What's a "Yooper"? What's a "Troll"? And Why Do People Point at Their Hand?

Three pieces of Michigan insider language that confuse every newcomer.

Yooper is a person from the Upper Peninsula. Say “U.P.” out loud — “you-pee” — and then “U.P.-er,” and you’ve got it: Yooper. It’s a point of pride, tied to a distinct culture shaped by Finnish, Cornish, and other immigrant mining families. The word was official enough to be added to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary in 2014.

Troll is the U.P.’s playful name for everybody who lives in the Lower Peninsula. Why? Because Lower Peninsula folks live “under the bridge” — the Mackinac Bridge — and as everyone knows, trolls live under bridges. It’s teasing, not an insult, and most Lower Peninsula folks wear it with a grin.

Fudgie is a tourist, especially one visiting northern Michigan or the island — so nicknamed because they rarely leave without buying fudge.

And the hand thing? Ask a Michigander where they’re from and they’ll hold up their right hand, palm out, and point to a spot on it. That’s because the Lower Peninsula is shaped almost exactly like a mitten, so the hand is the map. Someone from the Detroit area points near the wrist on the thumb side; someone from Traverse City points up near the pinky-side fingertip. It works shockingly well, and every Michigander does it without thinking.