If you’ve lived in Wisconsin for any portion of your life, you’re likely guilty of one or several of these sayings.
- “Yeah, no for sure.”
Starting off strong, this phrase is something I say daily. Believe it or not, “yeah, no for sure” is actually code for “definitely”. Most people in the Midwest wouldn’t have a hard time translating this one. - “Bubbler”
Ah, bubbler. My out-of-state friends can’t seem to get enough of this word. Bubbler is what us Wisconsinites call a drinking fountain or water fountain (as the rest of the US would have it). If everyone only understood the ridicule for using this word outside of Wisconsin… - “Look, cows! (or deer, or racoons… you fill in the blank)”
Why is it that we feel the need to point out the animals we have already seen a thousand times and will likely see a thousand more times? I don’t know. But I do know I’m not going to stop anytime soon. Cows are always exciting. - “Ope”
The sincerest form of an apology. “Ope” translates to “I’m very sorry I bumped into you”. But it also can be used as an exclamation for when you make a minor mistake. - The constant need to comment about the weather
This one isn’t necessarily a saying, but it is something that is for sure to come up in small talk with a Wisconsinite. I mean, who could blame us? Wisconsin weather is unpredictable, making it an excellent conversation topic. - “You Betcha”
“You betcha” is pretty self explanatory. It is basically “you bet” with some extra flare. - “No, yeah no.”
In similar fashion as phrase number one, “no, yeah no” is contradictory. Despite the “yeah”, this phrase means “definitely not.” No, it doesn’t make sense to me either. - “Pop” (soda)
Not everyone in Wisconsin calls soda “pop”. But enough people do that it has made number 8 on my list. “Pop” is a word midwesterners use to describe soda. - “Bags” and “Bagels”
Wisconsin natives usually drag out their long “a” sounds when speaking. This accent is prominent when saying words like bag and bagel. This is another one that attracts ridicule from out-of-staters. - The Bears still suck
That’s all, that is number 10.