Funny Things Every Square Dancer Has Said

Square dancers have their own language.

Some of it makes perfect sense.
Some of it sounds absolutely ridiculous outside the hall.

And honestly? That’s part of the charm.

One of the funniest moments is sitting around a restaurant table after a dance with callers and dancers, casually carrying on a completely normal conversation — at least normal to us. Meanwhile, the people at the next table are overhearing things like, “The Reverse Flutterwheel out of that Load The Boat was rough,” or “I thought we were in Lines, not Waves,” and you can almost see them trying to determine whether we’re discussing advanced mathematics, farm equipment, or some kind of secret society. Honestly, if you’re not a square dancer, phrases like Flutterwheel and Relay the Deucey sound completely made up. And to be fair… “Deucey” barely sounds like a real word even when you are a dancer.

If you’ve danced long enough, you’ve probably heard — or personally said — at least a few of these:

• “Wait… who’s my corner?”
• “I knew where I was until you asked me.”
• “Just smile confidently. Nobody will notice.”
• “We are completely wrong.”
• “Well… this is definitely a square.”
• “I think we invented a new formation.”
• “Somebody important looks concerned.”
• “Do NOT follow me.”
• “We’re close enough.”
• “The caller sounds nervous.”
• “I had it three calls ago.”
• “How did we end up here?”
• “I swear that made sense in my head.”
• “Pretend this was intentional.”
• “Home? Emotionally or geographically?”
• “That was smooth right up until it absolutely wasn’t.”
• “We lost one.”
• “I can recover this. Probably.”
• “Everybody act natural.”
• “This square runs entirely on optimism.”
• “TURN LEFT! NO! THE OTHER LEFT!”

And then there are the phrases only square dancers say with complete seriousness:

• “Can we get just one more couple?”
• “It’s only Plus.”
• “I dance better after snacks.”
• “We need stronger angels in this square.”
• “That hot hash was fast. (or slow…)”
• “I love a caller who keeps you humble.”

The truth is, square dancing creates some of the funniest moments because it lives somewhere between teamwork, chaos, timing, and blind optimism.

Eight people trying to solve a moving puzzle in real time will always create comedy eventually.

Especially when everyone is convinced somebody else knows what’s happening.

But somehow, by the end of the tip, most squares recover, everybody laughs, and someone says:

“Okay… NOW I remember how that works.”