Canadianisms

[Destiny]

loonie A dollar. The Canadian $1 coin has a loon (the bird) on one side.
toonie Two dollars. The Canadian $2 coin is gold-coloured in the middle, with a silver-coloured ring around the outside. It takes its name from the $1 coin, the loonie, and adds its value, two, to form "twonie" or, more easily read, "toonie". A polar bear is on one side of this coin.
keener Someone who is eager to please. "John is such a keener"
pop Soft drinks. What many Americans call soda.
pogey Unemployment benefits. "I'm getting pogey" means, as the British would say, "I'm on the dole."
serviette French for "napkin". This term is used by anglophones as well as francophones.
washroom bathroom
housecoat robe, bathrobe
chesterfield A couch or sofa.
poutine Québecois specialty. French fries covered in cheese curds and gravy.
Shreddies A brand of breakfast cereal, vaguely resembling Chex in the United States.
Smarties Not the ones like in the United States. In Canada, Smarties are a candy resembling M&Ms. They do melt in your hand, and they're a lot sweeter.
Kraft Dinner, or KD macaroni and cheese.
back bacon Canadian bacon. Sometimes rolled in peameal.
brown bread Whole wheat bread. If you are at a diner for breakfast and you ask for whole wheat toast, they'll understand you, but "brown toast" is a lot more Canadian.
homo milk Homogenized milk. Known in the United States as whole milk.
whitener powdery stuff to put into coffee or tea. Called "non-dairy creamer" in the United States.
whipping cream heavy cream to the folks in the United States.
coriander cilantro to the folks in the United States.
cooking onions yellow onions to the folks in the United States.
butter tart a delicious pie-like pastry cup with a butter, brown sugar, raisins, and nuts filling.
Nanaimo bars a rich brownie like base with a custard cream layer topped with chocolate. Named for the city in British Columbia.
lineup a line.... "There was a really long lineup for tickets to last night's hockey game."
icing sugar powdered sugar
table (verb) to bring up for discussion, as in a session of Parliament.
Robertson screws Screws (for metal or wood) with a square hole in the top rather than a straight or X-shaped one. They'd be popular in the States except that Henry Ford wanted exclusive rights to them, and Robertson (the inventor, a Canadian) refused to sell.
May Two-Four The nickname of Victoria Day, Queen Victoria's birthday, May 24th.
toque A kind of wintertime hat.
"The States" The United States of America. Canadians hate referring to the United States as "America", because Canadians are just as much (North) Americans as citizens of the United States are.
"chip trucks" These are like the van driven by the ice cream man, only they sell French fries. They are most ubiquitous on the roads to "cottage country."
metric measurements No, the temperature does not drop fifty degrees when you cross the border from the United States! Centimetres, not inches; kilometres, not miles; metres, not yards, etc.
French and English The Government of Canada is one of the rare federal governments in the world to be completely bilingual.
milk containers Milk comes in plastic bags as well as in cartons and jugs
hockey gear A guy can get onto a bus wearing goalie pads, a helmet - everything but the skates - and nobody gives him a second look.
riding Elected officials represent the people of their riding - also known as electoral districts.
Trans-Canada Highway Canada's equivalent to the Interstate highways - is two lanes wide for most of its length. And there are huge, wide highways around the major cities. The 401 north of Toronto is twelve lanes wide in places and has recently overtaken some major highways in Los Angeles as the busiest road on the continent.
gas stations

• Esso (instead of Exxon)
• Petro Canada
• Irving (only in eastern Canada)
• Canadian Tire
• Husky

department stores

• The Bay (the Hudson's Bay Company, the oldest company in North America and possibly the world - it was incorporated on May 2, 1670)

banks

• Toronto Dominion
• Bank of Montreal
• RBC Royal Bank
• The Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank)
• Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce

beers Molson and Labatt are the dominant brands and they are a lot stronger than U.S. beers.
bookstores

• Coles
• Chapters
• Indigo

Tim Horton's - named after the hockey player who started the chain - are common everywhere.

