37 Michigan sayings & slang words, explained

Those of us from the Mitten know all about Michigan sayings, but do you know where they actually came from? 

As born-and-bred Michiganders, my family and I often joke about the common Michigan sayings we’re all guilty of using. Much of our Michigan slang is intertwined with our famous Michigan accent, which makes it all the more Midwestern.

Truthfully, I didn’t even know we Michiganders had our own accent until I was on the phone with one of my editors from New York. To my ears, we sounded exactly the same, but to my surprise, at one point, she laughed and made a comment about my Michigan accent. That sent me down a long rabbit hole of learning more about the Michigan accent and our Michigan sayings. (Now, I notice that people comment on our Michigan accent whenever we travel—sometimes, I’m a little embarrassed by it, but what can you do, eh?) 

Here’s a primer for those of you who aren’t familiar with Michigan sayings and slang, where they originated from, and what they actually mean. 

Common Michigan sayings

First things first: Let’s cover some general Michigan sayings and slang that you might encounter. If you’re not from Michigan, you will almost definitely hear at least one of these Michigan sayings during a visit, so you’ll be prepared with this handy translation checklist. And if you are from Michigan, you might be surprised to realize how many of these sayings are specific to our state. I know I was!

• Yeah, no, yeah = Yeah
• No, yeah = Also yeah
• Yeah, no = No
• No, yeah, no = No
• Pop = soda or Coke to you Southerners 
• Vernors = Ginger ale
• Meijers = Meijer, the grocery store
• Krogers = Kroger, the grocery store
• Ope = general Midwest term for “oops,” surprise, or even to express awkwardness
• “I’m just going to squeeze past ya” = “Excuse me”
• Fer = for 
• Crick = Creek
• “Watch out for deer = “I love you”
• Welp, accompanied by a knee slap = universal sign for “I’d better get going”
• Michigan goodbye = standing by the door yet continuing to talk for an hour without leaving
• Michigan left = Making a left off a one-way onto another one-way in order to actually go right 
• Mitten = slang for the state of Michigan
• 1-800-CALL SAM = get a lawyer 
• Kitty-corner = Catty corner 
• Grodge = garage
• Euchre = riveting card game of the Midwest
• “I says to him, I says ” = “I said to him” or “I told him”
• “I goes” =  I says” 
• “Geez Louise” or “Geez o Pete’s” = exclamation of shock, awe, or other emphasis 
• Ponny-ack = Pontiac
• Prolly = Probably 
• Mm-bye = Bye
• Mmmk = OK
• Yello = Hello
• Pank the snow = Upper Peninsula slang for packing down snow with a shovel
• Coney Island = a Michigan-specific restaurant that serves specialty hot dogs and other diner-esque food
• U.P. = Michigan’s Upper Peninsula
• Melk = Milk 
• You betcha = You got it or That’s correct or general term of agreement 
• Party store = convenience store or liquor store 
• The Mitten = a general term for Michigan because the lower peninsula is shaped like a Mitten
• The Thumb = term for southeastern Michigan, the “thumb” of the Mitten

Where did Michigan sayings and slang come from?

Like many general slang words and sayings, the origins of Michigan vernacular aren’t always quite clear. According to Reddit, one theory is that the people who settled in Michigan had a heavy influence on the eventual slang and sayings. For instance, many people who moved to Southeastern Michigan were from the Southern states of the U.S., so Southern ways of speaking stuck around. 

Regional influences also play a role. For instance, in Southeastern Michigan, where I live, it’s common to describe where you live based on known geographical points in Michigan. No one has any idea where my small town is, so I’ll often describe where I’m from as “south of Flint” or “a few hours north of Detroit,” since those areas are more well known. We also tend to describe location in time intervals instead of actual miles. 

Michigan development also played a part in some of our common slang. For instance, Vernors and Faygo were two huge Michigan companies that referred to soda as “pop.”  The theory is that outside of an actual soda fountain, sealed carbonated soda made a “popping” sound when opened in a bottle, which is where the name came from. And in Michigan, because Vernors owned so much soda, some people wound up just generally referring to carbonated beverages as Vernors, even if they had different flavors. I would say calling pop “Vernors” is more common with older generations in Michigan, as the younger generation doesn’t tend to drink it, and the company isn’t as prevalent as it once was. 

Other ways Michiganders pronounce and say words and phrases simply come down to our Michigan accents. According to outsiders, Michiganders are infamous for rushing words together in a sentence or even blurring words together. We also pronounce even short “a” sounds with a long “a” sound and tend to swap out “t” sounds for “d” sounds, such as wadder = water. 

Michigan sayings, slangs, and even accents can also have Canadian influences, especially in cities near Canada, like Port Huron and Detroit. The bigger Michigan cities are also known for having more prominent Michigan accents. Despite the many distinct Michigan sayings and slang we are known for, some sources say the traditional Michigan accent and way of speaking are on the decline. 

So who knows? Maybe it’s up to you to preserve our Michigan way of life—we can split a pop to toast to that. 

This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.