The Provenance of the Bad Nickname “Text”

I was in conversation with a not entirely disagreeable Texan.

“I don’t have a good nickname,” she said.

“No?” I asked.

“People call me Tex sometimes,” she said. “That’s about it.”

“That won’t do,” I said.

“No,” she said. “It doesn’t.”

I gave the matter some thought. The woman was a Texan. That was the extent of my knowledge about her.

“What about Text?” I asked.

“What?” she asked.

“Text,” I repeated.

The expression on the tolerable Texan’s face indicated I had suggested a bad nickname.