40 things Canadians say that Americans don't understand

July 2024 · 5 minute read
2017-07-01T12:54:00Z

Keener: A person who is extremely eager or keen. Used interchangeably with terms like "brownnoser" and "overachiever."

REUTERS/Mark Blinch

Chirping or beaking: Making fun of someone. (Chirping is used in eastern Canada; beaking is used in parts of western Canada.)

YouTube/Letterkenny

Gotch/gitch/gonch: Tight men's underpants known elsewhere as tighty-whities — e.g., "Do you separate your gitch from your socks when you do laundry?"

Museum Of The Moving Image

Mickey: A 375 ml bottle of alcohol. Usually shaped like a flask but slightly larger, they fit perfectly in a purse.

Liquor Control Board of Ontario

Texas mickey: A 3 liter (101 ounces) bottle of alcohol.

This man is wearing a toque and drinking a Texas mickey of Canadian Whisky. YouTube

Stag and stagette parties: Bachelor and bachelorette parties.

These guys may have come from a stag party. REUTERS/Mike Cassese

 

Give'r: To exert as much effort as possible. Often used in the context of extreme sports.

Mike Blake/Reuters

Gong show or gonger: A situation that gets way out of control, often in a funny way. A total disaster. Sometimes used to refer to a party that gets out of hand.

"Last night was a total gong show." YouTube/Cieon Movies

Hang a larry: Turn left.

YouTube/IISuperwomanII

Hang a roger: Turn right.

YouTube

 

Homo milk: Homogenized milk, also known as whole milk. In Canada, it is very normal for a parent or spouse to ask you to pick up some homo milk on your way home.

Flickr/Scazon

Two-four: A case of 24 beers.

Canada's former Minister of Foreign Affairs John Baird, left, offers a case of Molson Canadian beer to US Secretary of State John Kerry to pay off a gentlemen's bet, on a women's hockey tournament that the US had won, in London, April 11, 2013. REUTERS/Paul J. Richards

 

KD or Kraft Dinner: Kraft mac and cheese.

Courtesy of Bob Crowe

Toque: Pronounced "toohk," a toque is a winter hat or knit cap, like a beanie. It often refers to the type of beanie that rolls up at the bottom.

A young Inuit boy wears a Montreal Canadiens toque in the arctic town of Iqaluit. Reuters

"Out for a rip": Going out for a drive. Or a snowmobile ride. Or any other kind of excursion, really.

YouTube

Pre-drinking: What Americans refer to as "pregaming" — having a drink with friends at someone's home before going out to a bar or club.

CBS screencap

Deking: A hockey term that describes faking or deceiving your opponent.

Canada's Sidney Crosby (L) dekes Sweden's goalie Henrik Lundqvist then scores during the second period of the men's ice hockey gold medal game at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games, February 23, 2014. REUTERS/Mark Blinch

Dart: A cigarette.

YouTube/The Museum of Classic Chicago Television

Double-double: A coffee from Tim Hortons, Canada's most popular coffee and donut shop, prepared with two creams and two sugars.

If you know any Canadians, then you definitely know about Tim Hortons. JP Moczulski/Reuters

Timbit: A donut hole from Tim Hortons or from any other restaurant in Canada.

Flickr/Geoffery Kehrig

 

Decked out: An adjective used to refer to someone who is dressed up or something that has been decorated.

Celine Dion was all decked out for the 71st Academy Awards in 1999. Reuters

Gravol: The Canadian equivalent of Dramamine, the over-the-counter drug for motion sickness.

Gravol.ca

Nanaimo bar: A popular rich dessert that requires no baking. Named after the city of Nanaimo, British Columbia.

Wikipedia Commons

Champagne Birthday: The birthday when you turn the age of the date of your birth. So if you were born on the 26th of the month, your 26th birthday would be your Champagne Birthday. Known in the US as Golden Birthday.

Wikimedia Commons

Rockets: The candy that Americans call "Smarties." In Canada, "Smarties" are candy-coated chocolates made by Nestlé that are closer to M&Ms.

Rockets Candy

Freezies: A favorite summertime treat that consists mostly of sugar and water frozen in a clear plastic tube.

Flickr/▲▼LESLEY∆NNE♥

Runners: Running shoes. Or, really, any kind of athletic shoe, like a tennis shoe.

nike

Holiday: Canadians use the term "holiday" interchangeably with "vacation." E.g., "When are you taking your holiday this year?" "I think I might go on holiday in July."

Chesterfield: A couch or sofa.

Flickr / Jan Glas

Garburator: An electric device underneath of a kitchen sink that breaks up food so it can be washed away. Americans call it a trash disposal.

Flickr/alancleaver

Washroom: A polite word for bathroom. The Canadian version of "restroom."

Michaela Rehle/Reuters

Housecoat: A bathrobe.

Henry Blodget / Business Insider

Pencil crayons: Colored pencils.

Flickr CC/Adam Clarke

 

College: This refers specifically to community colleges in Canada. Any institution that awards degrees is referred to as a "university."

Shaun Best/Reuters

A Haligonian: Anyone from the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Downtown Halifax on a snowy day. Paul Darrow/Reuters

Parkade: A multistory parking lot, aka a parking garage.

Wikimedia Commons

A "pull" or a "boot": Both terms used to describe someone who is of drinking age who buys alcohol for those who are underage. In British Columbia and Alberta, the term "boot" is used. In Saskatchewan, the term is "pull." Neither is prominent in eastern Canada.

Flickr/Ken Lund

Bunnyhug: Used exclusively in Saskatchewan to refer to a hooded sweatshirt, or hoodie. But only in Saskatchewan. The rest of the country finds it as funny as you do.

Cafe Press

Dep: A convenience store in Montreal and other parts of Quebec. It's short for the French word dépanneur.

Flickr/Leanne Staples

"Hey" vs. "eh": In some parts of western Canada, the term "hey" is used more commonly than "eh." Importantly, Canadians do not intersperse either word at random throughout sentences. Both are used like the word "right" at the end of a sentence.

REUTERS/Kevork Djansezian

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