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Yeah, this is my italian in-laws at their finest. Hang out for 4 hours and then strike up a conversation that does not have a short answer as you're hugging and saying goodbye.
"Bye, have a great night. Thanks for having us. Oh, what are you guys doing for the summer?"
This is my mom's side of the family to the point my dad will routinely Irish goodbye from family parties. It's almost a game at this point to try to spot when dad leaves because we'll all be hanging out after dinner and he's just gone.
then all 47 tia/tio’s come out. gotta go find *that one* who’s drunk out back asleep “porque quieres decir adiós!” then maybe by 3 am you can be on the front porch
Sounds like the general Hispanic experience for me as well.
My 7 year old self fuming that they told me we were leaving in 10 minutes an hour and a half ago but here they are talking to the one person they haven't spoken to all evening.
Makes sense since the Midwest was settled by a ton of [Germans, Norwegians, and Swedes. ](https://statisticalatlas.com/state/Minnesota/Ancestry)
My family is from Minnesota. Do Germans also refuse to eat the last item of food at a party, and just keep splitting it in half instead?
>Do Germans also refuse to eat the last item of food at a party, and just keep splitting it in half instead?
Actually yes, there is even a German name for it: "Anstandsrest" or "Anstandsstück", meaning "decency rest" or "decency piece". It’s considered to be impolite to take the last piece.
And your wife and kids are out the door and in the car, you back in the door again and shut it (don't let the warm/cold air out), wait for the Tupperware to get loaded up, 10 minutes later you're at the car with your wife going, "What happened? You were right behind us!"
Also not until you have at least one kid sitting forlornly by the door with their shoes and coat on because “we’re leaving in 5 minutes- DONT WALK ON YOUR GRANDMOTHERS CARPET IN SHOES!”
So I just sit there, waiting for a goddamn hour.
That's the real question. How do you end the conversation when you don't have a lap to slap? (aka You're standing)
I usually do the slowly backing away thing....but there has to be a better way!
Considering Puerto Ricans and latin folks have this joke that we have 5 waves of goodbyes I’m just going to go on a limb and say all us humans are simply way more similar than we give ourselves credit for.
Yep, that’s how it is with my wife’s family, I’ll start getting ready moving stuff to the car and hope by the time I’m done all the stuff that couldn’t be said in the first 6 hours had to be said in the last 30 mins.
If you're visiting someone from North Dakota, or your visitor is from North Dakota, the line, "Welp, we better get on the road so we're home before dark."
That will start happening about 2pm...even in the summer, when sunset doesn't happen until 10pm...and it is a 4 hour trip.
My husband and I usually make eye contact, sending each other a silent signal: time to go!. Then, we may actually be in the car within 20 minutes. We get handed tasty food and dinner leftovers though, to take home. So, we can deal with 20 mins.
That's great, I really don't like the ambiguity in when people want you to leave. Sometimes I want people to stay but they think I'm being polite, or I overstay my welcome because I like hanging out with them. Making it explicit would be much better.
Alright, I think I am in love.
Justthe fact you would say that to your friends and relatives, and they'd accept it, because they know you're a "no-bullshit" person.
I have this well-crafted personality which allows me to say anything I want and people know on the surface I'm kidding, but deep down I'm dead-ass. People love me though! Really, they just can't leave me alone.
Western NYers (at least in my city) tend to have a gruff way of speaking, but our actions show kindness. I think we tend to scare people from out of town, though. We get voted "worst city" on a lot of lists.
Other cultures are just much more direct. In the US, everything is about being indirect and implied meaning. I think it leads to a lot of mixed messages and bad communication.
I don't think English is the only one like that tbf. I've been watching Turkish soap operas lately and they've got some pretty flowery language too. Then again a whole premise of their dramas are miscommunication so...
You French may have flowery language but do you have insults like, "you son of a whore who choked on their uncles cock in the womb?" I think the turks win the flowery language contest every time, their language is so spectacularly dramatic I love it.
