1. Winter
What it means everywhere else: Four months of dropping temperatures, and the occasional snowfall.
What it means in the U.P.: Eight months of blizzards, black ice, and temperatures so low your beard will frost over.
2. SISU
What it means everywhere else: A brand of very large trucks typically used to haul things.
What it means in the U.P.: Grit, determination, and resilience. As in, you’ve got to have sisu to survive a winter in the U.P.
3. Shovel
What it means everywhere else: A tool used for digging a garden or scraping a few inches of snow off of the walkway.
What it means in the U.P.: A tool so big it is no longer referred to as a shovel but instead a “Yooper Scooper.”
4. Troll
What it means everywhere else: Someone who posts comments online just to start an argument.
What it means in the U.P.: A fellow Michigander residing below the Mackinac Bridge–because Yoopers are clever and don’t want anyone to forget it.
5. Trooper
What it means everywhere else: A person that attends an event or party even when they aren’t quite feeling up to it.
What it means in the U.P.: A former troll that now resides in the Upper Peninsula.
6. Pasties
What it means everywhere else: An article of clothing used to cover an intimate area on women.
What it means in the U.P.: A mind-blowingly delish pastry that, should you get the chance to try, you must. Just don’t forget the ketchup!
7. Summer
What it means everywhere else: Four months of sunshine, fun and warmth.
What it means in the U.P.: The two months between the muddy season and tourist season, when the lake isn’t as cold and the temperatures rise–sometimes as high as 90 degrees.
8. Pank
What it means everywhere else: A nonprofit arts magazine, specializing in innovative poetry and prose.
What it means in the U.P.: To tightly pack down snow.
“You better pank that snow if you want to make a great snowman.”
9. Chopper
What it means everywhere else: Slang used to reference a motorcycle.
What it means in the U.P.: Heaven for your hands. Choppers are deer skinned mittens that are either worn over other gloves or mittens or alone with a wool lining.
10. Swampers
What it means everywhere else: A brand of tires used on trucks, jeeps and SUVs.
What it means in the U.P.: Rubber boots worn during the muddy season, or as others call it–spring.
11. Kromer
What it means everywhere else: Nothing… unless you’re a Bears fan and know of Aaron Kromer.
What it means in the U.P.: The best hat for a Yooper outdoor enthusiast. Lined with flannel and complete with ear flaps.
12. Wilderness
What it means everywhere else: An intact wild area where one occasionally spots wildlife.
What it means in the U.P.: Practically anywhere past your property border.
13. Wildlife
What it means everywhere else: Birds, squirrels, and chipmunks.
What it means in the U.P.: Moose, black bears, deer, bald eagles, wolves, bobcats, coyotes, and practically everything else that prefers the pristine Northwood forests.
14. Eh
What it means everywhere else: That you’re Canadian.
What it means in the U.P.: A word you add onto the ending of practically every sentence. The equivalent of “huh” or “right.”
15. Smear
What it means everywhere else: A streak or mark made by rubbing or touching something.
What it means in the U.P.: A nickname for the common card game Euchre.
16. Camp
What it means everywhere else: Going into the woods or to a campsite and setting up a tent.
What it means in the U.P.: Deer camp.
17. Rest Area
What it means everywhere else: A convenient location off of the freeway to stretch and use a heated, relatively clean restroom.
What it means in the U.P.: A stopping area on the side of the highway, typically in the woods and never plowed in the winter, where you can maybe use the restroom… if you can get past the smell and the fact that these are essentially just outhouses on the side of the road.
18. Taught
What it means everywhere else: The past tense of the word “teach”.
What it means in the U.P.: To think. “I taught about going to da store, but I didn’t.”
19. Grade
What it means everywhere else: What you get back on your essay about “War and Peace.”
What it means in the U.P.: An all season trail for ATVs. The grade is most frequently used by snowmobiles as a superhighway during the winter.
20. Mountains
What it means everywhere else: A large landform that forms a peak in elevation much higher than the surrounding area.
What it means in the U.P.: Mountains… or, more often, very large hills.
21. The Bridge
What it means everywhere else: A structure used to cross a river, ravine, or road.
What it means in the U.P.: The Mighty Mac. The bridge that connects the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to the Lower Peninsula of Michigan.
22. Crick
What it means everywhere else: A stiff feeling or pain felt in the neck or back.
What it means in the U.P.: A small stream, brook, or tributary of a river.
23. Pickers
What it means everywhere else: A person and/or machine that gathers, plucks, or collects something.
What it means in the U.P.: Nasty burrs that are everywhere and seem to take over all of your clothing whenever you’re even slightly near a bush.
What other words mean something different in the U.P.? Tell us in the comments below! 
