Alaskans will refer to the rest of the US as the ‘lower 48,’ without counting Hawaii. Go look at a map of the US and you’ll understand why. And yes, you can see Russia from a certain point in Alaska.

Apparently, snowbirds are people who travel to the Phoenix area to get away from the winter months. Can’t say we blame them if crossing over is that easy. Why freeze when you can soak up the sun?

Should you find yourself in Arkansas, understand that they’ll say ‘up yonder,’ which could mean one mile or 20, so be careful when asking for directions. Google should be your best friend up yonder.

For the people who have lived in both Northern and Southern California, they will tell you that ‘hella’ is purely Northern California. But hearing ‘dude’ is actually a universal California slang term you’ll hear almost everywhere over there.

When in Colorado, hearing ‘fourteeners’ or ‘doing a fourteener’ means a hike that takes you to 14,000 feet. So before taking a tour, get your lungs and legs in order. Oh and get lots of sleep. Like fourteen hours of it.

Visit Connecticut and you may hear the locals call beer/liquor stores ‘package stores’. It’s a term that confuses people outside the state.

That’s because during the prohibition, people would go to get bootleg booze at a package store where clerks would wrap it up for you, to avoid being too conspicuous.

Drive to northern Delaware (and Philly), and hear the locals say, ‘jeet,’ which actually means ‘did you eat?’

It’s all those words said together really fast, like a blurred car speeding by.

Floridians will describe a person as ‘flaw’ or ‘green’ when that individual does something messed up. Like, ‘that’s flaw AF’ or ‘you greeeeen.’

Probably like all the plants around the place. Or the crocodiles.

Georgia is a pretty decent state to visit with so many historical and fun sites to see. So ‘Get to gettin’, meaning it’s time to leave or go, should be your mood by now. They’re waiting.

This here is a universal term for describing something over there, especially when someone can’t remember the name of it. So it’s like, ‘Where’s my wallet?’ ‘It’s on da kine *points to table*

But come on, visiting Hawaii is a no-brainer.

To be fair, the term ‘rig’ can be heard in different parts of the planet now. It is the word for any vehicle larger than a sedan, like a large truck or SUV.

Maybe the locals had such a huge influence, who knows.

No one knows if this is specific to people from Illinois, but ‘gym shoes’ is not a universal term. Others may call them sneakers but they don’t use the word ‘sneakers’ when referring to the shoes you wear in the gym.

Head on over to Indiana, walk in to a store and remember that vacuum cleaners are called ‘sweepers.’

Like you would be sweeping the house but with a vacuum cleaner. Yup, that’s confusing.

Padiddle’ is what the people from Iowa yell when there’s a car with one working headlight before promptly slapping the roof of the car. Now that’s a unique way of carrying a slang term.

Kansas natives may use the word ‘ornery’ to describe a troublemaker or even a curious one regardless of age. It is pronounced ‘awwn-ree’, so you’ll know if someone calls you this word.

If you are in Kentucky, then all soft drinks and sodas are coke. So a conversation would be something like,

‘What kind of coke do you want?’

‘Umm a Dr. Pepper.’

So how about ordering a real coke, you ask? You call it ‘regular coke.’

Gotta’ love Louisiana. Such a vibrant place, and they will say ‘cher’ which is pronounced, and even written, as ‘sha’ sometimes, which means ‘cute’ or endearing.

The common use is ‘cher bebe,’ which means, ‘what a cute baby.’

It’s a term that originated from Cajun French.

Lobster and blueberries usually have people coming back to visit Maine, so they must be used to hearing the locals say ‘ayuh’ instead of ‘yes.’

It’s a term you’ll use when going for the lobsters so that’s one added to your vocabulary.

It’s one of those underrated states to visit (depending on your opinion) but they will say “sice” when someone exaggerates or when you want someone to get you something like,

‘She siced it’ or ‘Hey, can you sice me that?’

Nothing at all odd about this one. Folks from Massachusetts say ‘wicked,’ synonymous with the word ‘very.’

So it’s just like, ‘Going to the Red Sox game yesterday was wicked fun!’

Find yourself in Michigan, walk around for the sights, and when you get thirsty use the term ‘pop’ for soda when buying one from a store. Though you could be more specific with the brand.

The men and women from Minnesota like to say ‘Ohfer’. It’s literally ‘oh for,’ like ‘Oh, for heaven’s sakes.’

They will use it with almost anything as a way to emphasize what they’re saying. So you will hear ‘Ohfer silly,’ ‘Ohfer stupid,’ ‘Ohfer nice,’ ‘Ohfer sure.’

In Mississippi, there’s a term that actually means the opposite. It’s pretty foul but ‘bless your/his/her/their heart’ means ‘fuck you/him/her/them.’