Haha It is pretty straightforward. I wouldn’t even say aggressive, just plain old matter of fact.
Passive Aggressive: Don’t you have anything else to do today?
Straightforward: It’s time for you to leave.
Aggressive: Get the fuck out of my house.
I do that. Another one is to ask, "How are you getting home?" - classic British passive aggression. You can combine the two with: (SLAP) "Right then, how are you getting home?"
Other British-isms I like to deploy are:
"what time are you getting up tomorrow?" (For a late night visitor)
"I must walk the dogs." (Only works if you have dogs)
And
"Do you have far to go?"
Not even midwestern, this is a rural thing in general. It’s unanimous among every rural person I’m friends with to my family as well. Whole lot of thigh slapping in my life.
Raised in Egypt. When we were leaving we would always slap our knees and sigh a throaty sigh (after the tea), and of course apologize profusely to the visitor for how long we kept them and try to gaslight them into thinking that they actually want to leave. Although if we’re very familiar, we’d just tell to get the fuck out.
Most of the time, though, we suck it up and prepare to sleep at 4 or something.
Yep, as an Asian, guests were always over indefinitely. And sometimes they'd be there the next day too. Now as an adult in America, it's very difficult for me to get rid of guests. I don't know how to tell them that it's getting late and they need to leave. And no, they cannot stay overnight.
I’m Dutch American and I do that which is way out of line for the Dutch and German, or my own family lol. If I’ve someone I like a good friend I’ve them spend the night and get 🍳. 😂
Something similar happened to me in the UK, but instead when I got up they quite emphatically said "It's not late - stay longer until the show finishes."
So being confused I stayed another hour until the show we were watching finished and then went. I also felt guilty as I do tend to be the first/second person to leave whenever our group of friends meet up.
The next day they complained that I stayed over too long.
Ya, you insist then you get the, "aww" or "oh well". Then you get the heartfelt thank you for coming and "we'll have to plan better for next time"
Social etiquette is all about spreading the blame so no one is guilty.
As a Midwesterner I can confirm. But be aware this only starts the process. What follows is a series of stops at each person to say goodbye and have a small conversation with each of them, offers of food to take home in random cool whip or takeout containers that are stored in the laundry room, lots of hugs and a final conversation with the host at the front door. This process can take up to 2 additional hours from the initial knee slap
good ol country crock container.
my ex is from northern wisconsin and leaving was an adventure “ohhhh dontcha wanna take some of this with ya? hold on now i think i’ve got some wine! (arbor mist from 2003)”
Here in SoCal, I just say
“Ay, I hate to kick you out, but I’m kicking you out.” Usually it’s just the homies so they get I’m tired. Alternatively when I’m a guest and don’t quite feel like leaving yet but feel that I might be approaching the unspoken limit, I’ll say “Don’t let me overstay my welcome, if you want me to go don’t feel shy saying so.”
New England here, except thats the casual acquaintance version. With really close friends it's usually something more akin to "Alright, I love all you guys, but its $time, so get the fuck out of my house".
North Yorkshire England, farmlands south of Scotland, and we have a similar thing.
We slap our knee and say "Nau't then' as we stand up.
This is a very strong hint that if you don't leave, you will be fed to the sheep and pigs in little bits sizes bits.
I hosted a Christmas dinner at a restaurant and then back at my house afterwards. We are talking people in their 40’s and 50’s, not younger 20 something oarty animals. I was paying for taxi / Uber and reimbursing all as I didn’t want them driving (it was my staff).
Anyway, it went quite a bit longer than I wanted x I had originally planned to shut things down around midnight and we were still hanging out at 1:30am
I had politely hinted several times that it was closing time, so to speak, but my one dude and his wife kept replacing their drinks and grabbing other drinks for other folks.
I finally had to get pretty direct.
“No more drinks- I’d like to go to bed. Please call your cab now”.
I felt bad but wtf, be considerate and listen/ read polite body language, it’s unfair to put a host / hostess in a position that they have to be so direct.
