FORUM FUN FEATURE!! Canadianisms

[Bumper]

Because of the large number of Canadians who frequent the PlayaInfo forum, and tend to use uniquely Canadian words in some of their posts, it might be beneficial to provide our American cousins with some basic Canadian vocabulary. While the following excerpt is by no means comprehensive or complete, it does give you an insight into some useful terms.


Canadian, eh??


As a Canadian, you have to be extra vigilant. There are a lot of imposters out there. If you suspect that someone is falsely trying to pass themselves off as a Canadian, make the following statement - and then carefully note their reaction.

“Last night, I cashed my pogey and went to buy a mickey of C.C. at the beer parlour, but my Skidoo got stuck in the muskeg on my way back to the duplex. I was trying to deke out a deer, you see. Damned chinook melted everything. Then a Mountie snuck up behind me in a ghost car and gave me an impaired. I was S.O.L., sitting there dressed in only my Stanfields and a togue at the time. And the Mountie, he’s all chippy and everything, calling me a “shit disturber” and what not. What could I say, except, “Sorry, EH!”

If the person you are talking to nods sympathetically, they’re one of us. If, however, they stare at you with blank incomprehension, they are not a Real Canadian. Report them to the authorities at once. The passage above contains no fewer than 19 different Canadianisms.


In Order:

Pogey: EI (Employment Insurance) Money provided by the government for not working.

Mickey: A small bottle of booze (13 oz) A “Texas Mickey”, on the other hand, is a ridiculously big bottle of booze, which, despite the name, is still a Canadianism through and through.

C.C.: Canadian Club, a brand of rye whisky. Not to be confused with “hockey stick”, another kind of Canadian Club.

Beer Parlour: Like an ice cream parlour, but for Canadians.

Skidoo: Self-propelled decapitation device for teenagers. See “snowmobile.”

Muskeg: Boggy swampland.

Duplex: A single building, divided in half, with two sets of inhabitants, each trying to pretend the other doesn’t exist, while at the same time managing to drive each other crazy. A metaphor for Canada’s French and English.

Deke: Used as a verb, it means “to fool an opponent through skilful misdirection.” As a noun, it is used most often in exclamatory constructions, such as “Wadda deke!” Meaning, “My, that was an impressive display of physical dexterity employing misdirection and guile.”


Chinook: An unseasonably warm wind that comes over the Rocky Mountains and onto the plains, melting snow banks in Calgary, but just missing Edmonton, much to the pleasure of Calgarians.

Mountie: Canadian icon, strong of jaw, red of coat, pure of heart. Always get their man! (See also “Pepper Spray” - uses of.)

Snuck: To have sneaked; to move, past tense, in a clandestine manner; non-restrictive, extended, semi-gerundial, form of “did sneak” (We think)

Ghost Car: An unmarked police car, easily identified by its inconspicuousness.

Impaired: A charge of drunk driving. Used both as a noun and as an adjective (the alternative adjectival form of “impaired” being “shit faced”)

S.O.L.: Shit Outta Luck; in an unfortunate predicament.

Stanfields: Men’s underwear, especially grandpa-style. White cotton ones with a big elastic waistband and a huge superfluous flap in the front and back.

Toque: Canada’s Official National Head Apparel, with about the same suave sex appeal as a pair of Stanfields.

Chippy: Behaviour that is inappropriately aggressive; constantly looking for a reason to find offence; from “chip on one’s shoulder.” (See Western Canada)

Shit Disturber: (See Quebec) A troublemaker or provocateur. According to Katherine Barber, editor in Chief of the Canadian Oxford Dictionary, “shit disturber” is a distinctly Canadian term. (Just remember Western Canadians are chippy, and Quebecers are shit disturbers, and you will do fine.)

[Ginger]

Wow, Bumber, will our friends down south of the border and from other parts really not understand all that? But it's perfect english to me!


I've gotten some funny looks over the years with my canadian language while travelling, though. Once when we were in the Dallas airport transferring a flight, I asked for HOMO milk (for my daughter). Man, you should have seen the wierd expression on THAT guys face. Guess they call it 'whole' milk in them there parts.

[amo_playa]

I didn't even realize some of those words were canadianisms.....thanks for the enlightment!

[jmac]

Ya mean those mean we're Canadian, well damn, I thought everybody talked that way. I'm from the boonies ya know. A whole hour & a half from Winnipeg, (must take a week to go visit the farm ya know). I dun thought I was talking normal. Well I'll be bejeebered. Thanks Bump.