Yooperisms

So, the people up here, Yoopers, have a language all of their own. If you find someone who has been here a while or an actual native Yooper, they actually DO end most of their sentences with Eh. It's true. When people mock and say Ya der eh....yes, some of them do talk like that. There are words and slang up here like any other place, that have special meanings up here...so let me fill ya in on a few things Yooper.... YOOPER - a native to the Upper Peninsula. They say if you move up here, you are not a Yooper until you have survived 7 winters. It seems I have a long way to go. Yooper is in the dictionary and on Wikipedia, look it up if you are so inclined. If you live under the bridge - they are called Trolls. Self explanatory. YOOPER CHOOK/CHUKE - a hat. See http://www.yooperchook.com/. I must own one. Just because I am not a Yooper. They have a webpage which means I can buy it online. I am sure if I looked close to home, there is a shop somewhere here that sells them. Probably at The Trap. See next. Pronounced CHOOK like BOOK or CHUKE like PUKE. DA YOOPER TOURIST TRAP - This is a large gift store. It is home to the world's largest operating chainsaw, BIG GUS, a giant larger than life rifle, some other neat things. The gift shop itself has every single touristy gift and souvenir you can think of. And they have webpage, you can shop online. Not all of it is Yooper stuff or U.P. stuff, just the majority. And a lot of fun. Even though I live here, I still stop there when the need arises. They really have some neat things in there. And they have the rock shop next door, with all of your native minerals and rocks, pretty cool to see. To read a little more about it, visit http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/10890 - you can even see a short video of Big Gus running. To shop - and it's worth taking a peek - http://dayoopers.com/catalog.html. Oh, and by the way, those songs you hear by 'Da Yoopers' - The Second Week of Deer Camp, Rusty Chevrolet - The leader of that band owns the Tourist Trap. Yes, there are Yooper celebrities even in Ishpeming. Pasty - Looks like a giant hot pocket. It is a native thing up here, Finnish, a crust filled with meat and potato or rutabaga....I am not really sure what all is in them. I had one a year or so ago, not from up here, from a place down in Green Bay claiming to make real U.P. pasties. It was bland and eh. Then I was told to cover it in ketchup. Eh it was still just ok. So I still want to try one up here to see if they are any different. It will be on my plate someday at Jean Kays, I hear theirs are the talk of the town. Anyhow, It is pronounced PASTEE - NOT Paste-eee. Short A. The long A pasty are the little things with tassels that go on your boobs. I have yet to see them up here but I am sure I will stumble upon them somewhere. CANUCKS - Canadians CHEESEHEADS - native of Wisconsin - that would be me and proud of it! CUDIGHI - (Pronounced KOOD-IG-HEE) A spicy meat/hamburger mixture up here that is famous in Yooperland. Everyone has their own recipe apparently. I have tried it once and it was too spicy for me. I will try it again someday I am sure. In fact, I have some thawing in the fridge right now from about 2013, lol. Maybe I will fix it up nice and feed it to the boys... TROLL - persons living under the big bridge ISH - short for Ishpeming DA SOO - short for sault St. Marie MITTEN - not something you wear on your hands. It is lower Michigan. You have the U.P. and you have the Mitten. Two very different places. DREADED DASH OF DEATH - I just found this one online - it was described as trying to cross US41 and not get killed by a Boss beer truck. I know the feeling, as I live on the opposite side of the highway from the Trap and to get into Ish or to Marquette, we have to cross highway 41, turn left. It is quite a mad suicide ride. You have to find the right moment to go and if you don't, you can be sitting there for sometime. Or you can pull out into the suicide lane and sit there, hoping none of the big Van Damme trains whizzing by are being driven by an all night sleepy driver. HOLY WAH - A Yooper term, meaning Holy Shit. I thought only Tony said it. Nope. It's listed online as a Yooperism. OMG. LOL. I can't say I have never said it. That would be a lie. But it is only called for on special occasions. KROMER - The Yooper hat with ears. I call them Elmer Fudd hats. They are made in Milwaukee, WI. 906 - This is something sacrilegious to Yoopers. If you are a Yooper and proud of it, you have to have a 906 area code. It's just a thing. Don't ask. THE SENEY STRETCH - 18 mile stretch of M-28 from Seney to Shingleton. Lots of trees, not much else. SNOW COW - Moose SWAMPERS - rubber boots worn in mud season (Spring). Not winter boots. TRENARY TOAST - A very popular hard cinnamon toast, dunked in coffee or tea. I did try it once, did not care for it, as I tried it plain, no coffee, no tea, I don't drink either, so my loss I guess. Not only a native thing but a touristy thing as well. FUDGIE - A tourist that goes to Mackinaw just for fudge A MICHIGAN LEFT - So, up here there is a lack of traffic lights. Instead, you turn right onto a street and then take an immediate left (U Turn) at the next crossover. It drives me nuts sometimes and I always forget about them. ELMER AHO - Elmer is a legend of his own kind. He is the host of American Country Gold on 103.3 every Saturday night and he plays every request he gets when he can fit them in. That's all of my Yooperisms for now. I am sure I will be able to add more as time goes on. I have decided I will never get an accent and never talk "Yooper" but Tony disagrees with me. I still think he should put a friendly wager on this.... :-) Until next time - A Cheesehead living in a Yooperland.... ~S