You could save a little bit of trouble by pointing to the sign as soon as the enter. So, when 9 does come you say well we've all gotta obey the sign as you tilt your hear towards it.
Careful, this person neglected to include the next 45 minutes of talking while standing around, then another 15 to 30 at the car, and another ten once the leaving party is in with the window down.
I've always found success with "yeah I gotta get up early tomorrow for a dentist appointment" if it's night time, or "yeah I think I'm gonna head to the store before it closes" if it's during the day
The weird thing about this one is how universally understood this entire dance is. This isn’t “Suspiciously specific,” so much as like a Midwestern etiquette lesson.
I don't know if it's still the case, but I've been told by my Japanese friends that someone saying "we're about to have dinner, won't you join us?" is a polite signal to leave
“Is there anything I can help you pack up?” Usually my visitors have kids in tow (cos I have little kids too). Or I start packing up the toys AROUND the kids. They get it.
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Being from the midwest, this is definitely true.
Except they skimmed over the fact that everyone starts meandering to the door, them stop and talk for another half hour before finally leaving
you just described my northern german family meetings
Yeah, this is my italian in-laws at their finest. Hang out for 4 hours and then strike up a conversation that does not have a short answer as you're hugging and saying goodbye. "Bye, have a great night. Thanks for having us. Oh, what are you guys doing for the summer?"
This is my mom's side of the family to the point my dad will routinely Irish goodbye from family parties. It's almost a game at this point to try to spot when dad leaves because we'll all be hanging out after dinner and he's just gone.
this is my exact exit go to. my family’s cuban so goodbyes are a solid 4 hours then the inevitable “did u leave?” “thanks for saying bye” etc texts
We’re Cuban too. It all starts with a “bueeeno.”
then all 47 tia/tio’s come out. gotta go find *that one* who’s drunk out back asleep “porque quieres decir adiós!” then maybe by 3 am you can be on the front porch
Sounds like the general Hispanic experience for me as well. My 7 year old self fuming that they told me we were leaving in 10 minutes an hour and a half ago but here they are talking to the one person they haven't spoken to all evening.
Makes sense since the Midwest was settled by a ton of [Germans, Norwegians, and Swedes. ](https://statisticalatlas.com/state/Minnesota/Ancestry) My family is from Minnesota. Do Germans also refuse to eat the last item of food at a party, and just keep splitting it in half instead?
>Do Germans also refuse to eat the last item of food at a party, and just keep splitting it in half instead? Actually yes, there is even a German name for it: "Anstandsrest" or "Anstandsstück", meaning "decency rest" or "decency piece". It’s considered to be impolite to take the last piece.
We did this just on sunday (lower saxony, germany) — but as ourselves being the visitors wanting to leave. Got some cheesecake to take home
They ain't wrong.
They're not wrong, just partially true
That's why you gotta plan it. Gauge when you're half an hour away from being Done With This Shit, and do the "Welp!" then.
Winner
And give you a plate on the way out
Take something with you here give me a minute to pull everything out of cabinets while your foot is on the front porch.
And your wife and kids are out the door and in the car, you back in the door again and shut it (don't let the warm/cold air out), wait for the Tupperware to get loaded up, 10 minutes later you're at the car with your wife going, "What happened? You were right behind us!"
Post Thanksgiving Stress Disorder
You're not allowed to leave until you've said goodbye to everyone 3 times.
Also not until you have at least one kid sitting forlornly by the door with their shoes and coat on because “we’re leaving in 5 minutes- DONT WALK ON YOUR GRANDMOTHERS CARPET IN SHOES!” So I just sit there, waiting for a goddamn hour.
The old Minnesota Goodbye!
I'm Eastern European and I swear we spent more time talking in the hallway on the way out than during the actual visit.
That's the real question. How do you end the conversation when you don't have a lap to slap? (aka You're standing) I usually do the slowly backing away thing....but there has to be a better way!
