"Ope" and other midwestern sayings...

smokehouse

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Somehow I stumbled on this dumb article of "midwest" saying and things we do. A few of them I already knew, a couple, like "ope" is one that completely caught me off guard.

One that came up years ago is "whole-nuther"

"We're talking about televisions, sounds systems are a whole nuther thing..."

This one bothered me so much that once it was brought to my attention, I stopped saying it.

"Ope", "There you go", "'scuse me", "you're fine", "Welp", "Alright then", those are just a few that I hear all the time and often say myself.

I'll be honest, I didn't realize how often I say "Ope" until I read about it...
 

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Neon Night Rider
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I would always say, “Whoop” when I accidentally bump into someone or get into someone’s way. Or I say pardon me.
 

LoneSage

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lithy said M was a yooper, I had no idea wtf a yooper was, never heard it in my life

I looked up the definition

And I realized, wow, M's a yooper
 

lithy

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lithy said M was a yooper, I had no idea wtf a yooper was, never heard it in my life

I looked up the definition

And I realized, wow, M's a yooper

Well, gosh dern, ya learn aboat somethun new every day now dontcha?
 
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smokehouse

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lol that sounds close enough to the Greek "Opa!"

We use it both during celebrations and when we've made an error of some kind.

I had a Greek sister in law at one time, she brought me into the world of "Opa".

The main difference is one is Oh-Paw and the other is pronounced like "nope".

Around here, it's mostly when something unplanned happens.
 

NeoSneth

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I have no idea what "Ope" is.
"you're fine" - i hear all the time after saying pardon me or excuse me.
 

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Neon Night Rider
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I have no idea what "Ope" is.
"you're fine" - i hear all the time after saying pardon me or excuse me.
“Let me squeeze right past ya.” is another common one I hear around these parts. I noticed that because I say “y’all” quite often that others around me are doing the same.
 

smokehouse

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looked it up, and i may use "ope"

Man, I thought for sure that I didn't say that. I even questioned it when I read it. When I mentioned it to my wife, she immediately told me that we both say it, then gave me examples. Completely caught me off guard, I say it without even thinking about it.
 

Heinz

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Here there's a saying 'you're right' if someone bumps into you or whatever.
 

Marek

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LA is part of the rest of the country in the same manner that an asshole is part of the human body.

This, coming from a Midwesterner. :lolz:

At least LA wears its whole self on its sleeve. It knows what it is.

LA would be nothing without the millions of star struck midwesterners over the decades, dsperate to escape the forgettable banality, the grand "ope", that is pseudo-rustic Midwestern life, you betcha!
 
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smokehouse

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This, coming from a Midwesterner. :lolz:

At least LA wears its whole self on its sleeve. It knows what it is.

LA would be nothing without the millions of star struck midwesterners over the decades, dsperate to escape the forgettable banality, the grand "ope", that is pseudo-rustic Midwestern life, you betcha!

Eh...you say that as if all people in the center of the country live their life in never ending envy of coastal residents. Not all do, there are plenty of people that like rural Midwestern life. We intentionally moved to a small town...er...village so that we could live that life. There was a time in my life that I wanted to live in a large city, or closer to the west coast but the older I get, the more I want to live "in the middle of nowhere".
 

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Neon Night Rider
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Eh...you say that as if all people in the center of the country live their life in never ending envy of coastal residents. Not all do, there are plenty of people that like rural Midwestern life. We intentionally moved to a small town...er...village so that we could live that life. There was a time in my life that I wanted to live in a large city, or closer to the west coast but the older I get, the more I want to live "in the middle of nowhere".

This podcast was interesting: https://www.npr.org/2019/06/14/732847076/episode-919-are-cities-overrated

TL;DL - Big cities used to be a place where even high school grads could work their way up. If it’s not necessary to live in a big city, then it’s probably best to stay out of them. However, for highly educated and tech industry there’s an advantage to being located there.
 

smokehouse

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This podcast was interesting: https://www.npr.org/2019/06/14/732847076/episode-919-are-cities-overrated

TL;DL - Big cities used to be a place where even high school grads could work their way up. If it’s not necessary to live in a big city, then it’s probably best to stay out of them. However, for highly educated and tech industry there’s an advantage to being located there.

To me, large cities are high stress, high price, high crime, high traffic...you get the point. The older I get, the less I want to deal with any of that.

(I'll throw out the disclaimer that what I'm about to say it 100% personal opinion)

There was a saying in the Army; "If the Army wanted you to have a wife, they'd issue you one." Meaning that being single in the military isn't a horrid gig...but add in a wife, and god forbid, children and that life goes to hell in hand basket quickly. Everything is difficult.

I've always felt the same about big city living, maybe not 100% about being married but definitely about children (although I'll admit, if I wanted to go find my fortune, I wouldn't want a wife while I was doing that). I wouldn't want to have a family in a large city, the complications are immense.
 
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