Midwesternisms

The Midwestern accent tends to be overlooked because it is a bit more subtle than many American accents.  It also has strong regionalisms, hearkening back to the rural roots of most of the people who lived in the Midwest.  My bride and I were surprised at the number of different expressions we had, even though both of us resided in the Midwest, me in south central Illinois in Paris, Illinois, near the Indiana border, and her behind the cheddar curtain in Kenosha, Wisconsin.  My relatives have a very strong Hoosier accent, which I lost after I went to college, and my secretaries thus know when one of my relatives are calling by phone, even before they say my name.  My accent was always complicated since my sainted mother spoke fluent Newfy and so I have another level of idioms to add on to what I was exposed to in Paris.  In moments of emotion I sometimes find childhood expressions coming to the fore.  The brain and the tongue make an interesting team.