Cuba vacations Trips to Cuba are freely advertized and Cuban cigars are readily available.
health care Nobody worries about losing a life's savings or a home because of illness - health care is universal.
weather conversations Virutally any conversation will inevitably include a brief discussion of the weather - it is such a dominant force in Canadians' lives.
potato chips They come in flavours such as salt and vinegar, ketchup, and "all dressed" (a collection of just about all possible seasonings - the person who suggested this one likened it to a "suicide slush" in the States).
the cottage (Central Ontario) Every weekend during the summer, southern Ontarians go in droves from Toronto and its environs to their second homes (ranging from campers to great big houses with all the amenities) in the "cottage country" of Muskoka and the Haliburton Highlands.
the camp (Northern Ontario) Northern Ontario's version of the cottage.
cottage country (winter style) Every weekend during the winter, the cottage country people go back to cottage country to go snowmobiling. Gas stations are just as likely to be filling snowmobiles as cars or trucks.
the chalet (Quebec) Every weekend during the summer, southern Quebeckers go in droves from Montreal and its environs to their cottage country (usually the Laurentians; the Eastern Townships; Burlington, Vermont; Lake Champlain, New York; or Plattsburgh, New York).
the cabin (British Columbia, Newfoundland & Labrador) "The cabin" is where British Columbians head to on the weekends, not the cottage. Canadian author Charles Gordon wrote an entire book on this phenomenon - it's all the same place but called differently in different parts of the country. "The cottage", "the lake", etc. but in B.C., it's only "the cabin".
block heaters Cars have electrical plugs sticking out from under the hoods to prevent engines from freezing when it's -40!
Goods and Services Tax Just about everything is subject to the national 7% GST, except in Atlantic Canada where the provincial and GST taxes have been combined to form the HST - Harmonized Sales Tax.
British spelling Canadians tend to write about "colour," "cheques," "theatres," and so forth. Most Canadians use the American "-ize" rather than the British "-ise" verb ending, however.
zed Most Canadians will tell you that this is how the last letter of the alphabet is pronounced, not zee.
Bloody Caesar It's just like a Bloody Mary, except it's made with Clamato juice instead of plain tomato juice.
eh Canadians often end sentences with "eh" and many studies have looked into this phenomenon. It is generally agreed that Canadians do it because they are polite. The "eh" is an invitation for the listener to participate in the conversation opposed to the speaker simply stating fact after fact.
b'y Newfoundlanders have many colloquialisms but this one, I'm told, is their version of "eh". Actually a contraction of "boy", it appears quite regularly in speech and is most commonly known from the sea shanty "I's the b'y that builds the boat, I's the b'y that sails her...."
Winnie the Pooh In August, 1914, Lieutenant Harry Colebourn, a Veterinary Officer with the 34th Fort Garry Horse of Manitoba, was travelling by train from his home in Winnipeg to enroll in the Canadian Army Veterinary Corps in Valcartier, Quebec.

Travelling by Canadian Pacific Railway, he had to change trains at White River Bend in Ontario, where he noticed a man further along the station platform with an American black bear cub tied to the arm of the bench on which he was seated.

He struck up a conversation and, learning that the man was a trapper who had shot and killed the cub's mother, Colebourn offered him $20 for the young bear -- the trapper eagerly accepted the offer and the cub was taken to Quebec, where she became the mascot of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade.

In December 1914,the 2nd Brigade was preparing to move to France in great secrecy. Colebourn decided it was unsafe to take her into battle; so, while passing through London on the way to France on December 9th, 1914, he visited London Zoo and asked them to care for the cub until his return, which he optimistically anticipated would be no longer than two weeks.

Of course, 'that war to end all wars' was not to end so quickly. It was not until 1918 that Colebourn returned safely to London. Realising that the bear, now known affectionately by her keepers and visitors as Winnie, was happy and content in her new home, he decided to leave her there.

[Destiny]

Canadianisms

(contrasted and compared with the US)

EXPRESSIONS
"Eh?" Don't you think? Conversational device that allows an unconfrontational canadian to turn a statement into a poll of opinion.
Canuck nickname for a Canadian
clicks slang for kilometres or kilometres per hour
hoser unsophisticated person
keener boot-licker, brown-noser, suck-up
kerfuffle commotion; flurry of agitation
Molson muscle potbelly (Molson is a Canadian brand of beer)
lineup line of people; queue
"for sure" definitely
to be on pogey to be on welfare
mickey 375 ml. (13 oz.) bottle of liquor
two-four case of beer containing 24 bottles
arse, bum one's hind quarters.


