91–100 of 345 posts
Discussions of healthcare facilities always get me in Canada. Grew up in the states, but born in Canada, when you have to use the emergency room it’s said that “they went to Hospital” as opposed to “they went to ‘the’ hospital”. No one up here ever seems to see the oddity of always referring to multiple different hospitals as the singular Hospital.
Americans dont use the term "pencil crayons"??? What do you call them?
There are also various different ways to pronounce “crayon”; is that also true in Canada? For example I pronounce it with one syllable: “cran”, just like the beginning of “cranberry”. I get the feeling that’s not the majority pronunciation but it’s not exactly rare either (at least where I grew up).
Probably one of my favorite commonly-used Canadian slang is "to chirp someone". It's a term that's frequently used in hockey circles, but more generally means to make fun of someone in a banter-y kind of way.
The film Slapshot with hockey banter/ribbing (at a Gilmore Girls-type pace).
Surprising one for me was "all dressed" as a term for, e.g., a pizza with all the toppings. Apparently it's a direct translation from French and is pretty exclusive to Quebec English and the Easternmost part of Ontario (which is heavily French). And Saskatchewan. Which the site notes is "a bit of a mystery". Also found "parkade" interesting--apparently it's still much more heavily used in Western Canada, and they att…
https://youtu.be/eIoTpkM5N64?si=FnGploZrLZ1XRVXO&utm_source=...
I wish they would've explained the term "soaker" a bit better as it's such a Canadian thing. Basically, when the snow starts to melt in the spring, you'll sometimes accidentally step on some thin ice that leads directly to a puddle underneath and soak your boot. It sucks! Also, we would often call these "booters" in Manitoba, where I'm from.
Washroom vs. bathroom: I’ve always found it strange to call a room a “bathroom” if it doesn’t have a shower or tub. On the other hand, most single-family homes in Canada have a “powder room” where people can wash their face and hands. Although these facilities serve similar purposes, the former is used for public spaces, while the latter is found inside homes.
I'll have to go through this with my family; we have a number of terms we use that we're never sure if they're Canadian, non-regional uncommon words, or just things our family say. My grandpa called toonies "bearbucks", which isn't listed, but is in one of the quotes on the toonie entry. No listing for "reef" as in yanking on something, though I don't know if that's a Canadianism or not.
I have a sure fire method for detecting Canadians out in the wild. Pay close attention to how they pronounce the word “resources”. If you hear the letter Z in there then they are probably Canadian.
Surprising one for me was "all dressed" as a term for, e.g., a pizza with all the toppings. Apparently it's a direct translation from French and is pretty exclusive to Quebec English and the Easternmost part of Ontario (which is heavily French). And Saskatchewan. Which the site notes is "a bit of a mystery". Also found "parkade" interesting--apparently it's still much more heavily used in Western Canada, and they att…
In Quebec French we use “toute garnie” to refer to a pizza with red sauce, mozzarella, mushrooms, green peppers and pepperonis.