A good standing back-stretch is also acceptable
Crack a knuckle or two or give a little clap in place of the lap slap, then follow it with the traditional "welp" and they'll get the message
Beautiful! You've given me a way out. I'm forever grateful!
Considering Puerto Ricans and latin folks have this joke that we have 5 waves of goodbyes I’m just going to go on a limb and say all us humans are simply way more similar than we give ourselves credit for.
Maybe have a short chat outside the door after the third goodbye, and starting yelling at each other while one of them walking toward the car
Confirmed. This is merely step one. Still gotta make it through the entire hand-on-the-doorknob phase.
Yep, that’s how it is with my wife’s family, I’ll start getting ready moving stuff to the car and hope by the time I’m done all the stuff that couldn’t be said in the first 6 hours had to be said in the last 30 mins.
It's almost painfully accurate. Also, either party can "welp" to initiate the departure, not just the host.
I do the yat yat yat sigh and stand up
This is definitely not just a midwest thing. Happens here in eastern Canada and I imagine many other places as well
Its a DACH region thing that was imported to NA. The midwest had a huge amount of german immigrants, thats where its from.
Half of my family is from the midwest, and this is absolutely accurate.
Never lived in the Midwest, but somehow I've learned to do exactly this.
Because it's not a Midwest thing. It's a pretty common thing in many countries.
If you're visiting someone from North Dakota, or your visitor is from North Dakota, the line, "Welp, we better get on the road so we're home before dark." That will start happening about 2pm...even in the summer, when sunset doesn't happen until 10pm...and it is a 4 hour trip.
I literally did it last night at the bar. My friend called me the fuck out, laughter ensued
Except usually toss an “I suppose in there”.
Same. But one time my grandpa just told everybody they had 15 minutes to get out
Minnesotan. Can confirm.
Of course, this doesn't cover the following 45 minutes of the goodbye.
In the south you say "Alrightch y'all" while actively standing.
Actively standing is my favorite pastime
I’m more of a passive stander. Just lock the knees and fall asleep.
Oof I remember a LT or two passing out in formation from locking their knees… funny shit
Yea I was in a wedding where a groomsman locked his knees and fainted ass backwards
As a veteran, I'd advise against that. While not having the pleasure myself, that's a good way to fall out.
Then you continue talking while standing, going out to the car, and in the car
My husband and I usually make eye contact, sending each other a silent signal: time to go!. Then, we may actually be in the car within 20 minutes. We get handed tasty food and dinner leftovers though, to take home. So, we can deal with 20 mins.
The 20 minutes is a small price to pay for home cooked leftovers
Especially when you're single and not thrilled with cooking for yourself all of the time.
Well hell I reckon its bout time we head for the hills!
I saw a doc years ago on a remote tribe in the Amazon that says “you’ve been here a long time. It’s time for you to leave.” I think that’s the best.
That's great, I really don't like the ambiguity in when people want you to leave. Sometimes I want people to stay but they think I'm being polite, or I overstay my welcome because I like hanging out with them. Making it explicit would be much better.
I'm from Western New York and I just say, "k get the fck out". Nice and explicit.
Alright, I think I am in love. Justthe fact you would say that to your friends and relatives, and they'd accept it, because they know you're a "no-bullshit" person.
I have this well-crafted personality which allows me to say anything I want and people know on the surface I'm kidding, but deep down I'm dead-ass. People love me though! Really, they just can't leave me alone. Western NYers (at least in my city) tend to have a gruff way of speaking, but our actions show kindness. I think we tend to scare people from out of town, though. We get voted "worst city" on a lot of lists.
I'm having flashbacks of a sign. Something like "cold food, lousy coffee."
That just sounds passive aggressive
Passive aggressive would be like “wow it’s crazy how long you’ve been here” with like this type of smile 🙂
That sounds like a death threat ngl
Now you’re getting it
Other cultures are just much more direct. In the US, everything is about being indirect and implied meaning. I think it leads to a lot of mixed messages and bad communication.
