Amarillo is a colorful city. We’ve got completely different cultures on every corner of this town. It kind of goes to figure that we’ve got a list of different nicknames for this place. Let’s jump on in and kick around the different aliases that are currently in vogue for Amarillo.

1. Yellow City

This is the obvious moniker for Amarillo. I mean, if you don’t get this one, you’ve failed at life. Amarillo is Spanish for ‘yellow’, and what are we surrounded by? A wide open and flat landscape of beautiful golden fields of yellow maize.

See also: Yella Hella, Yella, Yellowtown, Yellow

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2. The 806

The number 806 refers to the area code of Amarillo and Lubbock (and the little bitty surrounding towns, of course). So this one is a bit of a cheat because it doesn’t exclusively refer to Amarillo--but so sue me, I like it. It’s choppy, it pops right off the tongue, and it’s fun to say. Plus, it’s the name of my favorite local coffee shop (sup, Jason?)

See also: H806 (get it? Hate-806. It’s very clever. Really)

3. Bomb City

This is the current and most popular incarnation of Amarillo’s many nicknames. Despite how often it’s used in naming….oh….EVERY new business as of late, it’s probably my favorite and let me explain why. How did we get the nickname Bomb City? Because right outside the city limits is Pantex. What is Pantex? Pantex is the United State’s primary nuclear weapon assembly and disassembly plant.

Every time a treaty is signed between a foreign nation and the U.S., it almost always requires that the country transfer their nuclear arsenal over to us. Guess where that nuclear arsenal comes? That’s right. Amarillo, Texas. We have, to put it simply, literally "got the nuclear bomb(s)".

The more you think about this concept, the more of an absolute trip it is. We got the bombs. We are Bomb City.

When I die, I’ve made sure that this epitaph is put on my headstone: “Sarah Clark….here lay a woman who learned to stop worrying and love The Bomb City”

4. Skrilla

This one is a little bit more “hood”, if you would. Don’t get me wrong, I love the alias Skrilla. I hear this one all the time when I’m with my buddies on the North side of the town. Honestly, there’s a certain magic that comes with this particular alias. North Amarillo can honestly be described as a city of its own. You can tell exactly when you enter the "North side", it's so wholly distinct. So when I hear a snappy drawl peppered with that agile urban edge (it's a vocal inflection thats unique to that side of town; if you know, you know) say “Skrilla”.....I smile.

For no other reason but the sake of hometown pride, I smile.

For no other reason but the fact that I know exactly what part of town the person hails from when they say ‘Skrilla’, I smile.

This is for you, Realest of the Skrilla-- cheers!

See also: Skrilla-Dilla

5. Scamarillo

Alright, this one, I’ll admit: I’m including it on this list for the simple fact that we have what seems like a million scams going around. I mean, there’s the plumbing scam that’s coming in the wake of last week’s winter storm. Then you’ve got the complete freakin’ genius who's making phone calls under the guise of a high-ranking Lieutenant with the Randall County Sheriff’s Office, demanding that people post bail money. And that’s just two of them. Amarillo is a lovely town, but thank the Lord that most of the citizens have a lick of common sense about them.

$2.7 Million Amarillo Home with a Lazy River

 

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