How Well Do You Know Midwestern Lingo?

By: Lauren Lubas
Estimated Completion Time
4 min
How Well Do You Know Midwestern Lingo?
Image: Image Source / Image Source / Getty Images

About This Quiz

Everyone seems to think they can nail down a Midwestern accent like it's no big deal. However, if you grew up in the Midwest, you probably know that there are dozens of accents and hundreds of slight variations of those accents, so people from the coasts never seem to have it right. Someone from Minnesota will say completely different things than someone from Chicago, but we're all from the Midwest, and we have a lot of lingo that other people might not know. As a matter of fact, a Chicagoan might know exactly what a Minnesotan is saying when they hear "yeah, bye" on the phone, and everyone in the Midwest is privy to the different words for different foods in their region ... how else would we order our favorite foods with extra cheese, extra sauce and extra everything that we can get our hands on?

You might not know what a stop and go light is, but you can figure it out along the way. Whether you were born and raised where the corn meets the Great Lakes or you're a coastal dweller trying to test your knowledge of the "flyover" states, this quiz is going to be tough, because it covers every nuance of Midwestern lingo.  

Your house probably has a family room or a living room. In the Midwest, what is it called?
Front room
Living area
Parlor
Rumpus room
If something is great or even relatively cool, what is it in Midwest terms?
Billows
Awesome
Pillows
Fine
How do many northern Midwest folk end their sentences?
See
Dontcha know
Yar
You get me?

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Instead of taking the Lord's name in vain, what will a Midwesterner exclaim?
Cheese and rice!
Milk and mice!
Give me thrice!
She's a price!
When a Chicagoan wants to say "three," how is it pronounced?
Free
See
Chree
Turee
If you're in Wisconsin and someone says "ya dere, hey," what are they saying to you?
Hello
Goodbye
See ya
Where did you come from?

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If someone is giving you directions in Illinois, how do they reference traffic lights?
Big light
Stop light
The light
Under light
The Midwest has a lot of smaller towns. What do people in the big cities of the Midwest call rural areas?
The sticks
The corn
The fall
The fields
When everyone in the world is playing "duck, duck, goose," what are the Minnesotans playing?
"Duck, duck, moose"
"Duck, goose, duck"
"Ducky love"
"Duck, duck, gray duck"

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How do Midwesterners refer to highways?
Roadways
Routes
Expressways
Stephensons
Car wrecks are frightening things, but do you know what someone from the Midwest calls them?
Accident
Charcoal
Rollover
Bonder
Paying your electric bill in the Midwest is often known as what?
Paying the light bill
Paying the electrical bill
Paying the big bill
Playing the game

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Do you know what a Midwesterner calls the device that heats the water in your house?
Water heater
Hot water heater
Cold heater
Ice breaker
What would someone from Wisconsin or Illinois call a group of people?
All of you
All yous
Alla ya'll
Ya'll
In the Midwest, what would someone call a pair of high heels?
Heels
Spikes
Stilettos
Dress shoes

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Casseroles are a Midwest staple, but they don't call them casseroles. What do people in the Midwest call them?
Hotdishes
Swimmers
Mixers
Fillers
If someone says "Jeet," what are they saying?
Did you eat?
Are you leaving?
When are you coming back?
Are you okay?
When someone in the Midwest bumps into you, what will they generally exclaim?
Sorry!
Move!
Watch it!
Ope!

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Carbonated drinks in the Midwest are often called what?
Soda
Drinkage
Pop
Tonic
How will a Midwesterner describe you if you have had too many adult beverages?
Schnockered
Litis
Fullion
Sleepy
What would you call a traffic light in Wisconsin?
Flight
Trafficers
Stop and go light
Slappers

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In the Midwest, how would someone say "yes" to you?
MMMM
Yes
You betcha
Yellow
Do you know what a water fountain is called in Wisconsin?
Drinker
Thinking
Stinker
Bubbler
If someone from the Midwest is going camping, where are they usually going?
On the go
Into the woods
Up nort'
Out back

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When someone in the Midwest is really frustrated but still wants to be polite, what do they say?
Please
Fleas
Jeez
Meez
Comfortable shoes that you can use for running are usually called what in the Midwest?
Gym shoes
Sneakers
Soft shoes
Happy shoes
A beanbag game has a million names. What is it called in the Midwest?
Cornhole
Short fro
Mile grow
Style no

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In the rural areas of the Midwest, how is distance measured?
By blocks
By farms
By time
By miles
Where do people go on Fridays in the Midwest?
Chicken fry
Fish fry
Milk house
Underdogs
What do Midwesterners call deep fried balls of cheese?
Gross
Cheese curds
Fords
Fjords

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Do you know what a small diner in the Midwest is called?
Dirty dining
Supper club
Holes
Fallow
Can you guess what Midwesterners call fireflies?
Lightning bugs
Fire butts
Bright flies
Greenies
When something is gross, what will a Midwesterner say?
Gross
Raw
Isch
Blah

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"Sticker shock" is when someone looks at a price and is surprised at how much the item costs. When a Midwesterner has sticker shock, what do they say?
"That is way expensive."
"It's too spendy for me."
"I can't afford this."
"No thank you!"
What is another word for "vacuum" in the Midwest?
Sweeper
Sheeter
Fleeper
Creeper