Getting One Out of Three Right
We’re in Minnesota, so here’s the weather forecast: the rest of April: cold; May: cold; June: cold; July: somehow hot as hell. Back to y’all.”
–Saturday Night Live; cold open (April 10, 2021).
As a Minnesota native and long-time Twin Cities resident, I can attest to the “perpetually cold” weather forecast (our brief, yet hot-and-sticky Summers aside).
However, SNL gets two things wrong:
One. Far from being short, the weather segment can easily take up to 10-15 minutes of a 30-minute local newscast — more if the weather is threatening (blizzards, hailstorms, etc.).
It’s in places like San Diego where the weather forecasts are “blink-and-you-missed-it” quick (“tomorrow’s forecast is 70 degrees and sunny — just like yesterday, and the day before yesterday, and . . . “).
Two. The locals are known for saying things like “You betcha,” “Don’t-cha know,” and “pop” (instead of “soft drink” or “soda”).
However, I’ve never heard a real Minnesotan utter the word “Y’all.”
See also, “There’s No Place Like Home: Garrison Keillor’s Homage to the Twin Cities in National Geographic“; “Winter Humor: Minnesota vs. Tampa Bay (& Elsewhere)”; “True Minnesotan” — Summer Edition“; and “After the Harvest, Before Winter*: The Connection Between Oct. 15 and November 3 (at least in Minnesota).”
