Michiganese-to-English Dictionary

People in Michigan speak a dialect of English that is close to, but different from, standard American English.

I'm not kidding! People actually speak like this in Michigan.

A guide to the Michiganese accent

(This is a work in progress)

A | C | D | F | H | I | J | L | P | S | T
A
acrossed (-krst', -kräst') prep.
  1. corruption of 'across': "I went acrossed the street to get some lunch."
C
come (km) v. (past tense)
  1. corruption of 'came': "A man come up to me and asked for directions."
D
dashhound (dsh' hound) (also: dash-hound, dash hound) n.
  1. corruption of 'dachshund': "This particular dog is a dashhound puppy."
F
Ford's (fôrdz) n.
  1. corruption of 'Ford' (The Ford Motor Company): "Bob works for Ford's."
H
have did (hv' dd', v-dd') v. (corruptive combination of subjunctive present perfect tense with past tense)
  1. corruption of 'have done': "They could have did that."
have went (hv' wnt', v-wnt') v. (corruptive combination of subjunctive present perfect tense with past tense)
  1. corruption of 'have gone': "They could have went to the movies yesterday."
I
I's (z) adj.
  1. corruption of 'my': "They installed the software on Bob and I's computers."
poss. pron.
  1. corruption of 'mine': "That car is Bob and I's."
(Note: 'I's' seems to eliminate the -'s from the preceding adjective or possessive pronoun in almost all cases)
is is (z' z) v.
  1. corruption of 'is' "Thing is is that he was late for work."
  2. corruption of 'is that': "The problem is is that we don't have enough money for that."
J
Jeeze-o-Petes!, Geez-o-pete! (jz'--ptz') interj.
  1. euphemism of 'Jesus Christ!': "Jeeze-o-Petes! it's cold up here in the UP!"
L
laundrymat (län'-dr-mt) n.
  1. corruption of 'laundromat': "We don't have our own washer, so we do our laundry at the laundrymat."
P
party store (pär'-t stôr') n.
  1. liquor store: "Go to the party store and buy me a case of beer."
pop (pp, päp) n.
  1. soft drink, soda, carbonated beverage: "Would you like a pop to drink?"
S
seen (sn) v. (past tense)
  1. corruption of 'saw': "I seen them at work yesterday."
stop to (stp' t', stäp' t) v. + prep.
  1. combination of 'stop by' and 'go to': "We should stop to the store on the way home."
T
tomarrow, tommarrow (t-mä'-r) n.
  1. tomorrow: "I'll give you a call tomarrow."