311427/14 "2005-07-07T19:26:52Z")
I use it while speaking sometimes. I’m New Mexican but with a Texan and Okie background. Pure-D loco; Pure-D mean; Pure-D insane… It’s kind of like using “plumb.” Plumb mean; plumb loco; plumb crazy. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-texans-and-other-gulf-coasters-really-say-pure-dee/311427/15 "2005-07-07T19:27:59Z")
Hamsters got this before… I’m sort of surprised no one else has heard this. I’m in the Texas Panhandle, the Texas accent and regionalisms are very pronounced here. For more context, I guess “bona fied” or “genuine” would come close. “My boss made me work Saturday, he’s a pure D asshole.” Something along those lines. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-texans-and-other-gulf-coasters-really-say-pure-dee/311427/16 "2005-07-07T19:54:13Z")
I grew up in northeastern Oklahoma, where “pure D” is often used as an intensifier. I don’t hear it as much these days as I did in the '50s and '60s, but it’s a genuine expression. My mother used to call things “pure D bull,” meaning “total bullshit.” My mom must have used this expression several times a day when I was a kid. We get a lot of bullshit in northeastern Oklahoma (both the real kind and the figurative kind). ---
**Author:** ![auntie\_em](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@auntie\_em](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auntie_em)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-texans-and-other-gulf-coasters-really-say-pure-dee/311427/17 "2005-07-07T20:07:32Z")
My mom (who is from Kansas) uses it, but only when it’s followed by “fit”, as in, “She had a pure-d fit when I told her I’d been using her toothbrush to de-flea the dog.” She does not use it as an adjective with any other word except “fit”. But it has the same meaning as others here have said. ---
**Author:** ![Adoptamom\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Adoptamom\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Adoptamom_II)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-texans-and-other-gulf-coasters-really-say-pure-dee/311427/18 "2005-07-07T21:04:07Z")
Cajun country checking in - it’s used here in the same manner Duke of Rat outlined. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-texans-and-other-gulf-coasters-really-say-pure-dee/311427/19 "2005-07-07T22:00:33Z")
Yeah, “pure d” is used in the sense of “bona fide,” “genuine,” or “first class,” as in “man, you must think I’m a Pure D, Grade A idiot if you think I’ll believe that.” ---
**Author:** ![elelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@elelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elelle)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-texans-and-other-gulf-coasters-really-say-pure-dee/311427/20 "2005-07-07T22:45:46Z")
I’ve heard it, too, in North Carolina and Mississippi. Always figgered the “D” was a shortening of Damn(ed), but couldn’t find any internet cite for it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-texans-and-other-gulf-coasters-really-say-pure-dee/311427.md?page=2)