Some words and phrases are universal, and others you’ll only understand if you’re from Vermont. The following are common things Vermonters say that let you know you’re at home in the Green Mountain State. So grab your flannel, make yourself a bowl of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream (topped with maple syrup), get cozy in your barn, and listen to the cows moo in the pasture while you read these things people from Vermont say and see how many of these words you can relate to. Let’s have a little fun, shall we?
- Mud season
Flickr/Paul Moody Living in Vermont, you’ll soon realize that mud season is most certainly a real season. It falls between winter and spring and turns driving on dirt roads into a competitive sport.
- Stick season
Flickr/Diane Tisseur Stick season is another very real season in Vermont. After the foliage falls and the snow hasn’t blanketed the land in white powder, everything in Vermont appears very brown, barren and, yup, still beautiful!
- Green Up Day
Flickr/Nicholas Erwin Green Up Day, observed on the first Saturday of May, is a statewide effort in the US state of Vermont to clean up roadside trash - and everyone participates!
- Maple pipelines
Flickr/Dan Dickinson Those things coming from the trees? Yeah, we know exactly what they are. You’re welcome for the delicious syrup!
- Bull Pout
Flickr/Barb & Dean Russ & Williams If you’ve been fishing here, you’ve seen a Bullpout Catfish, the most common catfish in Vermont. You’ll also know that the fish pictured is a Perch. See disclaimer below. Bull Pouts are also known as mud pout, horned pout, horn pout and mud cat.
- Down cellar
Flickr/Metal Chris For whatever reason, we don’t need “the” between down and cellar. Essentially this means ‘in the basement.’
- The notch is closed
Flickr/Bre LaRow When you hear that the “notch is closed,” Vermonters know better than to attempt this cut through Smugglers Notch. These sharp turns are trouble enough for the giant trucks who get stuck all summer trying to get through by following GPS directions. The ice and snow during the cold months make this a dangerous trek. If it’s closed for the winter, we know better than to attempt it.
- Sugar on snow
Flickr/Sheila Scarborough Maple syrup drizzled over snow is a favorite sweet treat for Vermonters of all ages.
- Vegetable Diorama
Photo property of the author At many of the agricultural fairs there are displays and competitions of vegetable dioramas, and each year the Tunbridge World’s fair has a particularly stiff competition. Pictured is a diorama of a Taylor Swift concert made of pearl onions and chili peppers.
- Decorated vegetables
Photo property of the author Yet another competitive sport of sorts at Vermont fairs is the decorated vegetable category.
Photo property of the author Can’t you just hear this ear of corn yelling? Haha!
- Freshies
Flickr/Lew (tomswift) Holzman First tracks on fresh snow. Absolutely delightful!
- Upta
Flickr/michael g. halle As in “are you going upta the mountain?”
- Flatlander
Flickr/Jimmy Emerson, DVM Someone (anyone) who wasn’t born in Vermont.
- Woodchuck
Flickr/Nick A guy who lives and thrives in rural Vermont. Oh, and he can probably fix just about anything.
- Djeet
Flickr/Frédérique Voisin-Demery A quick way to ask “Did you eat?”
- Duct it or chuck it
Flickr/Jonathan Greene If you can’t fix something with duct tape, it’s probably not worth fixing.
- Chinin'
Flickr/NRCS Short for ‘Snow machining,’ which is really ‘Snowmobiling.’
- Champ
Flickr/Jared and Corin In the 802, champ isn’t short for ‘Champion.’ Champ is Vermont’s very own Loch Ness Monster who lives in Lake Champlain.
- Heady
Flickr/John M Short for Heady Topper beer, a coveted and much loved beer brewed in Stowe by the Alchemist.
- Deer Jacking
Flickr/Nathan Siemers Possessing deer taken by illegal means.
- Yard Art
Flickr/Ali Eminov After all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
- Creemee
Flickr/Richard Schatzberger For once and for all, it’s not called soft-serve ice cream. It’s a creemee, OK?
