# Ope, sorry, but here's a poll about Midwesterners and the use of the term 'ope' **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 31, 2023, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ope-sorry-but-heres-a-poll-about-midwesterners-and-the-use-of-the-term-ope/989398 "2023-08-31T13:57:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ope-sorry-but-heres-a-poll-about-midwesterners-and-the-use-of-the-term-ope/989398/1 "2023-08-31T13:57:40Z")
_Poll ([view on site](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ope-sorry-but-heres-a-poll-about-midwesterners-and-the-use-of-the-term-ope/989398/1))_ I’ve seen some YouTube videos about the use of the term ‘ope’, mostly notably from Charlie Berens, a Wisconsiner who makes humorous videos about being a Midwesterner. For those who are not familiar, it’s a sort of a term of apology, or just a general purpose interjection. For example, if you almost bump into somebody you might say “ope, excuse me”. I’ll post a video below that explains it better, complete with a link to a Charlie Berens video. I had thought when I first heard about ‘ope’, that it must be more of a Wisconsin thing, because _ **I** _ (SE Michigan born and raised) don’t ever say it, or remember hearing anybody I know say it. But lately I’ve started to realize that I sort of unconsciously do-- for me, it’s sort of a portmanteau of “oh” and “oops”. Or an “oh” sound where I close my lips off at the end to make the “p” sound. I do it at times like the aforementioned example “ope, excuse me”, or “ope, I just remembered…”. But here’s the rub: have I been saying ‘ope’ all along, and just now became aware of it, or did I just recently incorporate it into my speech after learning of it? Anyway, I enjoy regionalisms like this, like the discussed to death ‘soda / pop / coke’ thing, or how certain areas call water fountains “bubblers”. Apparently a certain swath of Wisconsin says ‘bubbler’ and, strangely, an area on the East coast that is at the same latitude, but virtually nowhere else. I did some googling awhile back, and learned that a traveling salesman had been selling water fountains under the brand name ‘bubbler’, and had worked his way from Wisconsin due East, so that’s how the name stuck in those two places, but for some reason not in that middle zone of his travels. > **[Ope! Sorry, I'm going to need you to explain what that word means and where...](https://www.wpr.org/ope-sorry-im-going-need-you-explain-what-word-means-and-where-it-came)** > > Diane Flath grew up in Wisconsin hearing and saying the word "ope." But she wondered why we say it, where it came from and what it means. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ope-sorry-but-heres-a-poll-about-midwesterners-and-the-use-of-the-term-ope/989398/2 "2023-08-31T14:03:35Z")
I’m not at all a midwesterner and I use it. Same meaning, but I think of it more as a corruption of “ok, welp”. But yes, sometimes “oh, oops, look at the \”. Just an all-purpose topic redirector, really. And it’s funny because for the first few years “ope” became an online meme, I had no idea what they were talking about. Then I listened to myself doing it and thought “meh, doesn’t everybody do that?” ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ope-sorry-but-heres-a-poll-about-midwesterners-and-the-use-of-the-term-ope/989398/3 "2023-08-31T14:04:41Z")
Ope is well-established here in Ohio, although there may be minor variations in pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ope-sorry-but-heres-a-poll-about-midwesterners-and-the-use-of-the-term-ope/989398/4 "2023-08-31T15:20:25Z")
Not a Midwesterner and the one and only reference I have heard of this term is in [Lose Yourself by Eminem](https://youtu.be/_Yhyp-_hX2s?si=EbT36G9O2oGbvdIZ). ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ope-sorry-but-heres-a-poll-about-midwesterners-and-the-use-of-the-term-ope/989398/5 "2023-08-31T15:23:14Z")
> [@duality72](#): > > the one and only reference I have heard of this term is in [Lose Yourself by Eminem](https://youtu.be/_Yhyp-_hX2s?si=EbT36G9O2oGbvdIZ). Ha, you’re right! From a fellow SE Michigander. Lyric link below… > Ope, there goes gravity > **[Eminem – Lose Yourself](https://genius.com/Eminem-lose-yourself-lyrics)** > > “Lose Yourself” is the theme song from Eminem’s semi-biographical 2002 movie 8 Mile. Eminem is narrating the life of the film’s protagonist, Jimmy, up until the third verse, where If I had remembered that, it probably woulda gone in my thread title: “Ope there goes gravity: a poll about…” 😁 ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ope-sorry-but-heres-a-poll-about-midwesterners-and-the-use-of-the-term-ope/989398/6 "2023-08-31T15:24:00Z")
My father was from Nebraska, danish and German ethnicity, and used it. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ope-sorry-but-heres-a-poll-about-midwesterners-and-the-use-of-the-term-ope/989398/7 "2023-08-31T15:38:14Z")
> [@Dorjan](#): > > Ope is well-established here in Ohio Not in the Cleveland area. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ope-sorry-but-heres-a-poll-about-midwesterners-and-the-use-of-the-term-ope/989398/8 "2023-08-31T15:39:22Z")
