Hello. I'm from Michigan, and I only just realized that I have a habit of saying "ope!"
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I say “ope!” when someone who clearly didn’t see me nearly backs into me at the coffeemaker at work (or when I nearly back into someone else). I say “ope!” when I open the main door to the ladies room so I can enter, and someone else is RIGHT THERE because they were just about to open the door to exit. I say "ope!" when I nearly step on my dog, even though I’m pretty sure my dog doesn’t understand "ope!"
It's a combination of "oops!" and "oh!" and the perfect thing to say while you're trying to determine whether this near-bumping is your fault (at which point you would say "sorry!" or "pardon me!" or whatever).
I never really thought about the fact that I say "ope!" or considered that it was unusual. But I recently read a blog post that suggested this was unique to people from Michigan.
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"Ope!": the "AYYY, I'M WALKIN' HERE!" of the Midwest????
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Is it? You tell me! Do you say "ope!" when you nearly bump into someone?
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vote votesYes, and I'm from Michigan!
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vote votesYes, and I'm not from Michigan!
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vote votesNope!
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vote votesOPE!!!!
