This Post Talks Too Much

[snurri]

Those of you who have never met me in person may not realize that I have a pronounced Minnesota accent. It is not as pronounced as say, Marge Gunderson's, but it's there. To a certain extent I can dial it down, but when I'm among family (particularly my mom's extended family) it gets pretty thick. The long Os, the low almost-chant when the topic

Comments

[coppervale]

In my head, you sound like Adam West.

[snurri]

Oh man. I would hate to destroy the illusion of that--hence I fear we must NEVER MEET in person.

[coppervale]

Actually, I was being diplomatic. "The "snurri" tag has actually resulted in a mental audio impression of you that sounds like my Finnish banker, Mr. Fyrqvist.

Out of respect for your concerns, and because of my innate ability for self-delusion, I have converted that in my head to Adam West.

(By use of these same facilities, I can turn Kevin J. Anderson into Claudia Schiffer.)

[snurri]

What a relief. I don't think I could live up to the Adam West image. He's got way more gravitas than I.

[amysisson]

I enjoyed this post! I tend to forget where people I've friended online actually live. Anyway, I live in Houston, grew up in NJ, and have lived in California, upstate New York, Pennsylvania, Australia, and Germany.

Plus three years in North Dakota, including one year waitressing full-time. And even though it was only 3 out of my 41 years, I still say "uff da" sometimes. ;-)

[snurri]

It's infectious! Don't come back to visit, or you'll start keeping an ice scraper in your car!

[jamesenge]

Growing up in St. Paul, I always thought of it of "uff da" as onomatopoetic for getting the wind knocked out of you.

"The Vikings lost the Super Bowl again."

"Uff da."

[snurri]

There's something to that, yeah. I tend to put it in place of a sigh, at times.

[mrissa]

This reminds me of when buymeaclue turned to me and said incredulously, "Did you just say yah?" Well, yah, I did, but I could only answer, "No?" with a Minnesotan o.

Also: of course you say uff da. Because other things don't really go where uff da goes when you're someone who says uff da. It's even a conjunction, and I've specifically heard you use it as one: [lull in conversation] "Uff da." [short pause] [other thing you were thinking about]

Also: "I guess" is abundantly clear in a wide variety of circumstances. It's not just you. [event] "Uff da." "I guess." would be a quite comprehensible series of events.

[snurri]

Haddayr has decided that "I guess" means "No," which is not exactly true, but I don't have the heart to tell her that except that when she reads this comment she will know.

Uff da really is a part of speech or something. It's so versatile! It's like "fuck"!

[mrissa]

Yah, sometimes "I guess" means no, and sometimes it means really really yes ("So the Twinkies need some relievers this year." "I guess!"), and a variety of other things.

[haddayr]

I have decided it means "no" because then it forces you, if it didn't mean "no," to tell me what it ACTUALLY MEANT. I do think, though, that "I guess so" in response to "do you want to do such-and-such thing" pretty much ALWAYS means no, when it's coming from you.

(And I don't care what it means when it's coming from someone else; you are the only one I have enthusiasm enough for to parse.)

I second your statement about the phone, except on alternate Wednesdays that fall on blue moons. Then you're fine.

[serasempre]

I still use uff da now and again from my years in Montana. Kara picked it up and uses it all the time. Really funny is hearing Aidan use it, who is autistic and has no clue, and yet... it works so well.

[snurri]

I didn't know they use that in Montana :-) Good to know you're passing it on to the next generation!