Minnesota nice
n.— «Minnesota Nice, as it is called, means that when the woman serving coffee at Caribou, the local doppelgänger of Starbucks, asks how you are doing, she really wants to know.» —“Comedian for Senator? Don’t Laugh” by David Carr in Minneapolis, Minn. New York Times June 15, 2005. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Carrie Ann and her cousin Danielle from Minneapolis, Minnesota, wonder about the pronunciation of the word rhetoric. Is the stress on the first syllable or the second? This is part of a complete episode.
Related
Imagine telling someone how to get to your home, but without using the name of your street, or any other street within ten miles. Could you do it? We take street names for granted, but these words are useful for far more, like applying for a job or...