THINGS YOU'LL ONLY FIND IN CANADA
(I had no idea some of these thing were only in Canada)

Food
beavertail deep-fried dessert pastry resembling a beaver's tail
poutine French fries covered with cheese curds and gravy
ketchup chips believe it or not vinegar on fries especially fish & chips
butter tart a small, pecan-pie-like tart
nanaimo bar a multilayer brownie and icing
tortiere a french-canadian meat pie
milk in a bag comes in a group of 3 bags

Brands
Smarties something like M&Ms
Crispy Crunch chocolate bar
Coffee Crisp chocolate bar
Caramilk chocolate bar
Shreddies cereal

Other
5-pin bowling a smaller ball, and only 5 pins---great for kids and drunks
mountie member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (like the FBI)
toonie (or twoonie) Canadian two-dollar coin (since 1996)
toque (or tuque) woollen, usually pointed cap worn in the winter

MEDIA THAT IS POPULAR IN CANADA BUT NOT IN THE US
David Wilcox not the american folk singer, the canadian blues guitarist and poet The Tragically Hip sell out multi-day festivals in canada, play 100-person bars in the US Bare Naked Ladies after many years, broke into the US on the "american pie" soundtrack Maclean and Maclean two low-brow Nova Scotian comedian/musicians * this is far from complete

OTHER INTERESTING DIFFERENCES

• The Canadian 'accent' can be heard most easily in the following words: out, about, house, and others with 'ou'. For example, canadian pronounciation of the word 'out' is like 'e' as in 'pet' followed by 'oot' as in 'boot', sounding like 'e'+'oot'. American pronounciation of 'out' is more like 'ow' as in 'cow', sounding like 'ow'+'t'. Other words often pronounced differenctly are 'pop', and 'roof'. Of course, the trademark 'eh' at the end of a statement is a dead giveaway.
• Canadian spellings can also cause confusion: colour vs color, cheque vs check, centre vs center, etc.
• Canada uses the metric system, although canadians quote their height and wieght in feet/inches and pounds. Industry, for the most part, still uses imperial units.
• For measuring temperature, Canada uses celcius (rather than fahrenheit).
• Although there are many differences in prices of things between US and Canada, two that stand out are the after-exchange lower prices of electronics in the US, and the far lower prices of CDs in Canada. Also, there is a pricing inversion for CDs such that in the US the older CDs are the cheapest, while in Canada it is the newest releases that are usually on sale.
• The drinking age in Canada is 19 in most provinces, and 18 in Alberta, Manitoba, and Quebec. Note that the provinces where it is 18 alternate as you go west to east. Coincidence?
• Soda/pop is made with corn syrup in the US, and sugar in Canada---this changes the taste significantly.
• It's been said that Canadians are simply disarmed Americans with health care.
• Some of these 'Canadianisms' are of British origin, and can be found there as well.
• Football rules: size of our footballs, football fields, and one less down
• Canadian inventions: ski-doos, jet-skis, velcro, zippers, insulin, penicillin, zambonis, the telephone, short wave radios, robertson screws (square hole)

[Destiny]