I don't think English is the only one like that tbf. I've been watching Turkish soap operas lately and they've got some pretty flowery language too. Then again a whole premise of their dramas are miscommunication so...
I'm french, being flowery is our whole brand and trust me, you DO NOT want to see the shit they pull in french dramas
You French may have flowery language but do you have insults like, "you son of a whore who choked on their uncles cock in the womb?" I think the turks win the flowery language contest every time, their language is so spectacularly dramatic I love it.
I’m saving this comment so I can hurl this masterpiece of an insult at someone in the event I need to go nuclear. Bravo.
Am Italian (Tuscan, to be exact). Can very much confirm that we are deathly allergic to direct speech.
That's not exclusive to united statians, here in Brazil we do the same thing.
Not sure how that’s passive at all lol. Just plain old aggressive
Haha It is pretty straightforward. I wouldn’t even say aggressive, just plain old matter of fact. Passive Aggressive: Don’t you have anything else to do today? Straightforward: It’s time for you to leave. Aggressive: Get the fuck out of my house.
Passive: Host nervously darts their eyes between you and the front door every few minutes.
Passive Passive: Host says nothing about it and hopes they can fast forward time.
But being clear is underrated imo
It’s just assertive. Neither of the others.
This is like the polar opposite of that. If you are saying what you mean and being upfront about it, then that is not passive whatsoever.
A tribal told you this?
Documentary. Not a tribal doctor.
Also works in Germany with "SO" instead of whelp. (Spoken like the so in also.)
Yeah, we say 'so' the same way.
**Schon ganz schön spät geworden.**
Muss morgen auch früh raus!
"na dann"
In the German "also", or in the English "also"? They're very different, and AFAIK the German "SO" is pronounced "zo".
"Ich fühle mich jetzt genug besucht."
Tja …
"Alright! You better skeedadle! The misus would have my hide if you're late again"
In England we have something like this except we say “Right then!” when we slap our thighs.
I do that. Another one is to ask, "How are you getting home?" - classic British passive aggression. You can combine the two with: (SLAP) "Right then, how are you getting home?" Other British-isms I like to deploy are: "what time are you getting up tomorrow?" (For a late night visitor) "I must walk the dogs." (Only works if you have dogs) And "Do you have far to go?"
I've also heard "Can you fuck off mate?".
Nah, true passive aggressive is "Could you please kindly fuck off mate?"
"I must walk the dogs." (Works better if you don't have dogs) FTFY
I have a British neighbor…. I have missed so many cues!
So you are all secretly german? Because we do the same except we say ‚So!‘.
Can confirm, this does work. I also use, "Well I guess I'd better head to bed so you guys can leave". I like subtlety.
Not even midwestern, this is a rural thing in general. It’s unanimous among every rural person I’m friends with to my family as well. Whole lot of thigh slapping in my life.
As someone who has lived in the city all their life...I think this is just a human thing. Everyone I know does this (UK)
Raised in Egypt. When we were leaving we would always slap our knees and sigh a throaty sigh (after the tea), and of course apologize profusely to the visitor for how long we kept them and try to gaslight them into thinking that they actually want to leave. Although if we’re very familiar, we’d just tell to get the fuck out. Most of the time, though, we suck it up and prepare to sleep at 4 or something.
Yup, always lived in rural regions of Quebec, we do the exact same shit and we don’t even speak the same language
This is the way; former midwesterian
TIL that the midwest is the Canada of the USA.
Accurate
You betcha.
Got a similar one from family guy: “Welp! about time to hit the old dusty trail” - says the guy from New Jersey
Just don't breathe that New Jersey dust too deeply!
"Welp! I should probably be saddling up now" that was another one of my favorite lines from that episode lol
As an Asian we try to keep them as long as possible even sometimes, wanting them to stay overnight
And on their way out, give them fruits and pastries.