> [@solost](#): > > I had thought when I first heard about ‘ope’, that it must be more of a Wisconsin thing, because _ **I** _ (SE Michigan born and raised) don’t ever say it, or remember hearing anybody I know say it. But lately I’ve started to realize that I sort of unconsciously do-- for me, it’s sort of a portmanteau of “oh” and “oops”. Or an “oh” sound where I close my lips off at the end to make the “p” sound. I do it at times like the aforementioned example “ope, excuse me”, or “ope, I just remembered…”. It’s not just you. When other Michiganders suggest that we say “ope” I tell them they’re wrong, because we don’t say it. What we say might approximate it due to our lack of ability to spell what we actually say, which is almost exactly as you describe: “a portmanteau of ‘oh’ and ‘oops.’” ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ope-sorry-but-heres-a-poll-about-midwesterners-and-the-use-of-the-term-ope/989398/9 "2023-08-31T15:41:00Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > When other Michiganders suggest that we say “ope” I tell them they’re wrong And what part of the Midwest are you from, if I may ask? ETA: Ope, never mind, clicked your profile. Howdy, neighbor 😊 ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ope-sorry-but-heres-a-poll-about-midwesterners-and-the-use-of-the-term-ope/989398/10 "2023-08-31T15:41:55Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > Not in the Cleveland area. Oh yes it is. Born and raise here and ppl “Ope” their way through the day at every single office I’ve worked in. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ope-sorry-but-heres-a-poll-about-midwesterners-and-the-use-of-the-term-ope/989398/11 "2023-08-31T18:49:42Z")
Native to Ohio, never heard “ope”, but “oop” is ubiquitous. Of course, we also say “woish” instead of “waash”. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ope-sorry-but-heres-a-poll-about-midwesterners-and-the-use-of-the-term-ope/989398/12 "2023-08-31T19:00:20Z")
I’m a Sconnie, and I’ve been pretty hardwired to say “Ope, a deer” whenever I see one. Otherwise I don’t use the term that much. En so . . . ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ope-sorry-but-heres-a-poll-about-midwesterners-and-the-use-of-the-term-ope/989398/13 "2023-08-31T19:08:52Z")
Native Wisconsinite, current Minnesotan. Heard and used but never thought of it as OPE. It was more a shortened form of whoops or oops. “Whoops! Sorry, I almost dumped my old fashioned in your lap.” “Ope! Sorry, I almost dumped my old fashioned in your lap.” ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ope-sorry-but-heres-a-poll-about-midwesterners-and-the-use-of-the-term-ope/989398/14 "2023-08-31T19:23:32Z")
Not a Midwesterner - born and raising in New Jersey and living in Georgia - and never heard of it until recently. I have gotten more involved in the Churchwide organization of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America - which is based in Chicago… and has quite a bit of Midwesterners working there. So I’ve seen the “ope” memes, but I don’t think I’ve heard anyone say it. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ope-sorry-but-heres-a-poll-about-midwesterners-and-the-use-of-the-term-ope/989398/15 "2023-08-31T19:36:39Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > It was more a shortened form of whoops or oops. That’s how I think of the opes. There’s also a sort of rising tone. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ope-sorry-but-heres-a-poll-about-midwesterners-and-the-use-of-the-term-ope/989398/16 "2023-08-31T20:58:27Z")
SE Michigan. Have heard it. Was about to swear I don’t use it but when I accidently crash into a stranger, maybe I do. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ope-sorry-but-heres-a-poll-about-midwesterners-and-the-use-of-the-term-ope/989398/17 "2023-08-31T21:18:13Z")
I’ve used it, but it’s more like oop. Like a shortened oops or whoops. Chicago suburbs, we call it Chicagoland. Like a freaking amusement park or something. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ope-sorry-but-heres-a-poll-about-midwesterners-and-the-use-of-the-term-ope/989398/18 "2023-08-31T21:28:33Z")
I don’t consider myself a Midwesterner (grew up in the South, now I live in California), but my parents are from Wisconsin and I have a ton of relatives in Wisconsin and Minnesota. So I have spent a lot of time in that region, and I am sure I have heard people there use it. I also used to listen to _A Prairie Home Companion_ regularly; I’m sure they said it on that show, too, if that counts. Of course I’m sure they used it precisely because it’s such a stereotypical Minnesotan expression. ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ope-sorry-but-heres-a-poll-about-midwesterners-and-the-use-of-the-term-ope/989398/19 "2023-08-31T21:33:26Z")
I answered that I was aware of it, but didn’t use it, but after reading the thread, I now realize I use it constantly. It’s one of those “punctuation words” I use, like ending a sentence in “so”. My written communication would never include it, but it is definitely an unconscious verbal tic. Grandma (and Mom) were originally from Ohio before moving to the west… Maybe that’s why? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ope-sorry-but-heres-a-poll-about-midwesterners-and-the-use-of-the-term-ope/989398/20 "2023-08-31T21:40:27Z")
Born and raised in California, but my parents spent a lot of time in Wisconsin and Ohio, and I visited my grandparents pretty frequently in Ohio. I thought it was my own personal idiosyncrasy for the longest time. I almost run into someone while turning a corner in a hall, and blurt out “ope” or “oop” as I try to pivot out of the way. I assumed it was just some shortened version of whoops that I somehow always corrupt in the moment. But later I found that it’s a common term, so I must have picked it up from my Midwestern relatives. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ope-sorry-but-heres-a-poll-about-midwesterners-and-the-use-of-the-term-ope/989398.md?page=2)