The Meaning of Eh!
It is quite obvious that some people are having a tough time understanding Canadians, so the following will run through a very brief translation of the Canadian 'dialect' and hopefully ease some minds out there.
EH = pronounced AY (similar, but not the same as huh)
Eh is a useful word that is very important and is the basis of all Canadian communications. It is used in conjunction with other words, or simply by itself. The tone or the slight differences in exclamation also changes the meaning:-
Eh? = what did you say?
Eh? = what do you think?
EH? = something to say just to end a sentence.
Ehhhh!! = WOW!!
EH!? = what do you mean?
Eh?? = your joking!!!??
EH!! = Hello..(you off in the distance!!!)
Eh? want a doughnut or some Tim Bits?
Eh! = sure!!
Eh!Eh! = coffee double-cream too please!
Eh? = what you say when you realize you have no money to pay for it.
Eh..cmon, eh? = asking them to let you pay for it next time.
hey..eh! = want to go to the drive-in movie??
Eh...uhuh = yes sure!
Eh..y'know = I'll pick you up at 8:00 (8:30 in Newfoundland).
Eh..cmon!! = well that's early..but ok.
Eh..wanna? eh? = lets fool around ...
EHHHHHHH = sounds coming from the car.
hey..um..er eh... = I'm pregnant!
EH????????? = how did that happen?
EHHehhEHHehhEHHH = sounds from the delivery room.
EHHH-ehh, EHHH-ehh = baby's first cry.
Ehh..whadya think eh? = marry me.

You know you're Canadian if :
- You stand in "line-ups" or "queues" (in Victoria, BC) at the movie, not lines.
- You're not offended by the term, "Homo Milk".
- You understand the sentence, "Could you please pass me a serviette, I just spilled my "bowl of poutine" !
- You eat chocolate bars instead of candy bars.
- You drink pop, not soda.
- You had a Prime Minister who wasn't fluent in either of the official languages (English & French).
- You know what it means to be 'on the pogey'.
- You know that a mickey and 2-4's mean "Party at thecamp, eh?!"
- You can drink legally while still a teen in some provinces.
- You talk about the weather with strangers and friends alike.
- You don't know or care about the fuss with Cuba, it's just a cheap place to travel with very good cigars.
- When there is a social problem, you turn to your government to fix it, instead of telling them to stay out of it.
- You're not sure if the leader of your nation has EVER had sex and you don't WANT to know if he has!
- You get milk in bags as well as cartons and plastic jugs.
Pike is a type of fish, not some part of a highway.
- You drive on a highway, not a freeway.
- You know what a Robertson screwdriver is.
- You have Canadian Tire money in your kitchen drawers.
- You know that Mounties "don't always look like that."
- You dismiss all beers under 6% as "for children and the elderly."
- You know that the Friendly Giant isn't a vegetable product line.
- You know that Casey and Finnegan are not a Celtic musical group.
- You drive with your headlights on during the day (since 1989, all new cars have been fitted with "daytime running lights").
- You participated in "Participaction."
- You have an Inuit carving by your bedside with the rationale, "What's good enough protection for the Prime Minister is good enough for me."
- You wonder why there isn't a 5 dollar coin yet.
- Like any international assasin/terrorist/spy in the world, you possess a Canadian Passport.
- You use a red pen on your non-Canadian textbooks and fill in the missing 'u's from labor, honor, color. etc.
- You know the French equivalents of "free", "prize", and "no sugar added", thanks to your extensive education in bilingual cereal packaging.
- You are excited whenever an American television show mentions Canada.
- You make a mental note to talk about it at work the next day.
- You can do all the hand actions to Sharon, Lois and Bram's "Skin-a-ma-rinky-dinky-doo" opus.
- You can eat more than one maple sugar candy without feeling nauseous.
- You were mad at the CBC when "The Beachcombers" were taken off the air.
- You know who "Relic" is/was.
- You know what a touque is and you own one and often wear it.
- You have heard of ... and have some cherished momento of Bob and Doug McKenzie.
- You still sing the "Great White North" theme song with pride ... "coo-ooh-coocoo-coo-ooh-coocoo".
- You know Toronto is NOT a province.
- You never miss "Coach's Corner" during Hockey Night in Canada.
- Back bacon and Kraft Dinner are two of your favourite food groups.
- If you live in some of the colder Canadian provinces, your car has a cord and plug sticking out of the grill ... it's a block heater for those sub-zero (in Celsius) days.
- You only know three spices: salt, pepper and ketchup.
- You design your Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.
- The mosquitoes have landing lights.
- You have more kilometres on your snow blower than your car.
- You have 10 favourite recipes for moose meat.
- Canadian Tire Store on any Saturday is busier than most toy stores at Christmas.
- You live in a house that has no front step, yet the door is one meter above the ground.
- You've taken your kids trick-or-treating in a blizzard.
- Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled in with frozen snow and slush.
- You think sexy lingerie is tube-socks and a flannel nightie with only 8 buttons.
- You owe more money on your snowmobile than your car.
- The local paper covers national and international headlines on 2 pages, but requires 6 pages for hockey.
- At least twice a year, the kitchen doubles as a meat processing plant.
- The most effective mosquito repellent is a shotgun.
- Your snowblower gets stuck on the roof.
- You think the start of deer season is a national holiday.
- You head South to go to your cottage.
- You frequently clean grease off your barbecue so the bears won't prowl on your deck.
- You know which leaves make good toilet paper now that there are no more dollar bills.
- The major parish fund-raiser isn't bingo, it's sausage making.
- You find -40C a little chilly.
- The trunk of your car doubles as a portable deep freeze.
- You attend a formal event in your best clothes, your finest jewellery and your Sorels.
- You can play road hockey on skates.
- You know 4 seasons: Winter, Still Winter, almost Winter and Construction.
- The municipality buys a Zamboni before a bus.
- You understand the Labatt Blue commercials.
- You perk-up when you hear the theme from "Hockey Night in Canada".
- You pronounce the last letter of the alphabet "zed" instead of "zee."
and ...
You end some sentences with "eh," ... eh? (See above for more "Eh" sayings).