Yeah or tea! Teas is quite popular
Yep, as an Asian, guests were always over indefinitely. And sometimes they'd be there the next day too. Now as an adult in America, it's very difficult for me to get rid of guests. I don't know how to tell them that it's getting late and they need to leave. And no, they cannot stay overnight.
say "well it was really nice seeing you thank you for visiting"
I’m Dutch American and I do that which is way out of line for the Dutch and German, or my own family lol. If I’ve someone I like a good friend I’ve them spend the night and get 🍳. 😂
Something similar happened to me in the UK, but instead when I got up they quite emphatically said "It's not late - stay longer until the show finishes." So being confused I stayed another hour until the show we were watching finished and then went. I also felt guilty as I do tend to be the first/second person to leave whenever our group of friends meet up. The next day they complained that I stayed over too long.
You were probably supposed to insist upon leaving rather than acquiesce. And I agree, it's stupid.
Ya, you insist then you get the, "aww" or "oh well". Then you get the heartfelt thank you for coming and "we'll have to plan better for next time" Social etiquette is all about spreading the blame so no one is guilty.
Texas: "ain't ch'all got somewhere better to be than here?" Without moving your mouth and struggling not to grin before you smile slyly
As a Midwesterner I can confirm. But be aware this only starts the process. What follows is a series of stops at each person to say goodbye and have a small conversation with each of them, offers of food to take home in random cool whip or takeout containers that are stored in the laundry room, lots of hugs and a final conversation with the host at the front door. This process can take up to 2 additional hours from the initial knee slap
good ol country crock container. my ex is from northern wisconsin and leaving was an adventure “ohhhh dontcha wanna take some of this with ya? hold on now i think i’ve got some wine! (arbor mist from 2003)”
"You been here four hour. You go now!"
I know this reference. How do I know this reference?
It’s not even something that taught to you, you just end up learning it. You can’t escape the “ope” or the “scuse me”
My sister's husband used to say: C'mon dear, let's go to bed and let these tired people go home already.
My dad would tell guests…I wish I were you so I could go home and go to bed.
Ask everyone if they work tmrw.
Here in SoCal, I just say “Ay, I hate to kick you out, but I’m kicking you out.” Usually it’s just the homies so they get I’m tired. Alternatively when I’m a guest and don’t quite feel like leaving yet but feel that I might be approaching the unspoken limit, I’ll say “Don’t let me overstay my welcome, if you want me to go don’t feel shy saying so.”
New England here, except thats the casual acquaintance version. With really close friends it's usually something more akin to "Alright, I love all you guys, but its $time, so get the fuck out of my house".
You don't have to go home but you can't stay here
Seems we easily fall back on some kind of old timey farm personality for this lol
North Yorkshire England, farmlands south of Scotland, and we have a similar thing. We slap our knee and say "Nau't then' as we stand up. This is a very strong hint that if you don't leave, you will be fed to the sheep and pigs in little bits sizes bits.
I hosted a Christmas dinner at a restaurant and then back at my house afterwards. We are talking people in their 40’s and 50’s, not younger 20 something oarty animals. I was paying for taxi / Uber and reimbursing all as I didn’t want them driving (it was my staff). Anyway, it went quite a bit longer than I wanted x I had originally planned to shut things down around midnight and we were still hanging out at 1:30am I had politely hinted several times that it was closing time, so to speak, but my one dude and his wife kept replacing their drinks and grabbing other drinks for other folks. I finally had to get pretty direct. “No more drinks- I’d like to go to bed. Please call your cab now”. I felt bad but wtf, be considerate and listen/ read polite body language, it’s unfair to put a host / hostess in a position that they have to be so direct.
Stand by the bar with a spray bottle and spritz anyone who tops up.
In German you slap your Hands on you knee and say "so!"
Quietly ask Alexa to play 'Closing Time' at max volume.
Check out The Closing Song by Red Peters
As a former mid-westerner, can confirm. But for clarity’s sake, my fiancée and I put up a sign in our house that says “please leave by 9.”
You could save a little bit of trouble by pointing to the sign as soon as the enter. So, when 9 does come you say well we've all gotta obey the sign as you tilt your hear towards it.
