“Corps conducts snow surveys in Minnesota”byU.S. Army Corps of Engineersis licensed underCC BY 2.0
What it means everywhere else: Flurries or one to two inches of mild snow.
What it means in Minnesota: At least three to five feet of heavy snow.
“casserole”bycoziestis licensed underCC BY 2.0
What it means everywhere else: A plate of any food that has a high temperature.
What it means in Minnesota: The right way to say casserole.
“caprese salad”byAlexis Lamsteris licensed underCC BY 2.0
What it means everywhere else: A light dish made from leafy greens, vegetables, maybe some white meat, and dressing.
What it means in Minnesota: Jell-O, marshmallows, and maybe some fruit.
What it means everywhere else: A tomato-based condiment you put on French Fries and maybe hot dogs and burgers.
What it means in Minnesota: A tomato-based condiment you slather on your steak.
What it means everywhere else: Something may be bad, but it’s not quite as bad as it could reasonably be.
What it means in Minnesota: There is literally no way it could possibly be worse unless you and everyone you loved were simultaneously struck by lightning right now.
What it means everywhere else: Someone from Canada.
What it means in Minnesota: What everyone always assumes your nationality is when you travel to other states in the USA.
What it means everywhere else: A direct, heated argument between two or more people.
What it means in Minnesota: Nothing… because a confrontation has never actually happened in Minnesota.
What it means everywhere else: A word you use to announce that you’re parting ways with the person/people you’re talking to
.
What it means in Minnesota: At least another half an hour of chatting before you can actually leave.
What it means everywhere else: One of fifty states in the US, known for their cheese.
What it means in Minnesota: A state that you regard with a significant amount of disdain.
What it means everywhere else: The hottest of four seasons in the year and the best time for swimming, BBQs, and sunbathing.
What it means in Minnesota: The season where you literally refuse to do anything inside ever because you’re so Vitamin D deprived that your body won’t allow you to step out of the sun.
What it means everywhere else: A place where you spent four years of your life, but that rarely matters after you’ve graduated.
What it means in Minnesota: An important part of your identity for the rest of your life.
What it means everywhere else: An affirmation that something is true or correct. A synonym for yes.
What it means in Minnesota: A meaningless verbal tick. Usually pronounced without the “e” if you’re far enough north.
What it means everywhere else: Another way of saying “Don’t you know,” but usually expressing some amount of shock that the person you’re talking to wouldn’t know what you’re asking about.
What it means in Minnesota: Another meaningless verbal tick, but mostly one that only your grandma and maybe your parents use.
What it means everywhere else: Mild chilly weather that means you might need to wear a light coat.
What it means in Minnesota: You will literally freeze to death if you stand outside for more than fifteen minutes.
What it means everywhere else: A strong, positive response that shows you’re in agreement.
What it means in Minnesota: A response that could mean you feel either positively or negatively, but you’re not too keen on taking a real stance either way at the moment.
What it means everywhere else: A sturdy plastic box that seals in cold so you can keep your beer cool on a hot summer day.
What it means in Minnesota: Sticking your beer on your snowy porch for a few minutes to cool it down.
What it means everywhere else: An amazing famous musician, who took on an unpronounceable symbol as his stage name.
What it means in Minnesota: An amazing famous musician whose accomplishments you treat as your own. Prince is a Minnesotan, doncha know?
What it means everywhere else: The thing you use to sweep dirt and dust off your floor.
What it means in Minnesota: The thing you use to shove that mountain of snow off your car windshield.
What it means everywhere else: The lumbering ghost monster from the climactic final scenes of Ghost Busters.
What it means in Minnesota: What you start to look like right before you know you’ve layered up enough to stay warm in winter.
What it means everywhere else: A popular childhood game.
What it means in Minnesota: Where did the goose come from? It’s gray duck. It’s always been gray duck.
What it means everywhere else: The expression you use around little kids when you stub your toe instead of your more colorful vocabulary.
What it means in Minnesota: The bizarrely named cranberry-apple granola that you can only find in your state.
What it means everywhere else: A bird common to your state and officially designated as your state bird by the U.S. government.
What it means in Minnesota: Mosquitos… and plenty of them.
What it means everywhere else: A disgusting “cake” that no one ever eats, but that is still sometimes given as a holiday gift by strange great aunts or people who don’t really like you.
What it means in Minnesota: Lutefisk, the fruitcake of Minnesota.
What it means everywhere else: To be kind, friendly, and generally pleasant.
What it means in Minnesota: That thing that totally started in Minnesota, and that they take to a whole new level. A stranger’s car is stuck in the snow? Not for more than three minutes in Minnesota.
What it means everywhere else: A sport that’s played on the ice with long sticks carved out of wood and a puck.
What it means in Minnesota: The only sport that is ever worth watching.
What it means everywhere else: The biggest mall in America, and a place you’d totally love to explore sometime.
What it means in Minnesota: The closest thing on Earth to purgatory… tourist infested purgatory.
What it means everywhere else: To skate on ice for fun or for sport.
What it means in Minnesota: That thing you learned how to do before you learned how to walk.
What it means everywhere else: A relaxing morning by the water where you drink some beer, soak up the sun, and wait for fish to bite.
What it means in Minnesota: Freezing your butt off on the ice over a hole, but catching something delicious that makes it totally worthwhile.
{#city:
What it means everywhere else: A reasonably priced chain superstore.
What it means in Minnesota: The chain superstore that started in Minnesota and is still a place where people go to just hang out.
What other words mean something completely different in Minnesota? Tell us in the comments below!
