Edward McClelland’s How To Speak Midwestern is due back from the printer soon, and pre-orders will begin shipping in mid-November. But it’s already getting some good press! Here’s a teaser from the kind folks at Library Journal:
This week I’ve been revisiting my homeland by dipping into Edward McClelland’s How To Speak Midwestern (Belt) and Undeniably Indiana: Hoosiers Tell the Story of Their Wacky and Wonderful State (Indiana Univ.). Both are good, and both are making me miss my Hoosier home state—a little. Here’s McClelland’s take on the fine art of criticizing, passive-aggressively (i.e., the Midwestern way):
It’s been said that in New York, every insult is a compliment: “This is my buddy Jerry. He’s been bustin’ my balls for thirty years now. Right, Jer?” In the South, on the other hand, every compliment is an insult: “Well, aren’t you kind?” In the Midwest, you’re never certain whether you’re being complimented or insulted. Midwesterners don’t like to sound critical or hurt anyone’s feelings, so we’ve developed code words that allow us to avoid stating an opinion altogether. The most important words to know are “interesting” and “different.” If something has merit, but you don’t personally care for it, “it’s ‘interesting.’”[…]
Pre-order your copy today here and be assured of being the first on your block to know the difference between “yinz” and “Yooper.”