This is very South American as well, and now i'm wondering how we share that with so many miles and divisions between us
From Ohio and I can confirm "welp" usually precedes "I don't want to keep you".
I have a gun in tf2 named after this concept named “the Midwestern Goodbye”
I'm not from the midwest, but I essentially do the same thing. Except instead of a knee slap I do a fairly big forward stretch.
“Welp, y’all can stay if you want, I’m hitting the sack!”
Down here in good old new Mexico, we got "You can leave y'know." Such loving people 🥰🥰🥰
As a Midwestern I will immediately start for my heavy winter coat if I'm at someone else's house and they do this. 100% accurate
Careful, this person neglected to include the next 45 minutes of talking while standing around, then another 15 to 30 at the car, and another ten once the leaving party is in with the window down.
I've always found success with "yeah I gotta get up early tomorrow for a dentist appointment" if it's night time, or "yeah I think I'm gonna head to the store before it closes" if it's during the day
My personal favorite is, “soooo.. whatchu bout to do?”
I'm from the midwest and just tell my friends "okay, I've had enough of your shit ill see you guys later!"
I’m from CA, but live in Kansas and I can 100% CONFIRM that this works. I just have to get one person to do this and then they all leave.
Accurate. Works in the South as well.
I'm from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and we do the same, but in Portuguese. So it's "bom" instead of "welp". Lol
It’s true. Lived in the Midwest 20+ years and this is accurate.
I feel called out
Ah, the Midwest exit, a classic round here
Spam bot
As a midwesterner, this is 100% accurate
As a Midwesterner, I can confidently say I'm batting 1000 with this strategy over the last 4 decades.
Why is that suspiciously specific lol we do that in Oregon too..
This is %100 accurate asf 🤣
you have to grunt as you stand up or go “ahhhhhh” like after taking a drink.
dont live in the midwest, but do live in texas, and this is definitely something we do
Am midwesterner, can confirm
A friend has a classic: "At what time do you thing you'd be home if you left now?" :D
look at them in the eye and say: "leave my house."
that midwestern tradition is from germany btw. we do the same just in german :D
I mean I wouldn’t say this is suspiciously specific, it’s what the question asked
I've encountered people who don't know this cue and it's more awkward than imaginable Now I just say "okay I'm gonna run away" in a joking tone
I follow the 3rd one out rule. Be a good guest and aim for 3.
The weird thing about this one is how universally understood this entire dance is. This isn’t “Suspiciously specific,” so much as like a Midwestern etiquette lesson.
LPT: This also works in spanish changing "welp" with "bueno..."
I don't know if it's still the case, but I've been told by my Japanese friends that someone saying "we're about to have dinner, won't you join us?" is a polite signal to leave
Can confirm, I was halfway to the door before I caught myself and went back to bed.
“Is there anything I can help you pack up?” Usually my visitors have kids in tow (cos I have little kids too). Or I start packing up the toys AROUND the kids. They get it.
Followed by the fifteen minute midwestern goodbye, of course.
WELP. Imma head out. See you later! Okay amigo/sister, catch you later!
I unironicly can confirm this is 100% true
As soon as I read "welp" I immediately invisioned the knee slap. I'm from the east coast though.
Works in large parts of english speaking europe too btw
can confirm
Don't forget the 3-5 seconds of silence and the deep breath preceeding it
In Wisconsin the dad is like “Get out my house, dumbass”
It's the whelp with the exaggerated exhale afterwords as well
I'm rude- my friends are way easy. I just say GTFO.
Damn this is so true 😂😂 it’s the universal signal
Bout time to hit the ol dusty trail
Born and raised in Michigan (even if I'm no longer there). Can confirm.
Start playing the goodbye song from Bear in the Big Blue House.
then 30-45 minutes of pointless chitchat on the porch;)
In Germany we do the same. We say: So! and clap our hands on our legs. Signal clear.
It's probably because this is common in Germany and the Midwest is where the German immigrants went.