What a bunch of sweethearts.

The term is derogatory and discriminatory, referring usually to those from the country. There are many definitions for it but they basically come out meaning the same.

In the evenings, when you find yourself wanting a drink, look for a bar but instead of ordering a ‘whiskey and water,’ say ‘whiskey ditch’ like the locals do. Not a bad place to have a drink either.

The lovely men and women of Nebraska will exclaim, ‘You betcha!’ when experiencing something good for them. It’s a positive reaction to anything so go check out the state and hear, ‘Youuuuuuuu betcha!’

We all know what you can find in Nevada. A “slot zombie” is basically someone so obsessed with gambling machines that they lose touch with reality. You can’t talk with them or even get them to eat.

For those who grew up in New Hampshire, and basically all of New England, they will say, ‘wicked’ when something is really good or awesome for them, be it food, a drink, a nice car, and whatever else it may be.

In New Jersey, they will refer to the beach as ‘down the shore.’ And that’s for every beach in South Jersey, including Long Branch, Lavallette, and Long Beach Island.

That’s a lot of shores to cover.

New Mexico has its residents saying ‘all’ instead of words like ‘very,’ so it comes out as ‘It’s all hot today’ or ‘He was all mad yesterday.’

They can also end questions with ‘or no?’ or ‘or what?’ Like, ‘Do you want to eat, or no?’

You’ll get used to it.

New Yorkers will say ‘deadass’ a lot whether in a question, a confirmation, or to describe the severity of a situation or event. But hey, New York’s demographic is pretty diverse too, so even the Asians over there may use the term.

Stunning North Carolina has its locals referring to a place as ‘yonder.’ And that can mean across the street or across town, or who knows where else. But it’s worth looking around when you’re there anyway.

This one sounds a little strange but the locals of north Dakota use ‘uff da’ whenever they’re exasperated, surprised or upset. At least it doesn’t start with an F.

In Ohio, you may find the locals constantly saying ‘please.’

Like if a person says something and you can’t hear them clearly, you say, ‘please?’

Pretty polite state.

This one’s pretty easy to remember and even adopt. They usually say ‘Fixin’ to,’ which means ‘getting ready to.’

Like they’re “fixin’ to” go to the big football game in a few.

The good people from this state like to refer to the beach as ‘the coast.’

Not that tourists and visitors would care since everyone loves the beach and endless coastlines.

‘Jagoff,’ pretty much means a douchebag so be careful not to drive like a lunatic or show attitude in public areas. You’ll know it’s you once you hear this word.

Friends from Rhode Island say ‘bubbler’ instead of ‘water fountain.’

That will cause a bit of confusion for first time visitors but the locals aren’t exactly wrong, are they?

Here’s more confusion for newbie guests and toursits. They will hear South Carolinians say ‘might could’ instead of just ‘could.’

An example would be, ‘We might could do that, if you want to.’

Apparently, in South Dakota, sloppy joes are called ‘taverns’, so do remember this should you be ordering one. Of course we’re now wondering what they call other items on the menu.

Tennessee shoppers say ‘buggy’ instead of ‘shopping cart’, like they’re actual toys. It’s the norm over there too so as a tourist and guest, you’ll have to learn how to use it.

Now for something even more country and cool. ‘Y’all’d’ve’ is literally ‘You all would have.’

And here’s a sentence, ‘Y’all’d’ve loved the movie last night.’

Rolls of the tongue easily.

Students in Utah won’t say they skipped class, instead going for ‘sluffed’ class. That’s a unique way of putting it, but seriously, stay in school.

Don’t “sluff”.

Vermont calls a soft serve a ‘creemee.’

All those wide open spaces will surely have you looking for one. It’s a stunning state that will have you taking pictures before ordering one.

No, it’s not the one used for building houses or throwing at that annoying neighbor who likes to start petty fights.

‘Brick’ over at Virginia actually means a long time, far away, etc.

So it goes something like, ‘I haven’t seen you in a brick.’

‘Hella’ is a Washington word often thrown around. It’s almost like they adore Loki’s daughter but with a different spelling.

Yup, that’s right, she’s Loki’s daughter and not Odin’s. But we digress.

The folks over in West Virginia call roads ‘hollers.’ You read that right.

So they will say something to the effect of, ‘We’re gonna run up the holler to Tudor’s.’

Similar to Rhode Island, Wisconsin locals will refer to a water/drinking fountain as a ‘bubbler.’

Hey at least that’s better than calling them a “sprayer”.

Prairie dogs. So yes you’re forgiven for scratching your head and wondering what on earth those could be. At least they’re not the size of cars.