Eh or Hey

My 2009 Update

The item below was not a South End Zone Article. It was a post in the old Packfans Listserv in 1995. I still chuckle about this when I think of it, so I thought I would add it to this blog. In the Listserv, there was some discussion about whether "eh" and "hey" mean the same thing or different things in Wisconsin lingo. I am still not sure of the answer to this myself. Anyway, this prompted me to throw in the following post, about Brett Favre's first regular season appearance for the Packers.

Incidentally, someone (who will remain nameless to protect the guilty) responded to this message with his own explanation of the difference between "eh" and "hey." The priceless explanation is reprinted below my post.

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All of this talk about eh and hey reminds me of an incident in the 1992 season. It was early in the season, and I am almost sure it was the game against Cincy in which Majik was injured, Favre came in and led the team to an improbable come-from-behind victory in the closing seconds.

In any event, NBC was occasionally going out to the Lambeau parking lot during lead-ins or lead-outs from commercials. I was watching the game with my family and countless other cheese-heads at a Packer sports bar in Redwood City California (the bar has, sadly, since closed).

During one of these excursions to the parking lot, a tailgater proudly held up a large (disgusting-looking) bag of meat, and said something like "Whyn't cha come on back in half an hour." I wish there was a way to convey in writing the thickness of this guy's Wisconsin accent - it was overpowering. One of the other patrons in the sports bar (an exile himself, undoubtedly) responded loudly "YA, HEY!" The entire place cracked up, probably including some non-Wis.-natives, who didn't understand exactly why that was so funny, but laughed anyway.

Anyway, three weeks left until training camp, hey?

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RLB's response:

Yah, I remember dat well. Da wife an I had sent da kids ta Bay Beach, we was really impressed dat Sure Way had a deal on Hamm's an brats on a Packer weekend. Dis whole ting about accents can't really be put over da net till we all get hooked up wid sound eh, boy won't we have some fun den. I know fer sure dat da accent gets really reved up after a few beers. I know too dat dee only place yu'll find her is in Packer country, an in a day when everyting seems to be getten as homogenous as steroid melk, it's anoder ting ta be proud of!

SO..."WE GO GREEN BAY... EH OR HEH"

PS I do tink der's a diffrence between da two. Heh...for gettin yer kid out a da refrigerater. "Heh...get away from dat thing, shut dat door eh, an grab me a cold one while ya do."

Eh...more of an agreement article, "Sure is grat ta beat da Bears twice in a season eh?" or "Yer wife looks like two miles a bad road eh" Ya..so does yers heh.