- Leaf Peepers
Flickr/Christian Tauber People who travel from all over to see the stunning fall foliage in Vermont, but have yet to master the art of driving etiquette.
Share this with your friends and see who is a Vermonter and who is a Flatlander disguised in tie-dye. Do you agree with these Vermont stereotypes? Tell us what we missed! What other weird phrases or things people from Vermont say come to mind? Let us know below in the comments section.
Flickr/Paul Moody
Living in Vermont, you’ll soon realize that mud season is most certainly a real season. It falls between winter and spring and turns driving on dirt roads into a competitive sport.
Flickr/Diane Tisseur
Stick season is another very real season in Vermont. After the foliage falls and the snow hasn’t blanketed the land in white powder, everything in Vermont appears very brown, barren and, yup, still beautiful!
Flickr/Nicholas Erwin
Green Up Day, observed on the first Saturday of May, is a statewide effort in the US state of Vermont to clean up roadside trash - and everyone participates!
Flickr/Dan Dickinson
Those things coming from the trees? Yeah, we know exactly what they are. You’re welcome for the delicious syrup!
Flickr/Barb & Dean Russ & Williams
If you’ve been fishing here, you’ve seen a Bullpout Catfish, the most common catfish in Vermont. You’ll also know that the fish pictured is a Perch. See disclaimer below. Bull Pouts are also known as mud pout, horned pout, horn pout and mud cat.
Flickr/Metal Chris
For whatever reason, we don’t need “the” between down and cellar. Essentially this means ‘in the basement.’
Flickr/Bre LaRow
When you hear that the “notch is closed,” Vermonters know better than to attempt this cut through Smugglers Notch. These sharp turns are trouble enough for the giant trucks who get stuck all summer trying to get through by following GPS directions. The ice and snow during the cold months make this a dangerous trek. If it’s closed for the winter, we know better than to attempt it.
Flickr/Sheila Scarborough
Maple syrup drizzled over snow is a favorite sweet treat for Vermonters of all ages.
Photo property of the author
At many of the agricultural fairs there are displays and competitions of vegetable dioramas, and each year the Tunbridge World’s fair has a particularly stiff competition. Pictured is a diorama of a Taylor Swift concert made of pearl onions and chili peppers.
Yet another competitive sport of sorts at Vermont fairs is the decorated vegetable category.
Can’t you just hear this ear of corn yelling? Haha!
Flickr/Lew (tomswift) Holzman
First tracks on fresh snow. Absolutely delightful!
Flickr/michael g. halle
As in “are you going upta the mountain?”
Flickr/Jimmy Emerson, DVM
Someone (anyone) who wasn’t born in Vermont.
Flickr/Nick
A guy who lives and thrives in rural Vermont. Oh, and he can probably fix just about anything.
Flickr/Frédérique Voisin-Demery
A quick way to ask “Did you eat?”
Flickr/Jonathan Greene
If you can’t fix something with duct tape, it’s probably not worth fixing.
Flickr/NRCS
Short for ‘Snow machining,’ which is really ‘Snowmobiling.’
Flickr/Jared and Corin
In the 802, champ isn’t short for ‘Champion.’ Champ is Vermont’s very own Loch Ness Monster who lives in Lake Champlain.
Flickr/John M
Short for Heady Topper beer, a coveted and much loved beer brewed in Stowe by the Alchemist.
Flickr/Nathan Siemers
Possessing deer taken by illegal means.
Flickr/Ali Eminov
After all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Flickr/Richard Schatzberger
For once and for all, it’s not called soft-serve ice cream. It’s a creemee, OK?
Flickr/Christian Tauber
People who travel from all over to see the stunning fall foliage in Vermont, but have yet to master the art of driving etiquette.
Disclaimer: Most images of Bull Pouts that are legally licensed for resuse were a bit graphic, so we opted for a picture of someone having fun ice fishing in Vermont. Jeezum Crow! It appears that including a perch was WAY more offensive. Please accept our apologies – it won’t happen again.