[Destiny]

As most of you know, if you were not born in Canada, in order to get you Canadian Citizenship you have to pass a test on all things Canadian ... do u think u could do it???
see for your self: http://www.yourlibrary.ca/citizenship/

(I got 80%)

[liljj07]

i got 78%

[Naomi]

80% here

[Guardian]

Originally Posted by Destiny

The Meaning of Eh!
It is quite obvious that some people are having a tough time understanding Canadians, so the following will run through a very brief translation of the Canadian 'dialect' and hopefully ease some minds out there.
EH = pronounced AY (similar, but not the same as huh)
Eh is a useful word that is very important and is the basis of all Canadian communications. It is used in conjunction with other words, or simply by itself. The tone or the slight differences in exclamation also changes the meaning:-
Eh? = what did you say?
Eh? = what do you think?
EH? = something to say just to end a sentence.
Ehhhh!! = WOW!!
EH!? = what do you mean?
Eh?? = your joking!!!??
EH!! = Hello..(you off in the distance!!!)
Eh? want a doughnut or some Tim Bits?
Eh! = sure!!
Eh!Eh! = coffee double-cream too please!
Eh? = what you say when you realize you have no money to pay for it.
Eh..cmon, eh? = asking them to let you pay for it next time.
hey..eh! = want to go to the drive-in movie??
Eh...uhuh = yes sure!
Eh..y'know = I'll pick you up at 8:00 (8:30 in Newfoundland).
Eh..cmon!! = well that's early..but ok.
Eh..wanna? eh? = lets fool around ...
EHHHHHHH = sounds coming from the car.
hey..um..er eh... = I'm pregnant!
EH????????? = how did that happen?
EHHehhEHHehhEHHH = sounds from the delivery room.
EHHH-ehh, EHHH-ehh = baby's first cry.
Ehh..whadya think eh? = marry me.

HAHA thats awesome I love it

[Naomi]

And we all have our local dialects too. In Miramichi we say:
How's she goin' or How's she bootin' er.... meaning Hi, how are you.
We also use the word lad, alot
A boot in the arse is a common expression
True bilingualism means speaking shiac or franglais...(not being able to speak either language properly)
Right out of 'er means drunk/stoned beyond normal drunkeness
You know you are in Miramichi when 2 cars are stopped in the middle of the road and you don't get upset but get out of your car to join in the conversation with the first 2.
A Miramichier knows all the verses to "The second week of deer camp"
Being able to dig clams with your bare hands.
You would rather drink warm Alpine beer than switch brands, even if the other is cold.
Your first drunk was Hermit's wine.
Bologna is refered to as Miramichi steak.
And best of all........you are among the friendliest people in the world.

[taz_2006]

lets not forget the mckenzie brother doug and bob mckenzie from sctv and there movie strange brew " hey hoser "