12 Phrases That Will Make You Swear Idahoans Have Their Own Language
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Emerson
Author
There are many things that make Idahoans unique, including our speech. If you’ve visited Idaho or moved from out of state, it’s likely you’ve heard a few phrases that have made you wonder. Don’t worry, though – Idahoans are also known for their friendliness, so you don’t have to worry about us giving you a hard time if you don’t know what these things mean. Unless you pronounce Boise as Boy-zee…then we’ll probably get a little nasty. Check out these common Idaho sayings and see how many you use.
No, Idahoans aren't aliens with blue blood. If you hear us talking about bleeding blue, we are referring to our admiration for the one and only Boise State Broncos. Also, our "smurf turf" is better than any boring green turf your college team plays on.
We aren't talking about spending time in a small wooden house built in a tree. Treefort Music Festival is an epic five day music festival that takes place in Boise, Idaho every March. You can expect a lot of Idahoans to be suffering from what we call a "Treefort hangover" the week following the festival.
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We don't care about your shiny Times Square Ball Drop, New York. We've got a giant potato! Yes, it's utterly ridiculous. But it's ours. Here in Idaho, there is no other way of celebrating the new year.
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Also referred to as "snowmageddon." We are referring to the excessive downfall of snow we experienced during winter of 2016-2017. Unable to even get their cars out of their driveways, people were trapped in their houses for days. Snow shovels and snow blowers were sold out everywhere you went and were being privately sold for insane amounts. Snowpocalypse was rough on everyone. But like the tough Idahoans we are, we survived.
If you're not from Idaho, the special combination of ketchup and mayonnaise that is fry sauce may seem downright strange to you. Just trust us. When it comes to fry condiments, we know what we're talking about. Now if only other states would catch on to this delicious dressing so we don't have to carry around miniature containers of fry sauce when we travel anymore.
If you're a true Idahoan, you call it a jockey box. Otherwise, you might know it as the glove box or glove compartment.
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Prairie dogs/ground squirrels will always be known as whistle pigs for a true Idahoan. Don't ask us why. Just go with it.
Yes, we may be referring to that Napoleon Dynamite quote (that movie really put us on the map) ...but it's also just a common way of referring to one of the many ways we love our potatoes! Although the majority of us DON'T live on potato farms, we really do love potatoes.
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It's a crick (not creek) and we'll defend this pronunciation to the death.
No, BoDo is not the name of a clown. It's short for downtown Boise (or Boise Downtown), specifically the intersection of 8th and Broad Street.
This isn't strictly just an Idaho thing, but here we call it pop. Not soda. Not soda pop. Pop.
Here in Idaho we are proud of our history. Back when the country was just 13 colonies, the French mountain men that came to the area would put on fur-trading rendezvous. Living in the mountains by yourself during that time could get quite lonely, so these meetings acted as way of socializing after periods of desolation. Many Idahoans enjoy recreating these rendezvous, and it's common for elementary school kids learning about Idaho history to attend a giant rendezvous with other schools in which they trade homemade crafts and trinkets.
Are there any other slang words or phrases unique to Idaho that should be on this list? Comment your suggestions below!
And be sure to check out these 16 Things You’ll Never Catch Anyone From Idaho Doing!
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