by Kelli Bowen
As I go through the day *kind of * minding my own business, I notice that the people have certain phrases that come out regularly. Some of these are strictly North Dakotan, or at least Midwest, and some have more than one meaning. Here are some of my favorites.
“Oh yeah?” This one deals entirely on inflection. Generally there’s the interested “Oh yeah?” That’s a request for more information, supporting facts or cited sources. The uninterested “oh yeah” means the person isn’t listening, unfortunately sometimes a person doesn’t get the pitch right and ends up sounding interested when not, and then is trapped in a never-ending story.
“Truth be told.” I cannot make this any plainer for you…listen.
“Swear to God.” I’m only slightly embellishing for the sake of the story. This seems far-fetched, but the nuts and bolts of the story are as factual as I remember. I may have been overly-tired/not sober/not paying attention at the time though.
“Yeah No.” This means I acknowledge your request or view of this particular issue, but that is, by no way, what’s actually happening.
“Want to grab a drink/beer?” Means I am bored. I want a change of scenery. You are not annoying me at this moment, so let’s go.
“Yeah No Yeah.” I am reconsidering my earlier dismissal of your stance and actually probably agree with you.
“Let me check with <significant other>” I’m not checking with significant other, but I don’t have the energy to think of an excuse to not do the thing you are asking and to just flat-out say “no” seems rude, because we’re from the Midwest.
“I need a drink/beer.” I’m am stressed out; feeling a bit murdery and need to get away from the stress-inflicting source. This really is I need a break/pause/reset.
“We need to get a drink/beer soon” I miss your face. I’d like to see you outside of the usual environment we see each other in, or would like to see you in person versus through messaging or online.
“Do you need a beer?” This is an escape-hatch offer, if you follow that person, you will get out of the environment you are in currently and are going on an adventure. You may get to see neat things, a collection of some kind maybe, perhaps hear a entertaining anecdote or get one level deeper into someone’s home. You may just be walking into the kitchen, but the answer to this question is always yes.
“Well I suppose”…this phrase is uttered when a person wishes to initiate the Midwest Goodbye. The Midwest Goodbye takes at least a half hour and includes such non-threatening body language as the double-knee-slap before standing, the hang-onto-the-doorknob while talking for a minimum of 10 minutes, potentially a peek at the calendar to see what’s happening in the future, and only after all rituals have been executed, as the leaver leaves, the leavee ends with a “Take Care,” “Buh-bye” or “Byeeeee.”
“Woah, It’s getting late.” You need to get out of my house. If we are in public, this phrase is said in lieu of the Midwest Goodbye. The “Woah” allows for it to sound like you lost track of time because your company was so interesting, but really you’re just DONE with this. Get out. Time is a factor.
There you go. If you find yourself meandering through social situations with North Dakotans, feel free to use any of the above statements. Well I’ve been hanging onto this doorknob for about 10 minutes…woah, it’s getting late. Byeee.
Kelli makes her home in Cass County with her husband, two daughters (8 and 5) and two dogs. She works for a regional seed company by day and tries to be an alright mom, wife, friend and writer by night.
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