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Address: Vermont, USA
The OIYS Visitor Center
things people from Vermont say August 24, 2020 Luke What are the worst things about living in Vermont? Vermont is a wonderful place to live, but every state has some negative components to it. So here are a few of the worst things about living in Vermont: 1. It can be frightfully cold in the winter, and our winters can last half a year, no joke. 2. If you want nightlife and other popular city activities, Vermont doesn’t rank so well in comparison to other states. 3. Vermont can be rather expensive to live in. Rent prices, groceries, and real-estate can all be on the pricier side. But these negative aspects pale in comparison to the reasons why living in Vermont is amazing (read below). What are the best things about living in Vermont? We cannot even count all the great things on one hand. But a few that come to mind are: access to pristine and natural areas and parks, organic and healthy food, environmentally and socially aware residents, friendly locals, and a relaxed and casual way of life. Vermont is a delightful place to reside if you don’t mind living in a small city or little town, which for us, is one of the best reasons to live in Vermont – no large cities. If you love nature and want to live a healthy life, Vermont is one of the best places to live in the U.S., period. What stereotypes are there about Vermont? That we all are farmers and haven’t ever been to a ‘real’ city, are things you might hear being a Vermonter from out-of-staters. People sometimes think that because Vermont is so small that that must mean we are ‘behind the times’ or something like that. But in fact, Vermont is a very progressive state with much to offer. Which stereotypes have you heard being a Vermonter?
The OIYS Visitor Center
things people from Vermont say
August 24, 2020
Luke
What are the worst things about living in Vermont? Vermont is a wonderful place to live, but every state has some negative components to it. So here are a few of the worst things about living in Vermont: 1. It can be frightfully cold in the winter, and our winters can last half a year, no joke. 2. If you want nightlife and other popular city activities, Vermont doesn’t rank so well in comparison to other states. 3. Vermont can be rather expensive to live in. Rent prices, groceries, and real-estate can all be on the pricier side. But these negative aspects pale in comparison to the reasons why living in Vermont is amazing (read below). What are the best things about living in Vermont? We cannot even count all the great things on one hand. But a few that come to mind are: access to pristine and natural areas and parks, organic and healthy food, environmentally and socially aware residents, friendly locals, and a relaxed and casual way of life. Vermont is a delightful place to reside if you don’t mind living in a small city or little town, which for us, is one of the best reasons to live in Vermont – no large cities. If you love nature and want to live a healthy life, Vermont is one of the best places to live in the U.S., period. What stereotypes are there about Vermont? That we all are farmers and haven’t ever been to a ‘real’ city, are things you might hear being a Vermonter from out-of-staters. People sometimes think that because Vermont is so small that that must mean we are ‘behind the times’ or something like that. But in fact, Vermont is a very progressive state with much to offer. Which stereotypes have you heard being a Vermonter?
The OIYS Visitor Center
The OIYS Visitor Center
Vermont is a wonderful place to live, but every state has some negative components to it. So here are a few of the worst things about living in Vermont: 1. It can be frightfully cold in the winter, and our winters can last half a year, no joke. 2. If you want nightlife and other popular city activities, Vermont doesn’t rank so well in comparison to other states. 3. Vermont can be rather expensive to live in. Rent prices, groceries, and real-estate can all be on the pricier side. But these negative aspects pale in comparison to the reasons why living in Vermont is amazing (read below).
What are the best things about living in Vermont?
We cannot even count all the great things on one hand. But a few that come to mind are: access to pristine and natural areas and parks, organic and healthy food, environmentally and socially aware residents, friendly locals, and a relaxed and casual way of life. Vermont is a delightful place to reside if you don’t mind living in a small city or little town, which for us, is one of the best reasons to live in Vermont – no large cities. If you love nature and want to live a healthy life, Vermont is one of the best places to live in the U.S., period.
What stereotypes are there about Vermont?
That we all are farmers and haven’t ever been to a ‘real’ city, are things you might hear being a Vermonter from out-of-staters. People sometimes think that because Vermont is so small that that must mean we are ‘behind the times’ or something like that. But in fact, Vermont is a very progressive state with much to offer. Which stereotypes have you heard being a Vermonter?
